440 APPENDIX ON 



its necessities, or its peculiar character in reference 

 to the pleasure it is capable of affording to some of 

 the organs of sense. 



Disparity in size also, among individuals belong- 

 ing even to the same species of objects of natural 

 history, will be another and a frequent cause of 

 variance between their arrangement for purposes of 

 amusement or use, and their natural classification. 

 And examples will probably occur to the reader, of 

 deviation from natural classification in the cabinet 

 arrangement of minerals, where that arrangement has 

 been intended to afford some particular illustration. 



The cabinet of Leske, described by Kirwan, con- 

 tained several separate collections, arranged for the 

 illustration of distinct objects. One among these, 

 exhibited in a regular series the distinctive external 

 characters of minerals as taught by Werner ; a second 

 contained his systematic arrangement of most, if not 

 of all, the mineral species then known ; and a third 

 exhibited the mineral substances used in various arts 

 and manufactures, and was thence denominated the 

 economical collection. 



The collection of English minerals in the British 

 Museum, is arranged according to counties^ the sub- 

 ordinate arrangement of the minerals of each county 

 being, however, systematic. 



When, therefore, the question relates to the ar- 

 rangement of a mineral cabinet generally, we should 

 enquire into the object of the collector in forming 

 his cabinet. In some few instances, it is possible 

 that specimens may have been collected merely as 

 objects of taste, and their selection may have de- 

 pended merely on their rarity, or on the beauty of 

 their forms or colours. The arrangement best adapted 

 to a cabinet of this description, must evidently be 

 such as would best exhibit the forms and colours of 



