Dr. J. W. Evans — Presidential Address. 555 



it is impossible to assimilate effectively publications dealing with the 

 geology of other parts of tbe world without being able to refer to 

 collections of the rocks, minerals, and fossils described. 



The rocks, for instance, of the Dominion of South Africa are of 

 the greatest scientific and economic interest, and many important 

 communications have been published with regard to them. They 

 present at the same time many features which distinguish them from 

 European types, but I am not aware of any museum in this country 

 where they are adequately illustrated. 1 



Such collections should include not only rock specimens in the 

 ordinary sense of the term, but also examples of metalliferous veins 

 and other mineral deposits which present important distinctive 

 features. 



In the Imperial Institute there are at the present time collections 

 from most of the different constituent parts of the British Empire, 

 which fulfil to a certain extent these requirements, and they have 

 been employed by myself and others in demonstrations to the 

 Geologists' Association in illustration of the geology of Peninsular 

 India and different parts of Africa; but they are very incomplete, 

 having been collected with the view of exhibiting, not so much the 

 character of the rocks and mode of occurrence of the minerals, as the 

 economic resources of the British Empire. 



This is, of course, a function of the very greatest importance, but 

 collections of minerals of intrinsic economic significance gathered 

 together to assist in the development of the resources of the Empire 

 should be organized on a different plan. They should be arranged, 

 not according to the areas in which they occur, but with reference to 

 the products obtained from them. The object of such collections is 

 to enable those who are in want of materials for commercial purposes 

 to ascertain where they can be obtained, and of what quality and ;it 

 what price. For this purpose different samples of the same or 

 similar ores or other products should be placed together irrespective 

 of their origin, and each specimen should be accompanied by an assay 

 or analysis, and such information with regard to its source and mode 

 of occurrence as will enable the inquirer to form an opinion as to 

 whether it will be likely to satisfy his requirements. 



The lithological and palaeontological collections which I am now 

 advocating should, on the other hand, be arranged so that each group 

 of specimens illustrates an area possessing distinctive geological 

 features. Little has, hitherto, yet been done in this direction. The 

 Mineral Department of the Natural History Museum possesses 

 a large and extensive collection of foreign and colonial lithological 

 specimens arranged according to localities, which is too little known, 

 but it is naturally very unequal and incomplete, some countries being 

 comparatively well represented and others scarcely at all. The 

 Geological Department of the Museum is well provided with 

 palseontological specimens, but these are arranged according to their 

 biological affinities, and they might well be supplemented by 



1 [There is a very complete collection of the rocks of South Africa in the 

 Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge. — Ed. Geol. Mag.] 



