DEPARTMENT OF MINERALOGY. 143 



Department of Mineralogy. 



The Staff and its Duties. 



The staff of the Mineral Department consists of the Keeper, 

 three Assistants, four Attendants, and one Boy-Attendant. 

 The duties are distributed as follows : — 



Three Assisto^nts. — To two are assigned most of the scientific 

 and executive work relating to the collection of mineral 

 species ; this includes the preliminary examination of speci- 

 mens submitted for purchase or exchange, the registration 

 and incorporation of those recently acquired, the determina- 

 tion of the physical and geometrical characters, and the 

 preparation of species-, variety- and locality-labels. 



To the third is assigned similar work relative to the speci- 

 mens of rochs, and also the chemical analysis of both 

 m,inerals and rocks. 



Though a mineralogist can no longer satisfactorily attempt 

 both to keep abreast of scientific knowledge and to undertake 

 original research in more than one of the three main branches 

 of the subject (physical, petrological, and chemical), such a 

 sharp limitation of the work of the assistants would be 

 contrary to the interests of the Museum ; hence, as far as 

 possible, it is arranged that each assistant has the opportunit}' 

 of acquiring a general knowledge of the specimens preserved 

 in the Department, and of thus becoming more useful than 

 he otherwise would be during the absence of his colleagues. 



Four Attendants and One Boy- Attendant. — The general 

 duties of dusting the cases in the gallery, assisting the officers 

 in the arrangement of specimens, &c., are performed by the 

 attendants and boy-attendant. 



Further, one of the attendants is specially employed in the 

 preparation of thin sections of minerals and rocks for ex- 

 amination with the microscope ; a second is charged with 

 the arrangement and cataloguing of the departmental library ; 

 a third is specially responsible for the careful unpacking and 

 repacking of specimens received at the Museum for exami- 

 nation, and gives assistance in the chemical laboratory. The 

 boy-attendant is charged with the sale of the departmental 

 guides, attends on the superior officials as required, and does 

 a large part of the simpler mechanical work, such as the 

 filling of trays with clean cotton-wool. 



General. 



The systematic investigation and description of the 

 Mineral Collections have been continued during the past 

 year. 



