that in the British Museum as the richest in material, taking the mass of t! 
A al, tal : 
«Fea m 
_ Of aerolites not common to the two. 
. 
NN. S. Maskelyne on Aerolitics. 65. 
as regards their constituent minerals, and the manner in which 
those minerals are mixed with each other, possess almost every 
one of them a very distinct individuality. Moreover, every day 
that the collection of specimens representing the older meteoric 
falls is deferred, adds to the difficulty of forming a complete se- 
ries of them. It was on these accounts that the small but valu- 
able collection that three years ago existed in the British Muse- 
um, has since that period been very largely increased. ‘Towards 
the furthering of this object, most valuable assistance has been 
rendered by Governors of Colonies and Indian Presidencies, who 
have exerted their authority with a liberality that has been in 
one case, indeed, rivalled by the patriotism of a valuable and 
-learned body, the Asiatic Society of Caleutta. The result of 
this, and of the considerable acquisitions made by purchase, has 
been that the aerolitic collection, which is an appanage to the 
Mineral Department in the British Museum, has now risen in 
point of material into the foremost place among such collections © 
in the world.” 
To accumulate so great a material is, however, but one step 
towards the end which should be held in view in the formation 
of a scientific collection. The next step consists in making that 
material available for the use of science, partly by a proper prep- 
aration and exhibition of the specimens, partly by a complete 
description of them. I propose in this and subsequent papers 
to contribute something towards the last of these objects. 
_ Yet, when one approaches the subject with a view to undertake ~ 
investigations in it, one cannot help feeling some disappointment 
as well at the incompleteness of the.chemical results that hay 
been hitherto obtained, as at the unsatisfactory position of ow: 
knowledge concerning the origin and the sources of meteorites 
Aerolitical science has to deal with the circumstances that attent 
the fall of a meteorite, no less than with its mechanical condition 
and its chemical composition; and from the data thus acquired 
it has to arrive at conclusions regarding the origin, the motion, 
ers 
Be AoF 
_ and the cosmical relations of the foreign matter that thus wand 
_ 48 It were into the atmosphere of our earth. 
e general literature of the subject is becomin g very consid- 
le. Besides the tables and reasearches published by Mr. 
_* Every great collection has its own characteristic merits. If I may bg of 
