Annual Meeting. 342 [May 2, 



has to be seriously considered. We advocate, therefore, in this 

 report, the free use of specimens in the same guarded way as 

 books, and we hope most fervently that the Boston Society of 

 Natural History may be the first institution in the world to place 

 proper reference collections with properly instructed attendants 

 at the command of every person who wishes to study or consult 

 them. 



Mr. W. O. Crosby, assisted by Miss Carter, has finished the 

 mineralogical collection, but in order to make it a complete expo- 

 sition of our mode of arrangement, and of the objects of the Mus- 

 eum it is still necessary to publish a catalogue. 



By careful and systematic work Mr. Crosby has been able to 

 illustrate quite fully all the principal topics of interest in the study 

 of Mineralogy and to him belongs the credit of the details of 

 arrangement and classification. The collection on exhibition is 

 divided into three parts. 



I. COMPAEATIVE MlNERALOGT. 



II. Synopsis of Classification. 



III. Systematic Collection. 



The Comparative Mineralogy (I) occupies the two floor cases 

 in room A, and covers 128 square feet, the Synoptical (II) is con- 

 tained in one wall case and does not fill out the space allotted to 

 it, which is over 26 square feet, the ' Systematic collection 

 (III) occupies the wall cases. There are 5-9 flat or inclined 

 shelves in these, with an outside movable bench for the specta- 

 tor to stand upon in order to view to advantage the specimens 

 placed above the eye line. There are 1000 square feet used for the 

 Systematic collection and this space is well covered. The size 

 of the room is 28X33 by 16 ft. in height, with a gallery, and is 

 large enough not only for the collections as they now stand, but 

 probably for all future expansion, if in accordance with the pres- 

 ent plan. 



(I). In the Comparative Mineralogy the elements are naturally 

 placed first, and these are arranged in a pyramidal form so as to 

 exhibit at the same time both the relative number and also the 

 character of the mineral species contained in Basic, Acidic, and 

 Acidific divisions, and their various relations to each other as 

 given in Professor Dana's classification. 



