3o4 DESCRIPTION OF THE MUSEUM. 



notice first, several specimens of ramose native 

 copper, from the Ural mountains in Siberia ; the 

 beautiful copper pyrites from Bannat ; and above 

 all, those magnificent concretions of green car- 

 bonate of copper, commonly called malachite, 

 which is polished and made into tables, chimney- 

 pieces, and other valuable objects. 



On the shelf immediately below the stage, in 

 the forty-seventh case, where the iron ores begin, 

 we see a numerous collection of stones, the ori- 

 gin of which will long be an inexplicable mys- 

 tery. They are the aerolites, or stones which 

 have fallen from the atmosphere, on the forma- 

 tion of which the learned have hazarded so many 

 theories. It is now well authenticated, that from 

 time to time, and in different countries of the 

 globe, stones fall from the atmosphere, which 

 not only differ from all others known, but which 

 bear a very remarkable resemblance both in 

 aspect and composition to each other. 



Amongst the numerous specimens from the 

 iron mines, which furnish the six following cases, 

 we may remark on the lower shelves some large 

 masses of compact oxydulous iron : these are im- 

 properly called loadstones, and furnish the na- 

 tural magnets which are sold in commerce. The 

 beautiful varieties of oligiste, or specular iron 

 ore., deserve attention on account of their beau- 



