584 APPENDIX. 



The former occupies the shelves that stretch along the room to the 

 right of the entrance ; it has been considerably augmented and com- 

 pletely classed by the professor of geology. In this new classification 

 the rocks are arranged in natural series ; the name of each series is taken 

 from the predominant component principle. The meteoric stones 

 form the continuation. 



The geographic collections at present occupy the cabinets of which 

 the upper part contains the methodical collection, and also those 

 to the left on entering; it has been much enlarged ; ist. By a series 

 of rocks of the Indian peninsula and island of Ceylon, brought home by 

 M. Leschenault. 2d. By a complete series of earths, constituting the 

 aoil of England, presented by M. Greenough, formerly president of the 

 geological society of London. 3d. By a series of the rocks of the high 

 Alps and Switzerland, presented by counsellor Escher of Zurich, cor- 

 respondent of the Museum, and whose loss the sciences and humanity 

 at present deplore. 



The collection of fossil bones has been augmented by the addition of 

 some interesting fragments, among which we cite the head of a hippo- 

 potamus, presented to the Museum by the grand duke of Tuscany, and 

 a human skeleton enclosed in a calcareous aggregate formed of recent 

 sea sand, and containing some terrestrial and marine shells. This ske- 

 leton was sent from Guadeloupe by M. l'Herminier, on the demand of 

 his excellency the minister for naval alfairs ; it is more complete than 

 that in the museum of London. 



M. Brongniart has deemed it proper to make some arrangements in 

 the distribution of the mineral species in the cabinets; thus several 

 specimens are no longer in the place pointed out in our description 

 of the gallery; but it will be easy to find them out, as in general 

 the series of species remain the same. M. Brongniart having confined 

 himself to the re-establishment of the methodical order in the varieties 

 of each of those formerly placed on the shelves. These varieties are 

 now grouped in vertical lines. Many duplicates have been removed 

 from the cabinets to form the commencement of a new collection 

 for study, disposed in a set of drawers in the middle of the room 

 containing the metals. In this collection, which is destined for the 

 lectures of the professor, the order of the specimens corresponds exactly 

 with that of his demonstrations ; but considering the small number of 

 duplicates, the series would have been very incomplete had not 



