No. 16L] 
91 
as on Long Island. Tho heaps of shells on the old village silos of 
the aborigines, are used on Long Island as a manure, and as they 
decay slowly, their fertilizing effects continue for a long time. 
Pyrites, (sulphuret of iron,) a yellow and brilliant ore, which has 
so often, when found, excited expectations of rich gold mines, oc- 
curs in many places in the clay beds of Suffolk county. It is usu- 
ally found in the dark blue clays containing lignite, and in many 
instances the substance of the original vegetable is replaced by this 
beautiful but deceptive mineral. This mineral is so easily distin- 
guished from gold, that it need not be mistaken for that precious 
metal. Gold is so soft that it can be cut by a knife like lead; but 
pyrites is brittle, and so hard as lo strike fire with steel, and when 
put on the fire burns and gives a sulphurous odour. Should this 
mineral be found in large quantities, it might be used with advan- 
tage in the manufacture of copperas and alum. It was seen more 
abundantly at the clay pits on West neck and Little neck, near 
Huntington, than in any other locality. 
Slate Museum of J^atural History. 
In conclusion, it may not be amiss to suggest the propriety of 
erecting a building, specially to accommodate the specimens col- 
lected during the progress of the geological survey; so that they 
may serve to illustrate, in a conspicuous manner, the various natu- 
ral productions of the State. Forty boxes of specimens have al- 
ready been collected in two of the districts, during the past sum- 
mer; and even these, if arranged in the State library rooms, would 
be a great encumbrance. The spacious hall of the Albany Insti- 
tute, which has been generously placed at the service of the geolo- 
gists, and in which the specimens collected are now deposited, 
shews the necessity of the erection of an edifice specially for the 
reception of our rich and varied natural productions. 
Persons who have had opportunities of examining extensive col- 
lections of natural objects, cannot but be aware, that much de- 
pends on their arrangement, so that the light may fall upon them in 
such a manner as to shew them to the best ad vantage. It is there- 
fore desirable, that an edifice should be consti-ucted with special 
reference to this object, A State Museum of Natural History, 
like the British Museum, the Jardin des Plants, or others in Eu- 
rope, would do honor to the State, and be an example worthy of 
imitation by others. 
