150 
BROWN : CATALOGUE OF CALCUTTA METEORITE COLLECTION. 
No. 3 Meteorites. Calcutta, November 1880.) In 1901, T. R. 
Blyth, Assistant Curator, Cicological Survey of India, compiled an 
appendix to P^edden's catalogue. (Catalogue of Meteorites in the 
Indian Museum, Calcutta, to August 1901.) 
Tn these earlier catalogues the meteorites are divided into two 
groTips,— Stones and Irons, and each group is arranged in the order 
in which the specimens were received into the collection. The 
rearrangement of names herein adopted is purely an alphabetical 
one, as this catalogue is intended for reference, though in the taxo- 
nomic classification in the first pages, and in the detailed descrip- 
tion of the individual falls, the system of Rose-Tschermak-Brezina, 
with minor modifications by other authorities, is utilised. It is ad- 
mitted that this system is weak in certain features, yet it is the best 
one available, and it is followed in the description and arrangement 
of nearly all the great collections of Europe and America. 
The names by vvfliich the falls are designated have been most 
carefully chosen, and when they differ from those given in the earlier 
catalogues, it is only because the latter are obsolete, though in every 
instance where this is the case, the former names themselves are also 
supphed. It is higl ly desirable that these should be entirely omitted 
in any future edition, for meteorite literature is already sufficiently 
overburdened by synonpns. The name by which a meteorite is 
distinguished should be that of the nearest named locality in the case 
of new falls so that the place of fall or find may quickly be 
located. 'i'his fact has had to be balanced against historic usage 
and precedence in the case of old falls. It would be quite possible 
to re-name many Indian meteorites, which fell last century, more 
accurately from this point of view than they are known at present, 
tut as such a plan would lead to confusion in and disturbance of 
the very considerable literature which has grown around most of 
them, it was felt best to keep to the names by which they were 
originally known. In the near future I hope to bring out a list of all 
Indian meteorites with exact particulars of their localities as well 
as certain unpublished accounts of the falls of some of them which 
have been foimd in the archives of the Geological Survey office. 
Considerable discrepancy exists amongst various authors with 
regard to dates of fall or find of certain meteorites. Where dates 
given by Oldham or Fedden have been altered, it is only on the 
united testimony of the most authoritative catalogues, confirmed in 
many instances by references to the original accounts themselves. 
