94 
MINEKAL GALLERY. 
Amber. 
Larger 
Mineral 
Specimens. 
Meteorites. 
depending on the amount of change which ha.s taken place, 
and thus being less definite than in the preceding minerals. 
In the variety called Anthracite all traces of the original 
organised structure have disappeared. Amber (41c), in ancient 
times regarded as one of the precious stones, is likewise 
of vegetable origin. It is a fossil resin, chiefly derived 
from trees allied to the pines ; its originally sticky con- 
dition is sufficiently proved by the insects sometimes found 
enclosed. 
In the gallery and pavilion at the east end the visitor will 
find many specimens which, owing to their size, cannot be 
satisfactorily exhibited in the table-cases. 
Among these, attention may be directed to the magnificent 
series of minerals in the wall-cases, and to the specimens of 
Galena and J ade on separate tables ; as well as to the large 
specimen of Gypsum, or Selenite, presented by the late Prince 
Consort, which, with some fine illustrations of Calcite, is ex- 
hibited in a special case. 
Of the four table -cases in the windows of the pavilion, the 
first three contain a series illustrating the various kinds of 
Pseudomorphs, or minerals in which the original constituent 
has been dissolved away and replaced by a new substance 
which preserves the crystalline form of the first. The fourth 
displays a set of specimens selected by Professor Euskin to 
illustrate varieties of Silica. 
The most important feature of the pavilion is the collection 
of Meteorites,* of which the smaller specimens are shown in the 
four central cases. The fall of masses of stone and iron from 
the sky, though observed again and again since the most remote 
ages, was very rarely credited by anyone beside the spectators 
themselves ; and till the beginning of the eighteenth century no 
attempt to collect such specimens for examination and comparison 
was made. In the special guide it is shown how evidence of the 
actual faU of such bodies at length became irresistible, and a 
description is given of the circumstances attending their fall, 
of their general characters, and their chemical composition : 
illustrative specimens, collected together for easy reference, will 
* See " An Introduction to the Study of Meteorites, with a List of the 
Meteorites represented in the Collection." Price sixpence. 
