90 
MINERAL GALLERY. 
Amber. 
Larger 
Mineral 
Specimess. 
Meteorites. 
depends on tlie amount of change which has taken place, and is 
thus not so definite as 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, cliieily derived from 
trees allied to the existing pines ; its originally viscous con- 
dition is sufficiently proved by the insects sometimes found 
enclosed in it. 
In the gallery and pavilion at the east end the visitor will 
find many specimens which, owing to their size, cannot be 
satisfactorily exliibited in the table-cases. 
Among these, attention may be called to the magnificent 
series of minerals in the wall-cases, and to the specimens of 
galena and jade on separate tables ; also to the large specimen 
of gypsum or selenite, presented by the late Prince Consort, 
which, with some fine illustrations of calcite, is exhibited in a 
special case. 
Of tlie four table-cases in the windows of the pavilion, the 
first three contain a series illustrating the various kinds of 
pseudomorphs, or minerals in wliich 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 fall of such bodies at length became irresistible, and a 
description is given of the circumstances attending their fall, of 
their general characters, and of their chemical composition: 
illustrative specimens, collected together for easy reference, will 
* Soe " An Introduction to the Study of Meteorites, with a List of the 
Meteorites represented in the Collection." Price sixpence. 
