52 
EAST WING. 
tlieir material : the pre-historic jade was got partly from China, 
partly from the Kuen Lun Mountains on the northern border of 
Thibet; all the white comes from the former country. The 
various shades of colour and the beautiful polish which this 
tough mineral will take are illustrated by specimens in the 
case. The worked specimens from New Zealand, of which there 
are several exhibited, are now rare. An immense water-worn 
mass, found some years ago in Asiatic Eussia, is shown in the 
Pavilion. 
Meerschaum (23g) is the light soft porous mineral used for 
tobacco-pipes : it is a hydrated silicate of magnesium. 
Serpentine (25a) is another hydrated magnesium silicate : the 
ease with which it is worked and takes a good polish, its green 
colour, and varied markings render it much sought for as a 
material for fire-places, tables, and other indoor work : exposed 
to the weather it soon loses its polish. Only specimens illustra- 
ting the purer forms of the mineral are shown in the case. 
Topaz (25d) in its clear varieties is one of the precious stones. 
The crystals from the Urulga river, in Siberia, are remarkably 
fine examples of crystalline development ; they are of a delicate 
brown colour, but are kept covered up, as the action of light 
speedily bleaches them. The yellow crystals from Brazil assume 
a peculiar pink colour when heated, and are then known to 
jewellers as Burnt or Pink Topaz. 
Garnet also belongs to the group of precious stones ; when 
the red is tinged with violet, it is the Almandine and the Syrian 
garnet (from Syriani in Pegu), and when cut en cdbochon, the 
Carbuncle of jewellery (26f); the Cinnamon-stone or Essonite 
is yellow (26e) ; the Pyrope and the Bohemian garnet are 
blood-red (26e) ; Uvarovite is a green chrome-garnet (26h). 
Jadeite (27a) is one of the green stones, which, under the 
name of jade, are wrought into ornaments in China : from jade, 
however, it is distinguished by its chemical composition, struc- 
ture, and higher specific gravity. 
Among the specimens of Epidote (27c) a remarkable suite 
from the Untersulzbachthal is exhibited. 
Mica (28a) is the name given to a group of minerals differing 
mucli from each other in chemical composition and optical pro- 
perties, but having as a common character an easy cleavage in a 
