I BUREAU E.H'iOiunY, 
27 j 
DEPARTMENT OF OEOEltoY,., I 
I : AH ^ ^ 
The collections gathered in the Department of Geology are 
designed to illustrate the history of the earth’s development and 
the materials which form its crust. 
Since, moreover, the science of geology has both a theoretical 
and a practical side, a division of the collections has been made 
in order to present these two phases of the subject. Those illus- 
trating geology as a theoretical science are to be found in the 
Division of Systematic Geology; those showing it in its relations 
to human arts and industries, in the Division of Economic 
Geology. 
DIVI510N OF SYSTEMATIC GEOLOGY. 
This division comprises six sections, located as follows: 
Paleontology: Alcove 103, Halls 35, 36 and 5g. 
Geographic Geology: Halls 60 and 61. 
Meteorites: Hall 62. 
Systematic Mineralogy: Halls 63 and 64. 
Structural and Dynamical Geology: Hall 65. 
Lithology: Hall 66. 
These sections illustrate in order, first, the life of the globe 
from its earliest beginnings to its latest and highest forms; sec- 
ond, the configuration and mode of formation of the surface 
of the earth; third, the bodies which come to us from regions 
outside the earth and which furnish the only material sources 
from which we can learn the composition and structure of the 
heavenly bodies; fourth, the component minerals of the earth’s 
crust, classified according to their chemical composition; fifth, the 
aggregates of these into rocks, and sixth, the effects produced by 
physical forces in forming and shaping the materials of the crust. 
The arrangement of specimens under each section follows 
that of some standard text-book on the subject, so that each sec- 
tion may be considered as illustrative of such text-books, or on the 
other hand these may be referred to for a fuller description of the 
specimens or discussions of the subjects presented. 
