Natural History. — Mineralogy. 405 
sand choice specimens, intended for the study of mineralogy, 
and arranged in the manner best adapted for answering that 
purpose, is, at the same time, one of the most complete that is 
known. It is recommended by the excellence and interest of 
the specimens of which it is composed, by the prodigious num- 
ber of crystals which it contains, and of which the greater num- 
ber combine with the merit of extreme rarity that of perfect 
regularity, and by the great advantage of owing its formation 
and arrangement to the assiduous and enlightened care of M. 
Haiiy. Connoisseurs will especially attach a great degree of 
importance to a methodical arrangement made by M. Haiiy 
himself, who has classed, named, and labelled them with his 
own hand, even to the smallest pieces. He has had the pa- 
tience to place them all upon wooden stands, in which he has 
fixed them with wax, and thus procured the advantage of ha- 
ving the crystalline forms disposed according to their mutual 
relations. Each of the stands has, besides, a ticket attached to 
it, on which are pointed out the name of the variety, its locality, 
and sometimes even its principal characters ; so that the exact 
summary of all these tickets, or the methodical catalogue of the 
collection, would itself form a short treatise on the science. At 
the head of the series relative to the different species, there are 
specimens which present the primitive form of the substance, or 
at least the indications of its mechanical division, the effects of 
refraction, &c. They are those which M. Haiiy has employed 
in the determination of the characters which he calls Specific. 
Then come the varieties in the order of their greatest perfection, 
and the specimens which point out the geological relations of 
the species. 
Such a cabinet as this deserves to be preserved as a monu- 
ment of the science, and it would be worthy of a Government 
to purchase it, for the purpose of depositing it in an establish 
ment of public instruction. 
To the principal collection are attached other accessory col- 
lections, equally valuable in themselves as from the views with 
which they have been formed ; such as a numerous suite of 
rocks, named and arranged mineralogically ; a series of precious 
stones and gems, all mounted in gold ; a complete collection of 
wooden models, for the study of crystallography ; and, lastly, 
„ the entire assortment of instruments necessary in mineralogy. 
