THE MUSEUM. 
47 
were the smallest Turkish coins of silver, and 
were replaced by copper paras, which are also 
rare. This collection was made by Mr. 
Reichardt during thirty years’ residence in 
Damascus. 
The mineralogical collection of Mr. W. S. 
Beekman, of West Medford, Mass., is the 
largest in that section. It includes some very 
fine specimens of green prehnite from the old 
Charlestown locality, first worked by Prof. 
Dana. It also contains some good specimens 
of crocidolite. 
RARITIES IN VARIOUS COLLECTIONS. 
A lady in New York (whose name we with¬ 
hold) now owns a valuable uncut emerald, 
set as a pendant, which was once owned by 
one of the Peruvian Incas. Its history can be 
traced back to its royal owner. 
The original lease of the little farm, Ellis- 
land, which Robert Burns, the famous Scotch 
poet, tried to work but made a failure of 
in Scotland, and subsequent release, in his 
own writing, is in the collection of Mr. C. F. 
Gunther, of Chicago, Ill. 
In the museum of the Wyoming Historical 
and Geological Society , of Wilkes Barre, Pa., 
are ten earthen pots of the Atlantic coast 
Indians, mostly found in Pennsylvania. The 
majority of these are nearly entire, and one 
specimen is absolutely perfect. Such vessels 
are extremely rare, and this series is probably 
the largest in the country. 
SALES. 
The numismatic collection of the late Rev. 
George C. Athole was advertised to take 
place in New York on June 18th, last. The 
collection consisted of 674 lots, including a 
choice selection of Saxon, English, Scotch 
and Irish coins, and a fine series of the coin¬ 
age of the Isle of Man. Catalogued by Mr. 
Lyman H. Low. 
We have received Mr. W. Elliot Wood¬ 
ward’s catalogue of the celebrated Randall 
collection of coins, which is to be sold in 
New York on June 29th and 30th, and July 1st. 
There are 1749 lots. 
The T. Shadford Walker collection of old 
Wedgwood was disposed of at the auction 
rooms of Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods, 
London, April 22d and 23d. Among the 
pieces sold, we notice the following : Portrait 
of Washington, in black and white, ^17, 17s.; 
Prince and Princess of Orange, pink grounds, 
original ormolu frames, ^34, 13s.; statuettes 
of Voltaire and Rousseau, in basalte, ^61; 
blue and white vase, with muses, by Flaxman, 
^55; two vases, in black and white, ^60; 
plaque, green ground, a Bacchante, ^67, 4s.; 
oval jardiniere, green ground, ^80; portrait 
of Dr. Erasmus Darwin, ^19; large portrait 
of Boyle, ^45 ; oval frame, with medallions, 
^110; pair of vases, with three-color grounds, 
^120, 15s.; blind-man’s-buff vase, with mar¬ 
ble pedestal, ^60, 18s.; Medusa, by Flaxman, 
^49, 7s. We hear that a few pieces from this 
collection are likely to find their way to the 
United States. 
?hc 
Mr. Editor: In the May number of The 
Museum, Prof. Gentry, in an article entitled 
“ Rare and Curious Birds' Nests" speaks of 
the nest of a humming bird which was made 
of a soft, woolly substance, resembling a 
species of fungus. A friend of mine has in 
his possession a nest of the ruby-throat hum¬ 
ming bird, made of the same material as Prof. 
Gentry describes, covered over with moss, to 
make it resemble the bark of a tree. 
Willie E. Hugg, 
Sec. Chap. 762, A. A., 
Baltimore, Md. 
Paterson, N. J., June nth, 1885. 
Mr. Editor: At a special meeting held 
for the purpose of perfecting the arrangements 
for our first “ Field Meeting,” it was decided 
that we should hold it on May 28th, Prof. 
Agassiz’s birthday. The day having arrived, 
