mammalian
characteristics, a bat's wings, enormous eyes, and a bird's neck. In
the westerly cases of the room the visitor should notice the fossil
sea lizards divided into two families--the Plesiosaurus, and the
Ichthyosaurus. The plesiosaurus was an extraordinary reptile, of
gigantic size, the length of whose neck exceeded that of its body and
tail. It had ribs like a chameleon, and the body of a whale: it
chiefly inhabited the water; but as the visitor will find the chief
types of these extraordinary extinct reptiles in the next room, he may
at once, with the comfortable assurance that the Weald of Kent yields
nothing in the present day like the wealden lizard, turn to the table
cases of the room, in which he-will find further varieties of

MINERALS.

The southern range of tables is numbered from 14 to 23; and the
northern range from 38 to 47. The first three tables of the southern
range (14-16) are covered with the varieties of Oxides of Iron,
including magnetic iron ore; natural magnets; the salam-stell of the
East Indies; iron glance from Elba, Vesuvius, and Stromboli, some of
which are very beautiful; brown iron stones, including the variety
used as hair powder by natives of South Africa; and the pea ores that
fell in a shower, on the 10th of August, 1841, in Hungary. In the next
case (17) are the Oxides of Copper; bismuth; red oxide of zinc; cobalt
ochres; oxide of uranium; and pitch ore. In the nineteenth case are
the Oxides of Lead; and in the twentieth are the first of the oxides
of electro-negative substances. This case contains the valuable
alumina known as noble corundite, and to jewellers in its formations
of ruby, sapphire, and the oriental emerald, topaz, and amethyst.
Herein also is the kind of corundum known as emery, and esteemed for
its polishing properties. In this case also are the Aluminates of
Magnesia, including the sapphirine; the chrysoberyls from Brazil, and
those inclosed in quartz and felspar with garnets. The next four cases
(20-23) are loaded with the varieties of the Acid of Silicium or
silica, which constitutes the greater part of hard stones and minerals
with which the earth is encrusted. It is nearly pure in the rock
crystal, of which there are many specimens in the first case (20),
including those crystals called Bristol and Gibraltar diamonds,
cairngorms, the smoky topaz; rock crystals inclosing foreign
substances, and in a wrought state: of these Dr. Dee's snow-stone is
one. Th