Guide to the nature treasures of New York city; American museum of natural history, New York aquarium, New York zoölogicl park and Botanical garden, Brooklyn museum, Botanic garden and Children's museum . ing hall, was presented to the Museum hy J. Pierpont Mor-gan, a founder and Trustee of the institution. It includesmany large and rare forms of cut and uncut gems, some ofwhich cannot be duplicated. In the wall cases are fine examples of quartz, gypsum,rubellite, jade, calcite, opal, and of Iceland spar whichmakes a double refraction of light rays, thereby causingobjects seen through it to ap
Guide to the nature treasures of New York city; American museum of natural history, New York aquarium, New York zoölogicl park and Botanical garden, Brooklyn museum, Botanic garden and Children's museum . ing hall, was presented to the Museum hy J. Pierpont Mor-gan, a founder and Trustee of the institution. It includesmany large and rare forms of cut and uncut gems, some ofwhich cannot be duplicated. In the wall cases are fine examples of quartz, gypsum,rubellite, jade, calcite, opal, and of Iceland spar whichmakes a double refraction of light rays, thereby causingobjects seen through it to appear double. The collection is especially remarkable for its manyunique specimens. Among these may be mentioned themost perfect large sapphire known, a Babylonian axe-headof banded agate, 4,000 years old, and a wonderful seriesof sapphires, blue, pink, salmon and brown. There is alsoa magnificent series of beryls, a large series of tourmalines,and an immense section of jade from a boulder, but so thinthat it measures not more than an eighth of an inch is also in the collection a great hyacinth with the por-trait of Christ engraved on it, the gift of a Vatican cardinalto a friend. 117. 118 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY The collection numbers more than 2,000 gem stones, ob-jects of precious stone and nearly 2,500 pearls. A partialgraduation in importance and value is obtained by thearrangement of the gems beginning with the diamond atthe extreme south and passing north case by case, in eachinstance the raw material or uncut gem being placed in thecenter of the case and the cut material around it. In its entirety the collection is the most extensive andcarefully selected display of rough and cut stones in ex-istence, and it must always stand as a wonderful monumentto the man who thus generously enriched the AmericanMuseum. Proceed to the SOUTHWEST WING Minerals Adjoining the Gem Hall is the Southwest Wing or Hallof :; At the entrance to the hall i
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