El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-12-16

MeteOrs Are Responsible
For Many Upheavals Of
Nature.
CRATER OF CANYON
BIABLO DUE TO ONE


appreciate bearing upon the every
day affairs Of the American peo-
Die than that of the department Of
geology, particularly is this true Of
the divisions Of physical and chemical
geology and mlneralOgy- The studleS
that have been made at the National
museum in these fields Of inquiry have
become a most important part of the
sciences of mineralOgy and physical
and chemical geology. Many of the
text books OF these sciences are based
largely upon the work Of the National
muesum. and no recent text book has
appeared without having incorporated
into 1t many evidences Of the useful
ness OF the work Of the museum
Determines Durability Of Stone.
fCr many years the department OF
eeology has been unqer the olrecllon
Of DIT. George p Merrill In the line OF
economic geology he has done brilliant
work In gathering together into com
pact form much uncataloged knOwl-
edge. Ever since the census of 1880
he has been engaged in a study of the
qualities, kinds and output OF building
stone. giving particular attention 10
the question Of durability. Through
him the National museum was the first
institution in America to undertake
systematic study Of stone as affected
by conditions of our ever-varyiEg eli
maze me result or TINS study was
the publication Of a. National museum
report covering all phases of the Ques-
non Of building stOue-a report which
~ -E=aeA- --EAA d. AAAE L44laA a4A-ADAA Ag VA
the subject In connection with the
work Of ascertaining the Weatherilg
qualities Of stone. DR.. Merrill made
series OF inVeSti cations regarding the
weathering Of rocks in general. That
led TO study of the origins Of soils,
and TINS in turn TO the general subj ect
or rock and soils In the United States.
NJ nile engaged In this work DR.. Mer-
rill became impressed with the great
need Of nauthoritative work on the
nonmetallic minerals of the country.
IN t1e course OF this study ne has
gathered together a great series OF
nonne talllc mineral specimens. and has
built up the finest. largest and most
81 stematic collection OF. economic non
scum in the world His guide to the
study OF these minerals, printed as a
museum report is one Of the most /
widely useful economic publications !
ever published by any museum. The 4
National museum has perhaps more IA !
ciities for building up its geological }
specimens one OF the reasons for this
Is that the geological survey, which is
engaged In a most carefully study Of /
the mineral deposits Of the United /
States. places all Of its surplus speci-
mems in the museum.
Many 5feteOrffes.
The department OF geology has one
OF the largest collections OF meteOrites
In the world. It contains some 500 4,
specimens, representing approximately
$50 distinct falls or finds. The most
DldDlE s specimens LllS cQlLEGIiDu are
the historic Tucson meteoric iron, the
Alegan stony meteor which fell in
Michigan in July. 1888, and the unique 4
Bishopville stone. discovered in 1913
A. special effort has been made to Sc
cure representations Of all American
falls. though little attention is paid to
fragments too small for study
Canyon Made by Meteor.
The Allegan meteOrite weighs so
There is also a copy Of the
Peary neteorites weighing several tons,
which IelI In Greenland many years
ago This IS said to be the largest (
visitor which has ever been
discovered, although 1T is believed that !
the crater ar Canyon Diablo, Ariz.. is
not the result Of volcanic action, but .
was made by the fall of giant me
teorite which has been buried far below
The surface The fact that one me-
-eor1te Weighing 1900 pounds, and
weights, have been found there. seems
10 bear out this theory. It is said that
the meteorite collection OF the National
museum IS second only to that Of the
Government museum in Vienna.
The collections in the department OF
geology range from huge meteoric
giant animals OF antediluvian days,
Town TO tiny grains Of sand and mi
lure teeth OF fossil mammals. The to- I
al number Of specimens amounts to
Millions, and all OF these are requisite 4
or the purposes Of study BY the geOlO- /
5ist and mineralogist- If the whole I
objection, or even q. major portion of !
Z were placed on exhibition, the re-
ut would be Confusion worse con /
ounded' for the layman visitor. He III
would be overwhelmed by the mass OF 8
Dparent duplicatlons and would 90 t
way disappointed The museum auth g
rites have hit upon a plan of select {
1g only representative specimens,
ypical Of large classes. for exhibition. d
ven child may look at them with ! o
rofit.
Collection Of Precious Stones.
Ore series Of cases may contain -
objection Of sh Of the precious and .
stones in existence. An :
tiler may contain a collection OF all !;
Re different kinds Of sand to be found -
the world Here one may study the 4
ifferenf kinds OF stone, from the gran ~
e. formed far back in the Archaean =
&c OF the. world TO the marls formed u
o recently, geologically speaking. in i
be Pleistocene age. Here IS exhibited
section Of the Marengo cave OF In g
lana showing stalactites and stalag- CT
lites caused by the dropping Of water
-om above, just as the icicle and the Il
e upon the ground below are formed | C;
= the dropping Of water from the roof "a
ooTe. al
History OF Crude Petroleum. OF
In another case is a large series Of "a
,cks formed like concrete. Here one
ay learn the history Of crude petro- ! cs
um- The exhibit comprises some 800 b,
implies, among them an original pack ID
&c OF the medicinal 0ip' from Little | 4
ennox creek. Kentucky, put up in 4,
$50. The collection is arranged to / -
low the variations in specific gravity ~
oil. the variations in color. the geo -
gical ages in which petroleum was -
rmed. and Its geographical distribu- -
on. A comparative series. iIlustrat- III
e Fhe various characteristics or prop
ties Of the many substances, is ar a
nged in one set Of cases, and con- Ia
ins nearly 5000 specimens. Here the al
sitor can get better Idea Of min
ais and their qualities by days
udy than he might get from weeks III
reading. a
While economic geology contributes fl
much Of practical Importance al
applied to the needs Of man, fl
perhaps win not mean more is
humanity in the long run than II
2 careful Investigations made by the tn
ienusts Of the museum in the line fl
historic geology. Although the rise co
geological science in the past cen m
~ has brought about entirely new W
ncepuons as to the story OF the earth w