Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 69.djvu/32

28 from these treasuries he filled the gaps, and enriched the precious contents of his own. His collection is one of increasingly rapid growth, and illustrates the quantitative results of single-minded effort, precision of attack at vulnerable points and prodigality of purchasing power in a scientific warfare where the victor only receives the congratulations of his generous competitors.

Looking over Professor Ward's recently published catalogue, some concluding facts in this summary are interesting and convincing. In an introductory paragraph of his catalogue (1904) the author says: "The geographic sources of the collection are world-wide. Australasia and Asia, Africa and South America, are represented each by 95 per cent, of all their known meteorites, while North America and Europe bring up the train with 99 per cent, of the former and 97 per cent, of the latter. No collection in the world can say of itself more than this. Attention is particularly drawn to the series from Japan, Australia, Russia and Mexico. It is only within the last decade that the rare and interesting meteorites from these countries have been largely distributed. To-day it is true that in no collection in any one of these four countries are there so many kinds from that country as are represented in this collection." The catalogue further notices that in this remarkable collection thirty falls, irons and stones, represent the largest single piece of that fall to-day known.

The final impression left from an inspection of the Ward-Coonley collection is one of admiration and of natural astonishment that so complete an assemblage of these valuable and coveted wanderers from space could have been gathered together by the activity and industry of one individual. Their acquisition places the institution that receives them among the four most important meteorite depositories in the world.