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EQUIPMENT
The University Library, originally selected and arranged by Mr.
Jefferson, and since much enlarged by purchases and donations, now contains
about 50,000 volumes. Students are allowed the use of the books
under the usual restrictions, and the Librarian is present in the library for six
hours daily to attend to their wants. Persons at a distance who may desire
to consult the library by correspondence, can do so on payment of a small
charge, proportioned to the time and labor expended on the research
required, the copying of titles or passages from authors, etc. A letter on
this subject, addressed to James B. Baker, Librarian, will receive attention.
The Lewis Brooks Museum contains collections illustrating the
main sub-divisions of Natural History. Each of the collections is arranged
so as to exemplify the principles of the science, and at the same time offers a
large variety of subjects for advanced study. In Geology the specimens
show all the different kinds of rocks, classified according to mineral character
and the formations in which they occur; the collection of fossils, plaster
casts, maps, etc., is exceptionally fine, and fully illustrates Historical
Geology. In Mineralogy the principles of the science are made plain by
well-chosen suits of specimens, models of crystals, etc.; the general collection
of minerals contains all the important minerals, and many of the rarer
ones, in good specimens. Zoology is well illustrated by a fine and large
collection of mounted skeletons, stuffed animals, dried specimens, plaster casts,
etc. In Botany the collections contain charts, papier-maché models of
flowers and fruits, sections of wood, etc.; the bulk of the collection is in
the form of an herbarium selected from the most important and interesting
botanical regions of the world. In addition to the above, a beginning has
been made of a collection to illustrate the geology and mineralogy of the
State of Virginia, and this will be increased as rapidly as possible.
The Astronomical Observatory is situated upon an elevation known
as Mount Jefferson, which furnishes an unobstructed horizon. The principal
building is a rotunda, forty-five feet in diameter, and contains the great
Clark refractor of twenty-six-inch aperture. The building and instrument
are the gift of Leander J. McCormick, Esq., of Chicago. The computing
rooms are adjoining and contain clock, chronograph, etc., and a working
library. In a smaller building are a three-inch Fauth transit and a four-inch
Kahler equatorial.
The Chemical Laboratory is a building planned and erected for the
purpose. It is completely fitted with the most approved appliances, and
stocked with apparatus, models, materials and specimens. The commodious
lecture-room, with work and store-rooms attached, is provided with every
convenience for exhibiting a complete series of experiments illustrating the
lectures on General Chemistry. The large room assigned to Analytical
Chemistry will accommodate fifty working students, and is furnished with
work-tables, gas, water, and all proper laboratory fixtures; and all requisite
apparatus, chemicals, minerals, materials for analysis, etc., are kept
constantly supplied by home purchase and importation.
The Museum of Industrial Chemistry, contained in the same building,
consists of a very large number of specimens, collected at much expense
and pains in this country, England, France and Germany, to illustrate the
products and processes of Chemistry Applied to the Arts and Manufactures,
and is so arranged as to be a most valuable aid to the student of Industrial
Chemistry. (See page 35.)
The Physical Laboratory consists of four connected rooms, one of
which is also used as a lecture-room. One of them is permanently darkened,
and in two others the light may be excluded when it is desired. A
fourth apartment is so supported on massive piers as to be practically insulated
as regards sensible tremors. The needful appliances, in the way of
fixtures and apparatus for Physical experiment and research, have been so
far supplied as to furnish ample opportunities in laboratory work for undergraduates,
and valuable facilities for the advanced student in Practical Physics.
(See page 34.)
The Biological Laboratory is well provided with instruments for the
gross and minute dissection of animals and plants; microscopes, microtomes,
reagents and materials for the staining and mounting of preparations;
apparatus for photography and microphotography, and other necessary appliances,
not only for student work, but for investigation and research as well.
In addition to the large and valuable collections of the Brooks Museum,
an abundant supply of other necessary specimens and material is furnished.
A carefully-selected and renewed library of reference is attached to the
laboratory, and students have access to a number of leading biological and
agricultural journals, thus acquiring practice in the intelligent use of current
literature.
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