Collecting
In order to make a collection valuable two or three rules must be observed. In the case of rocks, collect large enough samples so that they will be characteristic, and clear in their make-up. The standard size for rocks is 3 × 4 inches on top and one to two inches thick according to the nature of the rock. Tiny fragments do not give the character of the rock as well, and they are all the time getting into confusion. Every specimen should be labeled, with at least its name and the exact locality from which it came. Composition, structural features, associations, and classification may be added, the more the better; for each item adds to the information and interest of the specimen. One may make his own labels or have printed blanks, and may put as much care and art into the labels as desired, the more the better. One thing is very important and that is to have a number on the label with a corresponding one on the specimen, so that in case they should get separated, they may be readily brought together, even by one who is not familiar with the individual specimens. Lastly, give your collection as good a place as possible, either in drawers, boxes or in a case. The specimens are worth being kept in order and where they can be readily seen and compared. Nature is systematic, and there is a reason for the order in which rocks and minerals are taken up. It is desirable either that this order, or some one of the orders of Nature appear in the collection. In this book the metals are the basis of classification, all those minerals primarily related to one of the metals being grouped together.
In collecting minerals, the size of the specimens can not be so regularly followed, but it should be followed when collecting non-crystalline minerals, and when possible. Crystals however are chosen from a variety of points of view, as perfection of form, color, examples of cleavage, twinning, etc.; so that in many cases smaller or larger examples must appear in the collection. It is always desirable that as many variations of a rock or mineral as possible should appear in the collection, and in many cases examples of the matrix from which the crystals came. When crystals are tiny, it is well to place them in vials, that they may not be lost.