xxxiv
EXHIBITION OF 1851.
XXVII. Manufactures in Minoral Substances, used for building or decoration, as in Marble ,Slate, Porphyries, Cements, Artificial Stones , &c.
XXVIII. Manufactures from Animal and Vegetable Substances, not being Woven or Felted,or included in other Sections.
XXIX. Miscellaneous Manufactures and Small Wares.
The section of Fine Arts formed a Class by itself:—
Arrangement of ike Goods.
It was originally contemplated to have arranged the whole of the articlesexhibited, both Foreign and British , according to a philosophical classification,without reference to the country of production; but in consequence of the delaywhich occurred in receiving from Foreign countries complete statements either ofthe space they proposed actually to fill, or of the space likely to be wanted for theseveral Classes of Articles, it became necessary to adopt a geographical division asthe basis of the general arrangement, and to arrange the articles of each nation bythemselves, excepting such machinery as required to be exhibited in motion. TheForeign Articles occupied the Eastern half, and the British Articles the Westernhalf of the Building; the Foreign and the Colonial portions being arranged accordingto their latitudes, the countries lying nearest to the Equator being placed nearestto the Transept.
Subject to these principles, the arrangements on the British side were carried outas follows:—
The Local Committees were requested, in making their allotments of space, tofurnish an abstract, showing the number of Exhibitors and the amount of spacerequired in each of the thirty Classes, which, however, from the different inter-pretations put upon the Classification by so many different persons, only served asan approximation.
They were also requested to furnish another return of the names and addressesof the persons to whom they had allotted space, thus providing materials for anindex of the intending Exhibitors of the United Kingdom , which was printed forthe use of the Executive Committee and their officers. When the various returnshad been completed, and their accuracy ascertained, the vouchers were sorted intothe thirty Classes, and the amount of space required by each Chiss was calculated;after which it was possible to decide the position to be occupied by each Class ofthe British division of the Exhibition. This was eflectcd, as far as practicable,upon the following principles:—
1. That the lighter articles should be placed in the galleries, and the heavier onthe ground floor.
2. That the machinery should be placed towards the North side of the Building,where steam-pipes had been provided, for that part which was to be displayed mmotion.
3. That the raw produce should stand towards the southern part of the Building"