A CHAPTER 
 
 IN 
 
 THE HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 

A CHAPTER 
 
 HISTOEY OF METEOEITES 
 
 BY THE LATE 
 
 WALTER FLIGHT, D.Sc, LOND,, F.R.S, 
 
 WITH SEVEN PLATES AND SIX WOODCUTS. 
 
 ? -, 1 O * 
 
 [Reprinted from the GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE itifi some additional Notes 
 fy tfo Author.] 
 
 LONDON : 
 DULAU & CO., 37, SOHO SQUARE, W. 
 
 1887. 
 
HERTFORD : 
 
 PRINTED BY STEPHEN AUSTIN AND SONS. 
 
UP. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 OF the arduous literary task undertaken by the author, only the 
 first two divisions referred to on pages 1 and 2 namely, digests of 
 the memoirs relating to meteorites published since 1868 are here 
 presented to the student. The remaining divisions, including that 
 which would have dealt with the methods which have been proposed 
 for the chemical analysis of meteorites, and for the discussion of 
 which Dr. FLIGHT was so well qualified, were still unwritten at the 
 time of his death. 
 
 The first 144 pages were printed off twelve years ago, after revision 
 by the author himself, at a time when he looked forward to the 
 speedy completion of the work : the proofs of the remainder have 
 been read and arranged for press, and where needful have been 
 compared with the original memoirs. 
 
 To facilitate reference to the Articles an Index to the names and 
 synonyms of the meteorites has been added. 
 
 THE EDITORS. 
 
 224192 
 
Vll 
 
 3(n a^emoriam. 
 
 WALTER FLIGHT, D.Sc. (LOND.), F.R.S., F.G.S. 
 
 "WALTER FLIGHT was the son of William P. Flight, of Winchester, in 
 which city he was horn on the 21st of January, 1841. He was sent, 
 after a period of pupilage at home, to Queenwood College, Hampshire, 
 in the days when George Edmondson was Head Master, and Tyndall 
 and Debus were the teachers of science. Here he had the good 
 fortune to attract the notice of Prof. Debus, who encouraged the 
 youthful chemist, and in after years remained his constant friend. 
 
 From Queenwood "Walter Flight went to the University of Halle, 
 to pursue his scientific studies, and in the laboratory of Prof. Heintz 
 he specially applied himself to the study of chemistry during the 
 winter session of 1863-64. 
 
 In 1864 and 1865 he entered the University of Heidelberg, where, 
 in the laboratories of the celebrated Professors Bunsen, Kopp, and 
 Kirchhoff, he devoted himself earnestly to acquire that thorough 
 knowledge of the various branches of theoretical and practical chemis- 
 try, and that marked facility for overcoming experimental difficulties, 
 which characterize the practised and careful worker. 
 
 From Heidelberg Flight passed to the University of Berlin, where 
 he remained until 1867, studying and working in Prof. Hofmann's 
 laboratory, and for a time filling the office of his Secretary and Chemi- 
 cal Assistant. 
 
 Returning to England in 1867, he graduated D.Sc., in the Univer- 
 sity of London, and in the following year was appointed by the 
 Senate to the office of Assistant-Examiner under Prof. Debus, F.R.S. 
 (his former teacher at Queenwood). 
 
 On the 5th September, 1867, Dr. Flight was appointed an Assistant 
 in the Mineralogical Department of the British Museum, where, under 
 the direction of Professor Nevil Story Maskelyne, M.A., F.R.S., the 
 Keeper of Mineralogy, he carried on a series of researches into the 
 chemical composition of the mineral constituents of meteorites and 
 the occluded gases they contained. 
 
 Many of the methods by which he carried out these investigations 
 were originated by him in the course of his researches, and displayed 
 in a remarkable degree his skill and ingenuity in chemical manipula- 
 tion. 
 
viii Obituary Notice. 
 
 Shortly after this date he was appointed Examiner in Chemistry 
 and Physics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and in 1876 
 Examiner to the Royal Military Academy, Cheltenham. 
 
 For several years Dr. Flight served on the " Luminous Meteors 
 Committee" of the British Association, to which he gave much valuable 
 assistance. 
 
 Between the years 1864 and 1883 he was author of numerous 
 original papers; that relating to the Cranbourne, Rowton, and 
 Middlesborough Meteorites appeared in the Philosophical Transac- 
 tions : his researches were also referred to by Prof. Story Maskelyne 
 in two papers on the mineral constituents of the Busti, Manegaum, 
 and Breitenbach Meteorites, read before the Royal Society between 
 1870-71. 
 
 In January, 1875, he commenced to publish in the Geological 
 Magazine a series of articles, entitled "A Chapter in the History of 
 Meteorites," of which twelve appeared in that year; nine supple- 
 mental essays followed in 1882, and a final one in February, 1883. 
 These articles form the substance of the present work, some slight 
 additions only having been made by the author to the first part 
 printed in 1875. 
 
 In 1880, Dr. Flight married Miss Kate Fell, daughter of Dr. Fell, 
 of Ambleside. 
 
 He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on June 7th, 1883. 
 
 In 1884 he was seized by illness which prostrated his mental 
 powers and rendered it needful for him to resign his appointment 
 in the British Museum in June, 1885; but notwithstanding all that 
 medical skill or the affection of friends could devise, he succumbed 
 on the 4th of November, 1885, leaving his widow and three young 
 children to deplore his early loss. 
 
 Dr. Flight enjoyed the regard and esteem of a very large circle of 
 scientific men, with many of whom he was on terms of intimate 
 friendship. It is to these more especially that this little Book is 
 dedicated as the last Memorial of a life full of promise, but all too 
 early brought to an abrupt conclusion. 
 
IX 
 
 LIST OF PAPERS 
 PUBLISHED BY DR. WALTER FLIGHT. 
 
 Ueber Darste^ng und Zusammensetzung des jodsauren Kalks. Zeitschr. Gesammt. 
 Naiurwiss. Halle, 1864. 
 
 Ueber die thermoelectrische Spammng verschiedener Mineralien. Ann. Chem. 
 Pharm. Bd. 135, and Phil Mag. vol. 30, 1865. 
 
 On the Chemical Composition of a Coin of Bactria (copper-nickel alloy). Numismatic 
 Chronicle, vol. viii. p. 305, 1868; Pogg. Ann. Bd. 139, 1870. 
 
 [ With Prof. N. S. Maskelyne.] Mineralogical Notices : No. 1, On the Formation 
 of Basic Cupric Sulphates. 2, Opal from Waddela Plain, Abyssinia. 
 3, Francolite from Cornwall. 4, Epidote and Serpentine from lona. 5, Yivia- 
 nite. 6, Cronstedtite. 7, Pholerite. Journ. Chem. Soc. vol. ix. 1871. 
 
 [With Prof. N. S. Maskelyne.] Mineralogical Notices continued : No. 8, Isopyre. 
 9, Percylite. 10, Vanadinite. 11, Uranite. 12, Analyses of some pisolitic 
 iron ores from North Wales. 13, Prasine. Journ. Chem. Soc. vol. x. 1872. 
 
 [With Prof. N. S. Maskelyne.] Ueber die Destillationsmethode zur Bestimmung 
 Kieselsaure. Eead before the Naturforscherversammlung, held at Wiesbaden, 
 September, 1873. 
 
 [With Prof. N. S. Maskelyne.] Ueber die Farbe der Diamanten. Read before the 
 Naturforscherversammlung, held at Wiesbaden, September, 1873. 
 
 [With Prof. N. S. Maskelyne.] Mineralogical Notices, continued : No. 14, Caledo- 
 nite. 15, Lanarkite. Journ. Chem. Soc. vol. xii. 1874. 
 
 [With Prof. N. S. Maskelyne.] On the Character of the Diamantiferous Rock of 
 South Africa. Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. 30, 1874. 
 
 [With Prof. N. S. Maskelyne.] On Andrewsite and Chalkosiderite. Journ. Chem. 
 Soc. vol. xiii. 1875. 
 
 An Examination of Methods for effecting the Quantitative Separation of Iron 
 Sesquioxide, Alumina and Phosphoric Acid. Journ. Chem. Soc. xiii. 1875. 
 
 Examination of two new Amalgams, and a Specimen of Native Gold. Phil. Mag. 
 vol. ix. 1880. 
 
 Contributions to our Knowledge of the Composition of Alloys and Metal-work, for 
 the most part Ancient. Journ. Chem. Soc. vol. xli. 1882. 
 
 On the Action of Sodium Hydrate and Carbonate on Feldspars and Wollastonite. 
 Journ. Chem. Soc. vol. xli. 1882. 
 
 Report of an Examination of the Meteorites of Cranbourne, in Australia ; of Rowton 
 in Shropshire ; and of Middlesborough, in Yorkshire. Proceed. Roy. Soc. Lon. 
 vol. 33, 1882 ; Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. vol. 3, 1883. 
 
 Two New Mineral Species, Evigtokite and Liskeardite. Journ. Chem. Soc. vol. 
 
 xliii. 1883. 
 Examination of the Meteorite which fell on the 16th February, 1883, at Alfianello, 
 
 in the district of Yerolannova, in the province of Brescia, Italy. Proc. Roy. 
 
 Soc. vol. 35, 1883. 
 
 [With Mr. George Murray.] Examination of Mr. A. Stephen Wilson's " Sclerotia" 
 of Phytophthora infestans. Journ. of Botany, 1883. 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 I. Portrait of Chladni Frontispiece. 
 
 II. FIG. 1. View of the cliffs at Ovifak. FIG. 2. Section of the Coast 
 (Steenstrup). I, ferriferous basalt : M, amygdaloidal rock : 
 B, compact basalt. FIG. 3. Plan of the beach. I, masses 
 
 of iron : M, amygdaloidal rock : B, basalt 27 
 
 III. The largest mass of iron found at Ovifak 28 
 
 IV. FIG. 1. Basalt from Assuk. FIG. 2. Metallic iron in the Ovifak basalt. 
 FIG. 3. A grain of metallic iron surrounded by troilite con- 
 taining small grains of hisingerite. FIG. 4. Fragment 
 of the basalt illustrating the distribution of the grains of 
 iron. FIG. 5. One of the Ovifak masses, weight 7000 kilos. 185 
 
 V. The meteoric iron of Rowton 195 
 
 VI. Figures on the etched surface of the iron of Toluca 311 
 
 VII. The Busti aerolite , 401 
 
LIST OF WOODCUTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 28. The three largest Ovifak irons, brought to Europe hy the Swedish Green- 
 land Expedition of 1872, under command of Captain Baron von Ober. 
 From a sketch made on the spot by Dr. Th. Nordstrom in 1870. 
 
 40. Iron Implements from Esquimaux kjoekenmoddings. 
 106. Etched section of Meteoric Iron, in the Paris Collection, showing the "Wid- 
 
 mannstattian figures. 
 111. Figure of the Aumieres Meteorite, showing faults. 
 
 125. Eepresentation, one-twentieth the actual size, of a mass of Meteoric Iron 
 which was seen to fall at Agram, Croatia, May 26th, 1751. 
 
 217. Form of the Crystals found on the ice off the Taimur Coast, magnified thirty 
 to forty times. 
 
Xll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PACK 
 
 Preface v 
 
 Obituary Notice of the Author vii 
 
 List of Papers published by Dr. Walter Flight ix 
 
 Explanation of Plates x 
 
 List of Woodcuts xi 
 
 Part I. Digest of Memoirs and Notices published during the years 1869-75, 
 
 and relating to meteorites found after the end of 1868 1 
 
 Part II. Digest of Memoirs and Notices published during the years 1869-75, 
 
 and relating to meteorites found before the end of 1868 81 
 
 Part III. Digest of Memoirs and Notices published after 1875 166 
 
 Index . 223 
 
HISTOEY OF METEOKITES. 
 
 FROM 1869-1875. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IN submitting the following digest of what has been published on 
 the subject of Meteorites since the beginning of 1869, it should be 
 stated, to explain the selection of this period in particular, that up 
 to that year the then numerous and scattered contributions to this 
 question had been collected and published in the form of a most 
 careful digest by Professor Rammelsberg, in his Die CJ^emische Natur 
 der Meteoriten, 1870 ; further that Buchner's series of papers in 
 Poggendorff's Annalen on Die Meteoriten in Sammlungen, had in 
 many ways supplemented the work of Rammelsberg. But while, as 
 to the period previous to 1869, we thus possess in a form most con- 
 venient for reference the substance of all the then known contribu- 
 tions to this subject, it appears that since that year there has been no 
 continuation of this laborious work of collecting and examining 
 scattered materials. And yet it cannot be said that such is unneces- 
 sary, for in this interval many important contributions have been 
 made to this branch of mineralogical science ; meteoric falls of great 
 interest, as, for example, that at Hessle, in Sweden, have taken place ; 
 remarkable cosmical masses have been discovered, of which none are 
 more curious than the colossal meteoric irons of Ovifak, in Green- 
 land ; and the presence of new meteoric minerals has been de- 
 termined, such as the calcium sulphide of the Busti aerolite, 1 and 
 the rhombic form of silicic acid in the Breitenbach siderolite. It 
 has therefore become a matter of necessity that the work of Rammels- 
 berg and Buchner should be continued, and this is the justification 
 of the present attempt. 
 
 It is proposed to deal with the subject under the following four 
 divisions : 
 
 I. To present seriatim a description of all meteoric bodies that 
 have been known to fall, or that may have been found, since the 
 1st January, 1869, with an account of all the important phenomena 
 attending their descent, and a description of their physical and 
 chemical characters, or those of their ingredient minerals as 
 far as they have yet been determined. In the examination of 
 the analyses, it will be shown that the hypothetical silicate 
 shepardite, which at the present time is supposed by many miner- 
 alogists and geologists 2 to form a constituent of meteorites (although 
 
 1 A preliminary note of this mineral appeared in the Brit. Assoe. Report, 1862, 
 " Notices and Abstracts," Appendix ii., 190. 
 
 * In his address u Ueber die Entwickelung der Geologic in den letzten 50 Jahren," 
 delivered before the German Naturalists' Association at Leipzig in 1872, Von Dechen 
 alluded to shepardite (anderthalbfach kieselsaure Magnesia) as a characteristic 
 meteoric mineral. 
 
 1 
 
jh METEORITES. 
 
 it has never been isolated), not only need not be assumed to be present, 
 but that the analytical results of these observers indicate the presence 
 in the aerolite of such silicates only as have on some occasion or 
 other been observed to occur as distinct species in a meteorite. 
 
 II. To produce a' digest of work published from 1869 1875 on 
 meteorites which had fallen, or had been found, at an earlier date, 
 giving such results as correct earlier analyses. 
 
 III. To prepare an exhaustive notice of papers published from 
 1869 1875 on meteorites : 
 
 (1). In their relations to astronomical questions ; their probable 
 orbits ; the phenomena attending their fall ; their distribution 
 on the earth's surface ; spectroscopic examination, etc. 
 (2). In respect to better methods of analysis; new catalogues 
 of collections ; and the bibliography of this branch of miner- 
 alogy. 
 
 TV. To examine cases of doubtful falls, pseudo-aerolites, etc., 
 which have been placed on record during the above interval. 
 
 PAKT I. 
 1869, January 1st, 12h. 20m. p.m. Hessle, near Upsala. l 
 
 This is the first meteoric fall recorded to have taken place in 
 Sweden. The sky was cloudy, and, though apparently unobserved 
 at Hessle, a luminous meteor was noticed by observers at a distance. 
 The noise accompanying the fall resembled heavy peals of thunder, 
 followed by a rattling noise as of waggons at a gallop, and ending at 
 first with a note like an organ tone, and then a hissing sound. The 
 stones were strewn over a line of country lying 30 E. of S. towards 
 30 W. of N. Some of them fell within a few yards of a number of 
 peasants who were coming out of church ; one struck the ice close 
 to a man who was fishing on the Malar Larsta-Viken, and after 
 digging a hole three or four inches deep, rebounded ; when picked 
 up, it was still warm. 
 
 The stones differ greatly in weight, from 21bs. to 0*17 gramme 
 (about 2J grains). The smallest have the same structure and thick- 
 ness of crust as the largest, and are in fact small complete meteorites. 
 Such diminutive stones have not hitherto been noticed, and should 
 be sought for at future aerolitic falls. 
 
 The exterior of the stones is black ; the interior bright grey, and 
 sufficiently porous to cling to the tongue. Though the structure of 
 
 1 0. Fahnekjelm. Meteorfallet i Fittja socken af Upsala Ian d. 1 Januari, 1869, 
 Oefversigt Vet.. Akad. Ford. 1869, No. 1, 59. A. E. Nordenskjold. Kongl. Svenska. 
 Vetensk. Akad. Handl. viii. No. 9 ; Pogg. Ann. cxxi., 205. G. Lindstrom. 
 Kemisk Undersokning af Meteorstenarne fran flessle. Kongl. Svenska Vetensk. 
 Akad. Fbrd., 1869, No. 8. K. A. Fredholm. Om Meteorstensfallet vid Hessle. 
 Leipzig: Fritsch. G. A. Daubree. Compt. rend., kviii., 363. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 3 
 
 these meteorites is so loose that they break in pieces when thrown 
 with the hand against the floor or frozen ground, it is a remarkable 
 fact that nearly all the specimens which have been collected fell 
 intact, and some of the heavier stones which struck the ice of the 
 Larsta-Viken failed to penetrate it, although the thickness was only 
 a few inches on New Year's Day. This explains in some degree the 
 statements of eye-witnesses as to their remarkably small downward 
 velocity. 
 
 In appearance they resemble very closely the meteorites of Aussun 
 and Clarac, Haute Garonne (1858, December 9th). They have been 
 examined by Nordenskjold, who so arranges the results of his 
 analyses that he finds them to be composed of : 20 per cent, nickel- 
 iron (chamoisite, Fe 8 Ni), with some schreibersite and rather less than 
 one per cent, of chromite ; a variable amount of troilite (iron mono- 
 sulphide) ; a trace of carbon, probably in the form of a hydrocarbon ; 
 10 per cent, of labradorite ; 37 per cent, of olivine; and 23 per cent, 
 of ' shepardite.' 
 
 Two great difficulties, however, are presented by this explanation 
 of the constitution of the Hessle meteorites. It is not only assumed 
 that a basic silicate, like olivine, and a sesquisilicate, or acid 
 silicate, like ' shepardite,' exist in intimate association in the same 
 rock-mass, but it necessitates the retention as a mineral species of 
 this very ' shepardite ' which the researches of Dr. L. Smith on the 
 Bishopville stone have shown to be no other than a pure magnesian 
 enstatite (MgO,Si0 8 ). 
 
 In the following table are given : under I. the oxygen ratios of 
 the mean of the total constituents from three analyses, after the nickel- 
 iron had been removed by mercury chloride in one case, and by the 
 magnet in another; under II. the oxygen ratios of acid and bases 
 of silicate broken up by acid ; and under III. the difference between 
 I. and II., or the oxygen ratios of acid and bases of silicate un- 
 affected by acid. 
 
 I. Total. II. Soluble. III. Insoluble. 
 
 Silicic acid , , 26-45 , 10-78 15-67 
 
 Iron protoxide 
 Magnesia 
 Lime 
 Alumina 
 Soda 
 
 2-971 
 11-82 
 0-748 
 1431 
 0-358 
 
 . 1-858 } 
 . 7-559 
 . 0-219 
 . 0-03 
 . 0-31 , 
 
 1-113 } 
 4-261 
 ^ 9-976 ... 0-529 
 1-401 
 0-048 J 
 
 7-352 
 
 In the soluble part the oxygen ratios do not widely differ from 
 those of an olivine, while the atomic ratio of iron oxide to magnesia, 
 nearly 1 to 4, is that observed in many meteoric olivines ; among 
 others those of the aerolites of Chantonnay, Oesel, and Richmond. 
 From the fact that in Nordenskjold's analysis the soluble portion was 
 collected after the powdered mineral had been digested for a long time 
 with warm concentrated acid, it is certain that some portion of any 
 bronzite or enstatite that might be present would undergo decompo- 
 sition, and this would explain the slight excess over 1 to 1 in the oxygen 
 ratios of acid and total bases in the insoluble part. This insoluble 
 portion, it will be seen, appears to be chiefly bronzite, and here again 
 
4 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 the ratio of the two metallic oxides, also about 1 to 4, is that of the 
 bronzite of several meteorites, including among them the three 
 mentioned above-; and the Hessle meteorite is a fourth example, in 
 both the olivine and bronzite of which the atomic ratio of iron oxide 
 to magnesia is the same (1:4). The alumina has been regarded as a 
 constituent of the bronzite, very few specimens of that mineral, 
 whether terrestrial or meteoric, being quite free from this oxide ; it 
 could not be present as anorthite, since the chief amount is in the 
 insoluble portion ; nor could it be in the form of any other felspar, 
 as the requisite alkali is not present. 
 
 The most remarkable feature of the Hessle shower is the associa- 
 tion with the stones already described of other cosmical matter, 
 chiefly composed of carbon. It was remarked by the peasants that 
 some of the stones which fell on the ice near Arno soon crumbled to 
 a blackish-brown powder, which formed with the snow-water a 
 mixture resembling coffee-grounds. Similar powder was found on 
 the ice at Hafslaviken in masses as large as the hand, which floated 
 like foam on water, and could not be held between the fingers. A 
 small amount, secured for examination, was observed under the 
 microscope to be composed of small spherical granules. It contained 
 metallic particles extractible with the magnet, and, when ignited, 
 burnt away, leaving a reddish-brown ash ; heated in a tube, it gave 
 a small amount of a brown liquid distillate. A specimen dried at 
 110 had the following composition : Equivalent Ratios. 
 
 Carbon 61-6 4'3 
 
 Hydrogen 3'8 3'8 
 
 Oxygen (calculated) 15-7 0-98 
 
 Silicic acid 16-7 
 
 Iron protoxide 8-4 
 
 Magnesia 1'5 
 
 Lime 0-8 
 
 Soda, with trace of lithia T5 
 
 100-0 
 
 The combustible constituent accompanying the stony matter in 
 the above mixture appears to have the formula nC 9 H 8 2 . The 
 Hessle stones form a new member of the small class of carbo- 
 naceous meteorites, that is to say, such as contain carbon in the 
 amorphous state, or combined with hydrogen and oxygen, or in both 
 these conditions ; it includes at present those which fell at Kaba, 
 Cold JBokkeveldt, Alais, Orgueil, Goalpara, and others. 
 
 It was noticed that the stones found in the same district with the 
 carbonaceous state were, as a rule, quite round, and covered on all 
 sides with a black, dull, and often sponge-like, crust. The iron 
 particles on the surface of the smaller stones were usually quite 
 bright and unoxidized, as would be the case if the stone had been 
 heated in a reducing atmosphere. Nordenskjold believes that the 
 carbon compound frequently, perhaps always, occurs in association 
 with meteorites, and he attributes its preservation at Hessle to the 
 fact of the stones having fallen on snow-covered ground. The paper 
 is illustrated by a map of the district, indicating the exact points 
 where the larger masses descended. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 1869, May 5th, 6.32 p.m. Krahenberg, near Zweibriicken, Rhenish 
 
 Bavaria. 1 
 
 A single stone was seen to fall, the sky being clear and bright. The 
 noise of the explosion is described as having been louder than that 
 of a cannon ; this was followed by one resembling a roll of musketry, 
 terminating with a sound as of the rushing of steam from a loco- 
 motive ; the tone of the last sound increased in pitch, and abruptly 
 ended with another loud noise. Although no luminous phenomena 
 were observed at Krahenberg, a meteor was seen at Bingen, Speyer, 
 Neuweiler, in Alsace, and in other parts, which observers agree in 
 describing as emitting an intensely white light ; one witness, who 
 saw it in the zenith, states that the light was bluish. The inclination 
 of the path of the meteor to the horizon is computed to have been 
 32. From observations, made independently by two witnesses, it 
 appears that this meteor came from the point in the heavens, 82 
 North Polar Distance and 190 Eight Ascension. In the Atlas of 
 Meteors (British Association) there is given a radiant point (85 
 N.P.D. and 189 R.A.) for the epoch of 2nd April to 4th May, 
 which is indicated as one of those that are " well-defined." It 
 appears, then, to be highly probable that the Krahenberg meteorite, 
 while traversing its cosmical path, belonged to the meteor shower, 
 the radiant point of which lies near S Virginis. 
 
 Vom Eath states that the stone fell from a small cloud. A little 
 girl was within a few paces of the spot where it struck the earth, on 
 the slope of a hill facing the S.E. ; it entered the ground to a depth of 
 from three to four feet, making a perfectly vertical hole. It was 
 soon dug out, and when brought to the village was warm, but not hot. 
 
 The stone is of the form of a flattened spheroid, and weighed, 
 when entire, about 331bs. The crust is about 0-5 mm. thick, and 
 though in most parts black, some portions possess the peculiarly 
 reddish-brown colour noticed on the Pultusk stones. The specific 
 gravity of the stone, free from crust, is 3*497; that of the crust is 
 3-449 ; as in the Pultusk meteorite, the crust is lighter than the 
 body of the stone. A remarkable feature of the surface are the 
 numerous furrow-like depressions, some 8 mm. deep, which often 
 anastomose and radiate from the more even crown of the stone 
 towards its periphery ; they are confined to the more rounded 
 side of the stone. A newly broken surface is light grey, and ex- 
 hibits a net-work of fine black lines and veins of nickeliferous 
 iron; in one place a little gangue of metal measured 3 inches in 
 length and 0-3 to 0-5 mm. wide. This meteorite bears a great 
 resemblance, both as regards the crust and internal structure, to 
 those above alluded to, which fell at Pultusk, in Poland, on 30th 
 January, 1868. Spherules are abundant ; and other minerals 
 
 1 0. Buchner. Pogg. Ann., cxxxvii , 176. G. vora Rath. Pogg. Ann., cxxxvii., 
 328. C. E. Weiss. Pogg. Ann., cxxxvii., 617. G. Neumayer. Sitzber. Wien. 
 Akad., lx., 229. P. Reinsch. Lithographic " Suite Mikroscopischer Praeparate" 
 of this Meteorite, issued March, 1872 ; and Tageblati 45, Versammlung der Natur- 
 fortcher in Leipzig, 1872, 132. 
 
6 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 readily distinguishable are : olivine, magnetic pyrites, and chromite ; 
 the whole being inclosed in a " sphaerolithic " ground-mass of white 
 and grey grains. 
 
 Nickel-iron, containing 15*3 per cent, of nickel, constitutes 3'5 
 per cent, of the stone, a less quantity than is found in the Pultusk 
 meteorites; magnetic pyrites amounting to 5-52 per cent., a larger 
 proportion than is met with in the Pultusk stones, occurs in grains, 
 some 1 to 2 mm. wide. The dark-coloured spherules, the presence 
 of which is a characteristic of chondritic meteorites, are more distinct 
 and numerous than those of the Pultusk stone : some are 2 mm. 
 wide, and are easily removed from the ground-mass. Yellowish- 
 white grains, some 1 mm. wide, are abundant, and here and there 
 are found grains of chromite, bearing octahedral faces. 
 
 Viewed in the microscope, the mass of the stone is made up of 
 numberless small white crystalline granules, which give colour in 
 polarized light ; they are stated by Yom Eath to be unacted upon by 
 acid, and to consist essentially of a magnesium silicate, richer in 
 silica than olivine. Among other curious constituents detected by 
 the microscope are : a very small purple-red crystal bearing faces ; 
 a number of bright-yellow granules in distinct crystals ; some light- 
 yellow long prism-like forms ; and a few large granules 0'5 mm. 
 across, of a translucent red mineral, exhibiting conchoidal fracture. 
 So small a portion of the stone could be devoted to chemical exami- 
 nation that none of these substances, nor even the large spherules, 
 could be separately analyzed. The analysis of the stone furnished, 
 after the nickel-iron and magnetic pyrites have been deducted, the 
 per-centage numbers of acid and bases, the oxygen ratios of which are 
 1 : 1*4:4:8, the ratio in the Pultusk stone being 1 : 1*507. The analogy 
 in composition, in respect of each constituent, of two bodies from so 
 widely separated regions of planetary space is very striking. Yom 
 Eath expresses his belief that " the siliceous portion of this meteorite, 
 arid indeed of the Pultusk stone, is mainly composed of olivine and 
 another, a magnesium, silicate richer in silicic acid ; but whether it 
 be enstatite or shepardite (2MgO,3Si0 2 ), or whether both silicates 
 accompany the olivine, cannot, unfortunately, be determined." 
 
 Apart, however, from the doubts that are now entertained respect- 
 ing the existence of the magnesium sesquisilicate of Eose as a 
 mineral species, the analytical determinations of Vom Eath will 
 not be found, on examination, to support the theory in question. In 
 addition to the composition of the entire stone, which is to be found 
 below (I.), he gives in his paper the amounts of each of the bases 
 dissolved in acid during a sulphur determination (see II.). 
 
 I. Total Silicates. II. Bases dissolved III. Bases undissolved 
 
 Oxygen. Oxygen. 
 
 Silicic acid ... 46 '37 
 
 Magnesia ... 27'13 ... 11-7 4-68) ... 15-43 6-17) 
 
 Lime 2-15 ... 0-56 0-16 [ 9-55 ... 1'59 0-45 I 6*92 
 
 Iron protoxide... 22-56 ... 21-2 471 ) ... 1'36 0-30 J 
 
 Alumina 0-67 ... 0-14 ... 0'53 
 
 Loss (Soda?)... 1-12 
 
 100-00 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. ( 
 
 Assuming the bases dissolved to be those of an olivine, they would 
 require 17-90 per cent, of silicic acid to form 51*36 per cent, of an 
 olivine of the form FeO, MgO, Si0 2 (like that occurring in the me- 
 teorites of Chateau-Kenard and Kakova), while the undissolved 
 bases with 25-95 per cent, of silicic acid form 45-45 per cent, 
 of a nearly pure magnesian enstatite. There now remain only 
 2-52 per cent, of silica, which, with the alumina, and what may 
 possibly be potash, give oxygen ratios, pointing, with more accuracy 
 than might be expected in so small a residue, to about 4 per cent, 
 of what may be a felspar. This method of regarding the con- 
 stitution of the meteorites of Krahenberg and Pultusk has the 
 advantage of assuming the existence in these stones of such 
 meteoric minerals only as have been isolated and clearly identified. 
 In an elaborate paper on the lithology of this meteorite, Weiss states 
 that he detected the presence of three silicates, and by a careful study 
 of a fresh surface of the stone, he finds that the grey silicate, which 
 is probably enstatite, occurs in three distinct forms. This is a point 
 of considerable interest, not only as tending to confirm the above 
 calculations, but from the fact that three varieties of a nearly pure 
 magnesian enstatite likewise occur in the Busti aerolite. 
 
 Reinsch has prepared eighteen microscopic slides of this meteorite, 
 and made very effective pen-and-ink sketches of the more important 
 of them. One shows a remarkable eroded spherule of iron ; the 
 evenly serrated surface is inclosed in a metallic shell, or rather net, 
 so regular are the intervals at which this covering is broken through. 
 Another exhibits spherules traversed by little dykes or veins of a 
 mineral, which in one case is of a purple colour. Others show 
 a beautiful blue mineral, which he suggests may be haiiyne. He 
 directs attention to the presence of magnetic pyrites and nickel-iron 
 in the crust of the meteorite, and contends that, as these minerals 
 would undergo change if exposed in air to a temperature at which 
 the silicates forming the crust fuse, the meteorite must have been 
 covered with a crust before it entered our atmosphere, and he 
 ascribes the fusion to electrical agency, as seen in the perforated 
 rocks (fulgurites ?) of the Lesser Ararat, described by Abich. 
 
 1869, May 20th, 11.20 p.m. Moriches, Long Island, Suffolk Co., 
 
 New York. 1 
 
 An unusually brilliant meteor was seen at New Haven, New 
 York, Philadelphia, Hartford, and many other places. It appears 
 to have moved, nearly horizontally, at an elevation of fifty miles, 
 along a visible path of about 200 miles, and to have exploded over 
 the Atlantic somewhat N. and E. of Boston. The time of flight is 
 estimated at five seconds, which indicates a velocity of forty miles 
 
 1 E. Loomis. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1869, xlviii. 145. 
 
8 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 per second. Three minutes after the passage of the meteor, "a 
 terrific sound " was heard at Moriches, which shook the house of 
 the observer to the very foundation. The angular diameter of the 
 meteoric body is estimated to have been 30', the distance from 
 Moriches at the time of the explosion, thirty-nine or forty miles, 
 the altitude twenty-eight miles, and the actual diameter 1843 feet. 
 It recalls to mind the celebrated meteor of 1783, August 18th, 
 9-30 p.m., which traversed Europe from N.W. to S.E. 1 
 
 1869, May 22nd, 10.5 p.m. Paris time (9.45 p.m. Vannes time). 
 Kernouve, 2 kilometres from Cleguerec, Arrondissement de 
 Napoleonville, Morbihan, France. 2 
 
 A meteor was seen moving in the direction from S. to N. It very 
 soon burst, throwing off a number of greenish-white sparks, which 
 almost immediately lost their brilliancy, and in two and a half or 
 three minutes an explosion was heard. At Yannes, the very intense 
 bluish-white light, which lasted for some seconds, resembled that 
 of burning magnesium. The stone penetrated the soil of a meadow 
 to the depth of one metre, and was quite covered by the loose earth 
 thrown up by the shock ; when exhumed it was broken up by the 
 peasants. A young girl, distant only a few metres, was the sole 
 witness of the fall ; the leaves and ends of the branches of some 
 trees close at hand bore marks of having been scorched. The stone, 
 when perfect, probably weighed about 80 kilogrammes, and was of 
 a conical form ; the crust is of two kinds : an outer black enamel 
 rugose and blistered, and an inner simple coat of glaze ; in some 
 places grains of iron projected through both crusts. The interior is 
 a dark grey colour, and is very compact and granular. The iron is 
 disseminated in very brilliant grains; here in veins some centi- 
 metres long, there in masses several millimetres in diameter. The 
 magnetic pyrites (troilite ?) occur but rarely in veins, sometimes in 
 masses 3 centim. long, and 2 millim. broad. Occasionally grains of 
 an enstattte or felspar are seen. In texture this stone bears a great 
 resemblance to the aerolites of Pultusk (1868, January 30th). The 
 density of the meteorite is 3*747 ; it gelatinizes with acid, giving 
 off hydrogen-sulphide. Pisani states that the iron sulphide is not 
 
 1 May 20th-22nd, appears at the present time to be a period during which 
 meteoric falls may be looked for. During the last six years the following five falls 
 have occurred : ' 1868, May 22nd, Slavetic, Croatia. 
 
 1869, May 20th, Moriches, New York. 
 1869, May 22nd, Cleguerec, France. 
 1871, May 21st, Searsmont, Maine. 
 1874, May 20th, Virba, Turkey. 
 De Limur. Compt. rend., liviii. 1338. F. Pisani. Compt. rend., kviii. 1489. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 9 
 
 attracted by the magnet ; he has, however, given it in the form of 
 magnetic pyrites in the following total composition of the stone : 
 
 Nickel-iron 20-50 
 
 Magnetic pyrites (?) 5-45 
 
 Dissolved silicate 34-60 
 
 Undissolved silicate 40-22 
 
 100-77 
 The nickel-iron is composed of: 
 
 Iron = 92-44 Nickel = 7'56 = 100-00 
 
 and the silicates of : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO MgO CaO Na^O 
 
 A. Soluble ... 29-04 2'98 22-31 42-95 1-36 1'36 = 100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble... 56-94 5'37 9-89 21'93 3-53 2-34=100-00 
 
 1869, September 19th, 9 p.m Tjabe, near Pandangan, Bodgo- 
 Negoro, in Residence Rembang, Java. 1 
 
 A meteor, the brilliancy of which is stated to have surpassed that 
 of the moon, was seen about nine in the evening to move in a north- 
 easterly direction over the village of Tjabe. It was observed at 
 Pandangan, the chief place of the district, as well as at Bodgo-Negoro, 
 chief town of the division, lying east of Pandangan. At the same 
 time a meteorite fell at Tjabe, at a distance of about twenty metres 
 from the house of a native named Sokromo. The sound following 
 the appearance of the meteor is described as an explosion, as loud as 
 that of a cannon, followed by a noise resembling that caused by a 
 carriage crossing a bridge ; this lasted some time. The villagers 
 sought in vain for the spot where the meteorite fell ; at six o'clock 
 next morning, however, it was found at the place already mentioned, 
 at a depth of two feet in soil which had been hardened with a long 
 drought. According to the report drawn up by the President of 
 Rembang, it was remarked by the villagers that the aerolite, when 
 found, was still so hot that it could not be touched with the hand. 
 This statement, however, must be received with caution. 
 
 This stone, the only one found, weighed about 20 kilogrammes. It 
 is covered with a dull greyish black crust, 0-5 mm. in thickness ; 
 the fresh fracture is dark grey, and exhibits a number of brilliant 
 points : here and there brilliant plates 1 mm. square are met with, 
 as well as a small number of very dark, almost black, grains of 
 spherical form, with a diameter of about 2 mm. The mass of the 
 stone is coarsely granular, and is so very hard that portions are only 
 detached with a hammer with great difficulty. 
 
 The specific gravity of the metallic portion is 6-8 ; the magnet 
 removed 14 per cent, constituents, which consist of two alloys of 
 nickel-iron, containing respectively 6-2 and 12-5 per cent, of nickel ; 
 in one portion of the stone was found 6*17 per cent, of troilite. The 
 density of the stone is 3 '695. 
 
 1 E. H. von Baumhauer. Archives Ne'erlandaises, ?i. No. 4 (1871). Gr. A. 
 Daubree. Compt. rend., 1871, 16th December. 
 
10 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 The analyses of the rocky portion yielded the following results : 
 Si0 2 . A1 3 3 . FeO. MnO. MgO. CaO. Na 3 0. K 2 0. Chromite. 
 
 A. Soluble ... 34-72 0'70 26-14 0-65 35'70 1-61 0'48 Trace =100 '00 
 B. Insoluble... 60'83 4'74 12-92 0'60 14-14 3-30 1'53 0'82 1-12 = 100-00 
 
 The soluble siliceous portion, forming 45-94: per cent, of the non- 
 metallic part of the aerolite, consists of an olivine in which the 
 oxygen ratios of FeO and MgO are as 2 : 5. As in most analyses 
 of meteorites, where the separation of the silicate of the form 
 2RO,Si0 2 is attempted to be effected by means of acid, the silica in A, 
 the soluble portion, is insufficient to form an olivine. The silica of 
 
 B, the insoluble portion, on the other hand, is not only present in 
 ample quantity, to make good what is wanting in A, and to supply 
 the silicates of the form EO,Si0 2 , but is in sufficient excess to lead 
 Baumhauer to assume the presence of a bisilicate in the insoluble 
 portion. If, however, the requisite amounts of silica be apportioned 
 to the protoxides of iron, manganese, magnesium, and calcium of A 
 and B, to form the respective silicates, there remain in the insoluble 
 portion the following constituents, the oxygen ratios of which, as 
 will be seen below, do not differ widely from those of an albite or 
 orthoclase : 
 
 Si0 2 = 5-326; A1 2 0=M3; K 2 0=0-16; Na 3 0=0*39. 
 Baumhauer traces a resemblance, in point of composition, between 
 the aerolites of Tjabe and Mezo-Madaraz (1852, September 4th), by 
 comparing his results with those published by Atkinson, 1 who 
 analysed the latter stone in Wohler's laboratory. About the time of 
 the publication of this paper of Baumhauer' s (1871), Rammelsberg 2 
 announced the result (see infra) of his examination of the Mezo- 
 Madaraz stone, which differs very considerably from those arrived 
 at in the earlier analysis ; where, in the insoluble portion of the 
 Mezo-Madaraz stone, Atkinson found no iron protoxide, Rammelsberg 
 finds 13-27 per cent. It will suffice in this place to mention that 
 the later analysis of the Transylvanian aerolite does not indicate 
 the presence of an excess of silica, and yields numbers which point 
 to the presence of an olivine, like that found in the meteorites of 
 Hainholz (1856) and Shergotty (1865, August 25th), and of a bronzite 
 resembling that occurring in the aerolite of Chantonnay (1812, 
 August 5th). 
 
 1869, October 6th, 11.40-45 a.m. Stewart County, Georgia. 3 
 
 When this stone fell, the sky was somewhat hazy, but there was 
 no cloud. An observer at Bladen's Creek heard a roaring rushing 
 sound in a north-westerly direction ; in a moment it appeared to be 
 directly westward ; then a loud explosion, followed by six other 
 
 1 E. Atkinson. Jour. PraJct. Chem., 1856, 357. Phil. Mag. xi. 141. 
 
 2 C. Rammelsberg. Zeit.Deutsch. Geol. Gesellsch., 1871, 734. 
 
 3 J. E. Willet and J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. Sc. 1. 335, and 339. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 11 
 
 reports, occurred. After these explosions a peculiar whizzing sound 
 was heard, produced apparently by some large irregular body 
 moving rapidly away, while a smaller one passed to the south-west 
 with such a noise as is caused by a flying fragment of a shell. 
 This piece, it was found, descended about two miles and a half from 
 the point where the explosion occurred ; it weighs about 12 \ ounces. 
 Two men, who were looking in the direction of the explosions at the 
 time they took place, state that they saw a quantity of vapour much 
 like a volume of steam escaping from an engine-pipe, which was 
 violently agitated, and increased in bulk after each report, but dis- 
 appeared soon after the last of them. Some labourers close at hand 
 saw directly after the explosions something like a thin cloud cast its 
 shadow over the field in which they were. The stone, already 
 alluded to, and which was seen to strike the ground by two negroes 
 who happened to be at work about twenty paces distant, appears to 
 have come from the north-west, at an angle of about 30 with the 
 horizon ; it passed to a depth of ten inches into the soil. It has an 
 irregular, seven-sided form, the longest side being about 2f inches 
 long, and is covered with a black crust. The specific gravity is 3-65. 
 The explosion appears to have been heard over a region about 30 
 miles N.E. and S.W. and 50 or 60 miles N.W. and S.E. 
 
 The fractured surface has a greyish aspect, and exhibits numerous 
 greenish spherules, with white granular interstitial matter, and occa- 
 sional particles of nickel-iron, troilite, or chromite. The nodules are 
 sometimes more than 3 mm. in diameter, with an imperfect fibrous 
 crystalline structure, the radiation usually commencing from one side 
 of the spherule ; they are more or less opaque, and of a dull, bottle- 
 green colour, with a hardness of about 6. Analysis of this selected 
 mineral gave the following results : 
 
 Oxygen Ratios. 
 
 Silicic acid ... 48-62 ... 29-9 
 
 Alumina ... 8-05 ... 3-79 
 
 Iron protoxide 11-21 ... 2-51 ) .. , 
 Magnesia ... 30-18 ... 11-80) 
 
 98-06 
 
 The formula of this mineral, with a portion of the silica replaced 
 by alumina, a not unfrequent occurrence in minerals like hornblende, 
 hypersthene, etc., is therefore EO,Si0 2 and it is probably a bronzite. 
 The nickel-iron has the composition : 
 
 Iron = 86-92 ; Nickel = 12-01 ; Cobalt = 0-75 = 100 
 and that of the rocky portion is as follows : 
 
 Si0 2 . A1 2 3 . FeO. MgO. CaO. Na^O. 
 
 A. Soluble 41-08 0-32 18-45 41-06 =100-91 
 
 B. Insoluble 56'03 5-89 15-21 21-01 0-10 2-97 =101-21 
 The author deduces the following for the composition of the stone : 
 
 Nickel-iron .............................. 7*0 
 
 Magnetic pyrites (?) ........................ 6-1 
 
 Bronzite, oUvine, albite or oligoclase, and chromite ...... 86-9 
 
 100-0 
 
12 HISTORY OF METEORITE??. 
 
 1869, November 6th, 7 p.m. Fawley, near Southampton. 1 
 
 The correspondent observed two meteors- within a few minutes of 
 seven o'clock on the evening of that day, which was a Saturday, and 
 on the following Wednesday discovered a ' meteorite ' which weighed 
 more than 1 Ib. avoirdupois. " It had not penetrated the ground 
 more than half an inch." From the description of what he found, it 
 appears that he picked up a nodule of inarcasite, which had probably 
 been left exposed on the surface after heavy rain had washed away 
 the surrounding soil. 
 
 1869, December 25th. Murzuk, Fezzan [Lat. 26 N. ; Long. 12 E. 
 
 of Paris]. 2 
 
 The letter of M. Coumbray, communicated to the Geological 
 Society by Mr. E. H. Scott, announced the fall of an aerolite, or 
 bolide, at Murzuk, in the presence of a group of Arabs. The bolide 
 on falling is described as having "exploded with a sound resembling 
 pistol shots and a strong odour." The intelligence was communicated 
 to the Vienna Academy by Haidinger, and to the Berlin Academy by 
 Dove ; and Mr. Greg, in the British Association Eeport, states that 
 it fell on the 26th December, and that it weighed 6000 Ibs. 
 
 It appears highly probable, however, from a statement laid before 
 the Berlin Academy by G. Kose 3 at a more recent date, that no 
 meteoric fall took place. According to letters received from the 
 Austrian Consul at Tripoli and Hag Ibraim Ben Alua, Shiek of 
 Murzuk, a corporal, who was on guard at the gate of the town on 
 the night of the 25th, heard a series of explosions, like the discharge 
 of nine muskets. Hearing the alarm, the officer collected five men, 
 and, sallying forth, they met a man, who stated that the noise was not 
 the report of guns, but the explosion of a meteor, which burst in the 
 direction of a little village called Namus. The writers of the letters 
 were of opinion that no meteorite had been found. 
 
 Meteoric Iron. Found in 1869 or 1870. Shingle Springs, 
 Eldorado County, California. 4 
 
 This mass, said to be the first discovered in California, was rescued 
 in 1871 from the forge of a smith, who, found it in a field near Shingle 
 Springs. It weighed- about- 85 Ibs., and its largest dimensions were 
 24 and 29 c,m. It is very homogeneous, only two small masses of 
 
 1 A. T. Smith. The Standard, November, 1869. 
 
 2 M. Coumbray, Jour. Geol. 8oc., xxvi. 415. GEOL. MAG., VII. 236. R. P. 
 Greg. Hep. Brit. Assoc. 1871. Bullet. Meteor ologico, ix. 4. G. Rose. Monatsber. 
 Berlin Ak., November, 1870. G. Tscbermak. Sitz. Wien. Ak. June, 1870. 
 
 3 G. Rose. Monatsber. Berlin Ak., 1871, 804. 
 
 4 B. Silliman. Amer. Jour. Sc. [3J vi. 18. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 13 
 
 pyrites (troilite ?) being visible on one of the sides. The crust to a 
 depth of from 4 to 5 c.m. is remarkably hard. The density 7-875 
 (that of some pieces removed by the planing tool being 8-024:) is 
 above the average density of meteoric iron, and this is most probably 
 due to the presence of an unusually large proportion, more than 
 17 per cent, of nickel as the subjoined analysis indicates. 
 
 Iron 
 
 Nickel ... 
 Cobalt ... 
 Aluminium 
 Chromium 
 Magnesium 
 
 81-480 
 17-173 
 0-604 
 0088 
 0020 
 0-010 
 
 Calcium 0-163 
 
 Carbon ... 0-071 
 
 Silicium 0032 
 
 Phosphorus 0*308 
 
 Sulphur 0-012 
 
 Potassium , 0*026 
 
 99-987 
 
 Another remarkable feature of this iron is the obscure characters 
 of its crystalline structure : when etched, the acid discloses a confused 
 granular surface, exhibiting under a lens a reticulated structure with 
 numerous brilliant points and V-shaped lines. The Eldorado iron 
 resembles that of the Cape of Good Hope, analyzed by Uricoechea, 
 in the absence of Widmannstattian figures and in the presence of a 
 large per-centage of nickel. 
 
 The meteoric irons which contain most nickel (and cobalt) are : 
 
 Nickel Cobalt. Total. 
 
 Grenville, Tenn 17'10 2-04 19-14 per cent. 
 
 Tazewell Co., Tenn. ... 14-6215-02 0-430-50 
 
 Cape of Good Hope ... 15-09 2-56 17'65 
 
 Few analyses have detected more than 10 per cent, of nickel in an 
 iron, and the average amount of this metal in eighty analyses com- 
 pared by Silliman is not above 7-25 per cent 
 
 This is not the earliest notice of the Eldorado iron. In June, 1872, 
 Shepard 1 published a short note on it in the same journal. He 
 determined the specific gravity to be 7-80, and found only 8-88 per 
 cent, of nickel, as well as 3-5 per cent, "insoluble, consisting of a 
 mixture of Fe 2 3 and FeO, with minute silvery particles of supposed 
 phosphor-metals." The examination was evidently an imperfect one. 
 
 Meteoric Irons fonnd in 1869. Stannton, Augusta Co., Virginia. 1 
 
 This is the fourth recorded instance of meteorites having been 
 found in the State of Virginia. Three masses of meteoric iron have 
 recently been met with : No. 1, weighing 56 Ibs., was turned up by 
 a plough, five miles somewhat E. of N. from Staunton, in lat. 38 14/ 
 N., and long. 79 1' W. ; No. 2 weighs 36 Ibs., and was met with 
 one mile S.E. of No. 1 ; and No. 3. which weighs 3 Ibs., was found 
 half a mile still further S.E. 
 
 They were covered with a dark brown crust J to J in. thick ; on 
 
 1 C. U. Shepard. Amer. Jour. Sc., [3] iii. 438. 
 
 2 J. W. Mallet. Amer. Jour. Sc., [3] ii. 10 ; Brit. Assoc. Report (Brighton), 
 1872, 77; Proe. Royal. Soc. xx. 365; Pogg. Ann. cxlvii. 134. 
 
14 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 exposure to moist air, a liquid, containing iron, nickel, and chlorine, 
 exuded from many parts of the surface. This iron, which exhibits 
 feeble magnetic polarity, and has a specific gravity of 7-83 to 7-85, 
 is compact and highly crystalline, and contains occasional grains of 
 troilite. Traces of Widmannstattiau figures can be detected even 
 without acid ; but this reagent developes them in great beauty, and 
 with considerable resemblance to those of the Lenarto and certain 
 Mexican specimens. The irons were cut so as to give different 
 projections of the same crystalline structure ; in No. 1 the bands of 
 iron and schreibersite intersect at 120 and 60, in No. 2 they ap- 
 proach 90, and in No. 3 are at about 60. 
 
 The author states that by prolonged action of acid, white, pliant, 
 and strongly magnetic laminae of schreibersite are brought to view. 
 He does not appear to have analyzed them, but, to judge from obser- 
 vations made on other irons, it seems highly probable that the 
 plates are not schreibersite, which is very brittle, but an alloy free 
 from phosphorus, and containing about one-third its weight of 
 nickel. The three masses gave on analysis the following results : 
 
 No. l. No. 2. No. 3. 
 
 Iron 88-706 88-365 89-007 
 
 Nickel 10-163 10-242 9-964 
 
 Cobalt 0-396 0-428 0-387 
 
 Copper 0-003 0-004 0'003 
 
 Tin 0-002 0-002 0-003 
 
 Manganese trace. trace. 
 
 Carbon 0172 0'185 0-122 
 
 Phosphorus 0-341 0-362 0-375 
 
 Sulphur ... 0-019 0-008 0*026 
 
 Silica 0-067 0-061 0-056 
 
 Chlorine 0-003 0-002 0-004 
 
 99-872 99-659 99-947 
 
 The chlorine is not of meteoric origin ; a solid piece of No. 1 , 
 weighing 50 grammes, and quite free from flaws or fissures, con- 
 tained no chlorine whatever. Some portion of the siliceous residue 
 from the action of the acid probably consists of silicide of iron; 
 when magnified 500 diameters, and examined by polarized light, it 
 is found to consist of an amorphous powder, and rounded transparent 
 grains of 0*0025 to 0-0100 mm. diameter, and with well-marked 
 doubly refracting characters. 1 The three masses are, beyond ques- 
 tion, portions of the same fall. 
 
 Pieces of this iron have been forged. One, which was hammered 
 cold, could be beaten into any desired shape ; a second, which had 
 been exposed to a red heat in vacuo, could only be forged in the cold 
 with much difficulty ; while a third piece that had been subjected 
 to a white heat could not be forged at all, and crumbled under the 
 hammer when reheated. Mallet is of opinion that the brittleness 
 arose from the melting out of the phosphide, " leaving the iron 
 
 1 The residue left on treating the Tuczon iron with acid appears to have borne a 
 great resemblance to this substance. Compare with the description given in Buchner'a 
 Meteor iten, p. 183. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 15 
 
 porous." As the amount of phosphorus present was but small, and 
 did not exceed one per cent., it may have rendered some portion of 
 the iron, " cold short." 
 
 The gases occluded by this iron were collected by Mallet and 
 analyzed. The material consisted of some turnings and a solid piece 
 of the metal. The cutting apparatus employed to reduce them to 
 the requisite size was heated to a red heat, and quenched in water, 
 to remove all traces of oily matter. Graham extracted from the 
 Lenarto iron 2-85 times its volume of gas ; Mallet obtained 3-17 
 volumes from his specimen. The latter was heated during four- 
 teen and a half hours at a red heat, and then to an incipient white 
 heat. During the first two and a half hours 52 per cent. (I.) of the 
 entire gas was removed ; in the next 2 hours 20 minutes, 24 per cent. ; 
 (II.), and in the remaining nine and a half hours, 24 per cent. (III.). 
 Below are given for comparison the composition of these three 
 quantities as well as that of the gas occluded in the Lenarto iron and 
 that of manufactured iron : 
 
 Virginia Iron. Lenarto Shoeing 
 
 
 
 I. 
 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 Total. 
 
 i 
 
 
 Hydrogen 
 Carbonic oxide 
 
 22-12 
 15-99 
 
 10-52 
 11-12 
 
 3-19 
 11-22 
 
 35-83 
 38-33 
 
 85-68 
 4-46 
 
 35-0 
 50-3 
 
 Carbonic acid 
 
 7-85 
 
 1-02 
 
 0-8S 
 
 9-75 
 
 
 
 7-7 
 
 Nitrogen 
 
 6-06 
 
 1-45 
 
 8-58 
 
 16-09 
 
 9-86 
 
 7-0 
 
 
 52-02 
 
 24-11 
 
 23-87 
 
 100-00 
 
 100-00 
 
 100-0 
 
 These results unfortunately do not admit of very exact comparison, 
 as only a portion of the gas extracted from the Lenarto iron was 
 quantitatively examined. Although the relative quantity of hydrogen 
 in the Augusta iron is much less than in the Lenarto iron, it amounts 
 to 1-4 times the volume of the iron, while manufactured iron under 
 ordinary pressure takes up only 0-42 to 0'46 of its volume of this 
 gas. Mallet's results have shown Graham's view, that the pre- 
 dominance of carbonic oxide among the occluded gases is indicative 
 of telluric origin, to be no longer tenable. In connexion with these 
 differences in composition of the gaseous constituents of meteorites, it is 
 interesting to notice that the observations of Secchi and Huggins have 
 shown that carbon plays an important part in certain cosmical 
 regions, although the spectroscopic evidence in the case of this 
 element is as yet less definite than it is in regard to hydrogen. 
 
 1869 (and 1871). Trenton, Washington Co., Wisconsin. 1 
 
 An additional fragment of this meteorite, weighing 16 \ Ibs., was 
 found in 1869 ; and another, weighing 35 Ibs., was dug up in 1871. 
 All the six fragments (143 Ibs.) now collected were found in the 
 same field. 
 
 1 J. L. Smith. Mineralogy and Chemistry, 348. J. A. Lapham. Am. Jour. Sc. t 
 [3] Hi. 69. 
 
16 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 1870, January 23rd. Nidigullam, near Parvatypore, Vizagapatam 
 District, Madras. [Lat. 18 41' 20" N. ; Long. 83 28' 30" E.] l 
 
 A meteoric iron, weighing 407 tolas (about lOlbs.), fell at Nidi- 
 gullam, and penetrated the ground to the depth of twenty inches. 
 Those who saw the meteor describe it as very large and beautiful, 
 and as exhibiting increased brilliance when it burst. The explosion 
 was followed by a series of rumbling noises. The meteorite passed 
 over Parvatypore from N. to S. ; the people of the village were 
 greatly alarmed, and one man, near whom it fell, was stunned. The 
 villagers "carried it off to their temple, and, much alarmed, were 
 found making puja to it." The author of the notice in the Proceedings 
 considers that this aerolite contains no stony matter, and he states 
 that it is marked with stride lying obliquely to its greatest length, 
 which is 6J inches. The lamented Dr. Stoliczka, however, was of 
 opinion, from the description of the striation, that it is a stone con- 
 taining much iron, " like the Mooltan aerolite which fell some short 
 time ago." 2 If it be metallic throughout, as Saxton asserts, it is the 
 third 3 iron recorded to have fallen in India, and one of the very few 
 the descent of which has been witnessed. Among these very few is 
 the iron of Jullunder (Jalandher), Lahore, the history of which has 
 quite recently been studied by H. Blochmann. 4 According to the 
 Iqbalnamah i Jahangiri, a dreadful explosion was heard in a village 
 near Jullunder on the morning of the 10th April, 1621 (old style), 6 
 and " a lightning-like lustre shot along the heaven and descended to the 
 earth, and disappeared." Muhammad Sa'id, the Collector of Jullunder, 
 rode to the spot, and ordered the burnt ground where the meteor 
 struck to be dug. The deeper his men dug the hotter and crisper 
 the ground became "till they alighted on a lump of iron, which was 
 so hot that it seemed to have come that very moment out of the 
 oven. His Majesty (Jahangir) sent for Ustad Daud, who was well- 
 known in those days for the excellent sword-blades that he made, 
 and ordered him to make the lump into a sword, a dagger, and a 
 knife ; but the iron would not stand the hammer, and crumbled to 
 pieces." 6 He mixed the meteoric iron (alian i barg, lightning iron) 
 with common iron, and forged the weapons. This meteorite is calcu- 
 lated to have weighed 5-27 Ibs. Troy. 
 
 1 G. H. Saxton. Proc. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1870, 64. This fall is stated by Mr. 
 Greg, in the Report Brit. Assoc., 1870, to have taken place December 26th, 1869. 
 
 2 This is probably the meteorite of Lodran which fell 1st October, 1868 (see 
 Part II.). 
 
 3 The second is that found at Prambanan, Soerakarta, Java, in 1 865 ; if we include 
 under the word * India ' not only the British possessions, but the foreign settlements 
 in the Indian Archipelago. 
 
 4 H. Blochmann, Proc. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1869, 167. 
 
 6 This fall, in Mr. Greg's Catalogue, bears the date April 17th, 1620. 
 6 Compare with Mallet's experiments in forging the meteoric iron of Augusta 
 County. (See page 14.) 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 17 
 
 1870, June 17th, 2 p.m. Ibbenbiihren, Westphalia. 1 
 
 This stone was seen to fall. It is stated that a flash of light was 
 succeeded in about one minute by a noise as of thunder, which 
 attracted the attention of many persons within a radius, of some three 
 miles, and three minutes later the stone was seen to fall by a peasant 
 distant some hundred paces. It entered the ground to the depth of 
 O7 metre in a well-trodden footpath ; a fragment (30 grammes) was 
 afterwards found 300 to 400 paces from the spot. The meteorite, 
 which weighs 2*034 kilog. and is almost perfect, has the form of a 
 flattened spheroid; and the black crust, which is somewhat less than 
 0-1 mm. thick, bears on its surface a great number of very minute 
 'ridges of fusion' that are less marked than in the aerolites of Stannern 
 and Pultusk. On the posterior portion of the stone the fused matter 
 lias streamed along the surface. The stone, moreover, exhibits 
 curious depressions, resembling the marks which are made by 
 fingers on a plastic mass. 
 
 The body of the stone is of a remarkably light colour, and consists 
 of a greyish-white granular mass, through which are very unequally 
 distributed numerous large and small grains of a light yellowish- 
 green mineral. Some attain a size of 3 mm., and all that were 
 examined were so deficient in crysta' -faces, and even in cleavage- 
 planes, that an accurate determination of their form could not be 
 made ; judging from the cleavage, however, this mineral appears to 
 be rhombic. It has a specific gravity of 3'42 and the following 
 composition 
 
 14-82 
 
 Silicic acid 
 Iron protoxide . 
 Manganese proto 
 Magnesia 
 Lime 
 Alumina 
 
 side 
 
 54-51 
 17-53 
 
 0-29 
 26-43 
 1-04 
 1-26 
 
 Oxygen. 
 
 29 : 07 
 3-89 \ 
 0-06 ( 
 10-57 ( 
 0-30 / 
 0-59 
 
 101-06 
 
 or that of a bronzite of the form (f FeOf MgO)Si0 2 . 
 
 The pale grey very friable interstitial matter, freed as thoroughly 
 as possible from the grains of bronzite, was next examined. The 
 specific gravity is 3-40, and the mean composition of two analyses is 
 as follows : 
 
 14-72 
 
 Silicic acid 
 Iron protoxide .. 
 Manganese proto 
 Magnesia 
 Lime 
 Alumina 
 
 ride 
 
 54-47 
 11-15 
 0-28 
 >. 26*12 
 
 1-39 
 1-06 
 
 Oxygen. 
 29-05 
 3-81 \ 
 06 | 
 10-45 I 
 0-40 ) 
 0-50 
 
 100-47 
 
 It is seen, then, that the interstitial mineral and the grains have 
 1 G. Vom Rath. Monatsber. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, 1872, 27 : Pogg. Ann., cxlvi. 474. 
 
18 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 the same composition, and that the constitution of the Ibbenbiihren 
 meteorite is one of the simplest of any meteorite yet investigated. 
 It not only consists essentially of a single silicate, but contains 
 neither chromite, magnetic pyrites, nor sulphur compound of any 
 kind. A trace of metallic iron was met with, and some reddish- 
 yellow grains with a brilliant surface, which have not been ex- 
 amined. Can they be the curious mineral found in the stone of 
 Busti, which appears to be a compound of zirconium (or titanium), 
 calcium, and sulphur ? The black crust is strongly magnetic, some 
 of the iron protoxide of the bronzite having been converted during 
 the passage of the stone through the atmosphere into the higher 
 and magnetic oxide. 
 
 While this meteorite very nearly resembles that of Manegaum, it 
 approaches still more closely in composition to the bronzite of the 
 Shalka stone. It will be remarked that the meteoric bronzites far 
 exceed terrestrial bronzites as regards their per-centage of iron oxide. 
 
 We now know four aerolites consisting of a single silicate : 
 
 Chassigny (1815, October 3rd) 
 Bishopville (1843, March 25th) 
 Manegaum (1843, June 29th)... 
 
 Olivine. 
 Enstatite. 
 
 Bronzite. 
 
 Ibbenbiihren (1870, June 17th) 
 
 Vom Eath's paper is illustrated with a drawing of the stone. 
 
 In a short supplement in Poggendorff's Annalen is given a brief 
 description of a microscopic section of this stone, prepared by 
 Buchner, of Giessen. The entire slice is seen to be made up of 
 rounded bronzite grains, without any heterogeneous ground mass unit- 
 ing them. By rotating the Nicols the most brilliant play of colours is 
 observed, the entire stone presenting crystalline characters. Little 
 clefts filled with fused material cross the field in every direction. 
 Two very small red granules were observed in the bronzite ; their 
 composition is not known. Similar bright coloured grains have 
 been met with in meteorites by Wohler and other observers. 
 
 1870, October 27th, 3 a.m. Forest, Ohio. [Lat. 40 5(X N. ; 
 Long. 84 ^W.] 1 
 
 The meteor exploded with a report like that of a heavy siege gun, 
 followed by two or three reports in rapid succession. The firmest 
 houses were shaken to the foundations, and thousands of sleepers 
 aroused in an instant. People awake at the time were startled to see 
 the night suddenly lighted into day and again relapse in darkness. 
 The time between the extinction of the light and the sound of the 
 explosion is estimated at from one minute to half a minute. An 
 observer at Patterson, a mile from Forest, states that the meteor 
 came from the direction S. 35 W. The descriptions of its size are 
 of the usual vague kind : one man makes it as large as a beer-keg, 
 
 1 J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1870, xlix. 139. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 19 
 
 another as a load of hay, while a third observed a tail thirty feet 
 long and three feet wide I 
 
 The report appears to have been heard for fifty miles around, if 
 not at still greater distances. No fragments of the meteorite have 
 been found. 
 
 Found 1870. Kokomo, Howard Co., Indiana. 1 
 
 A lump of meteoric iron was found in plastic clay under a bed 
 of peat. It is described as a flattened, irregularly-shaped mass, 
 rounded on one side and concave on the other. It is 5 inches long, 
 3J inches wide, and l T 7 -o inches thick ; and it weighs 4 Ibs. 1J oz. 
 It is granular, like fine steel, and is malleable ; and though harder 
 than common iron, can be wrought into any form. No quantitative 
 analysis of this iron has yet been made, but the presence in it of the 
 following elements has been determined : nickel, cobalt, tin, carbon, 
 phosphorus, and perhaps sulphur. By acid the Widmannstattian 
 figures are developed in great perfection. 
 
 Fonnd 1870. Himae, Desert of Atacama, Chili. [Lat. 26 S. ; 
 Long. 70 W.] 2 
 
 This, the most recent addition to the little group of irons and 
 siderolites which have from time to time been found on the desert 
 and cordilleras of Atacama, in about the latitude of the Tropic of 
 Capricorn, partly in Chili and partly in Bolivia, was acquired for the 
 Vienna Collection in 1870. It is a very interesting specimen of 
 meteoric iron, apparently nearly complete, and weighing about 51 
 kilog. It bears a rough resemblance to a shield, being convex on one 
 side, somewhat hollow on the other. 
 
 Over the entire concave side are shallow hollows from 3 to 4 cm. 
 in breadth, and these in turn are marked with smaller hollows. 
 The whole surface is also covered with three systems of fine parallel 
 lines, forming a network; two of these are at once apparent, the 
 third only after careful inspection : they are Widmannstattian figures 
 developed by the natural oxidation of the surface. The positions 
 of the blunted edges between the shallow cavities are seen to be 
 closely connected with the course of these traversing lines, and the 
 meteorite is, as regards its crystallographic characters, formed 
 alike throughout. 
 
 The second side exhibits sharper ridges and a greater number of 
 
 1 E. T. Cox. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1873, T. 155. 
 
 2 G. Tschennak. DenJcachrift Wien. Akad. Math. Naturw. Cla*se, xxxi. 187. 
 E. Ludwig. Sitt. Wien. Akad., Ixiii. 323. 
 
20 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 the smaller hollows, which are only one-fourth or one-third the size 
 of those on the concave surface, and have much steeper sides. Here 
 also is seen the network of lines, still more distinct, and traversing 
 corresponding directions. Two systems intersect at an angle of about 
 70 ; the third, which is only occasionally visible, forms equal angles 
 with the other two. If these lines be sketched, as has been done by 
 Tschermak in his memoir, it becomes apparent that they correspond 
 with a 110 face (rhombic dodecahedral face) on meteoric iron, which 
 in the Widmannstattian figure is an isosceles triangle, with the angle 
 of the apex equal to 70 32'. The lines or lamellae forming the equal 
 sides of the triangle are perpendicular to the 110 face, while the 
 lamellae of the third system form with the 110 face, angles of 35 16' 
 and 144 44'. It thus becomes clear why it is that the lines inclined 
 to each other at an angle of 70 stand out so distinctly, while the 
 others are less readily detected : the former meet the cut surface 
 perpendicularly, the latter at a comparatively slight inclination. 
 
 The original surface is gone, but it was probably pitted, and the 
 iron presents the appearance of having at one period formed a portion 
 of a larger mass. In the different characters of the hollows on the 
 two sides, it bears a general resemblance to the Agram iron, on 
 which von Widmannstatten in 1808 first developed the figures that 
 bear his name. 
 
 This aerolite, mineralogically considered, contains : iron ; nickel- 
 iron ; schreibersite ; and troilite. 
 
 The iron occurs in three distinct forms : as beam-iron (Balkeneisen) ; 
 as tanite or fillet-iron (Bandeisen) ; and as interstitial iron (Fulleisen). 1 
 
 The beam-iron is seen on an etched surface in the form of long 
 stripes, which often extend right across it; they are 1 mm. and 
 sometimes 2 mm. in breadth, and occupy the greater part of the 
 surface, traversing it in three directions. One of these intersects 
 a second at an angle of about 83, and the third at about 97. If the 
 cut surface were parallel to a cubic face, only two of these directions 
 would be seen, and they would intersect at an angle of 90. The 
 face of the section, however, happens to lie somewhat out of the 
 plane of the (100) face, and is nearly parallel to the face of a 
 leucitoid (811), for which face the angles of the trapeze, in Tscher- 
 mak's drawing, are 82 59' and 97 T. 
 
 If etched, the beam-iron takes a set lustre, which Haidinger termed 
 crystalline damaskining. Each stripe, when viewed in particular 
 directions, exhibits a sheen, in intervening directions appearing 
 dull ; the orientation of the lustre, is not the same in all the stripes, 
 a group, irregularly distributed, always shining forth at the same 
 moment. A single stripe of this form of iron, if only slightly 
 etched, exhibits, under the microscope, very fine etched figures of two 
 kinds : fine threads 0-01 mm. broad, which are straight along one 
 side and serrated on the other ; they have the same habit and 
 traverse the same directions as the etched lines that were first 
 
 1 Von Reichenbach distinguished four varieties of iron developed by etching: 
 Balkeneisen, or kamacite ; Bandeisen, or tanite ; Fulleisen, or plessite ; and Glanz- 
 eisen, or lamprite (Pogg. Ann.^ cxiv. 99). 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 21 
 
 observed in the Braunau iron. 1 These threads are the sections of 
 lamellae which are inclosed in definite crystallographic orientation 
 in the beam-iron. When one of them meets a plate of tanite, the 
 former is as a rule terminated, not unfrequently to be continued in 
 the next stripe of beam-iron ; some, however, which meet a fillet of 
 tanite at an angle of about 70, are seen to pass through the last- 
 mentioned mineral. The other appearance, developed by slightly 
 etching the beam-iron, consists of small oblong areas with fine 
 hatching. Seen in favourable light, all the parallel sunken lines 
 shine out along one slope; and if the plate be rotated through 180, 
 they light up again along the other ; in intervening positions they 
 appear dull. These brighter areas are often in parallel position, 
 though not invariably so ; if, however, the angles be measured 
 which they make with the fillets of tanite and with the cubic 
 lamellae, it is observed that in point of relative position they exactly 
 accord with the etched lines on the Braunau iron. They never 
 penetrate the plates of tanite. When the corroding action of the 
 acid is prolonged, these appearances are destroyed, and are replaced 
 by etched lines and etched cavities. 
 
 The etched lines have the same characters as those of the Braunau 
 iron, but they are shorter and more difficult to measure. The section, 
 as stated, is not exactly parallel to the face 811, so that the following 
 determinations of some of the angles which the etched lines make 
 with lines parallel to 100 are only approximate : 
 
 Observed. Calculated for 
 
 100 811 
 
 27 . 26 34' 25 T 
 
 63. 
 
 86 
 109 
 119 
 
 63 26' 
 82 53' 
 104 2' 
 119 45' 
 
 64 7* 
 
 85 40' 
 
 110 4T 
 
 117 49' 
 
 while the angles which the etched lines form with lines parallel to 
 111 are: 
 
 Observed. Calculated for 
 
 100 811 
 
 23 30 58' ... 23 51' 
 
 45 45 0' ... 45 24' 
 
 53 52 7' ... 48 58' 
 
 69 71 34' ... 70 30' 
 
 These observations place beyond doubt the fact that the deeper 
 lines thus brought out are the usual lines of etching. 
 
 The cavities, produced by the action of acid, are very small, about 
 0-005 mm. across, and have a rounded, sometimes quadratic, outline ; 
 the more perfect having the form of rounded cubes. They are most 
 abundantly met with on the fillets alluded to above, those in the 
 same piece of beam-iron being similarly orientated, and it is to them 
 and the parallel serration of the fillets that the crystalline damas- 
 kining is due. 
 
 In the beam-iron are inclosed schreibersite and troilite, but graphite 
 was not observed. The schreibersite is only met with in this form 
 
 1 J. G. Neumann. Am der Naturwiss. Abhandl. (W. Haidinger], iii. Abth. 2, 45. 
 
22 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 of iron, and occurs there in rounded particles and elongated forms, 
 which proceed from plates of this mineral, many of which lie parallel 
 to an octahedral face. It occurs very frequently round about the 
 remarkable lamellae of troilite (see infra) that lie parallel to the 
 faces of the cube. 
 
 The fillet-iron (Bandelsen) , or tanite, presents itself on the etched 
 surface in the form of prominent bands or fillets between the stripes 
 of beam-iron, and they are sections of lamellae lying parallel to 
 those of the beam-iron, in other words, to the octahedral faces. 
 This form of iron, though in such thin plates, is found by the 
 microscope to be a fine tissue of heterogeneous substances. One 
 of these is nickel-iron, which coats the lamellse of tanite. A section 
 of this mineral is dull in appearance, but the boundary is brilliant ; 
 while outside it, lie brilliant points of not unfrequently regular form. 
 The framework and the points have the yellowish colour of nickel- 
 iron. The duller field, when strongly magnified, is seen to consist 
 of exceedingly fine plates of nickel-iron, which lie in two different 
 directions, for the lines intersect at 90. The material lying between 
 these plates, which has been removed in greater abundance, is pure 
 iron. The lamellse of tanite are often penetrated and traversed by 
 fine plates of beam-iron. 
 
 The interstitial iron (Fiilleisen), which, as the name implies, 
 occupies the areas between the minerals already mentioned, is 
 abundantly present in masses sometimes extending to the breadth of 
 1 cm. It is made up of tanite and beam-iron, and is a representation 
 of the structure of the entire meteorite on a smaller scale, with such 
 modifications as seem to indicate that after the large lamellae of 
 beam-iron and tanite were already formed, the matter inclosed 
 between them became solid, and, shaping itself in accordance with the 
 same laws in a limited area, produced this variety of meteoric iron. 
 It occurs in two forms that vary but little from each other. In 
 one, fine stripes of beam-iron intersect, while between them is 
 tanite : this is an exact reproduction of the coarser structure of the 
 meteorite. In the other (and this is observed in the larger masses) 
 the square form is provided along its boundary with stripes of beam- 
 iron, the remainder appearing granular through a number of little 
 particles of beam-iron being ranged together with nickel-iron 
 between them. 
 
 The occurrence of troilite in lamella has been observed for the 
 first time in this iron. They lie parallel to the cubic faces, and, 
 unlike those of tanite, do not traverse any considerable portion of 
 the etched surface. The largest are 3 '5 cm. long and 1-5 wide, and 
 have a thickness of from 0-1 to 0-2 mm. They have a sharp outline, 
 homogeneous structure, and are easily recognized as consisting of 
 the brittle bronze-coloured sulphide which decomposes with acid. 
 These lamellae are covered on either side with a layer of beam-iron, 
 which separates them from the tanite, the interstitial iron, and the 
 lamellaa of beam-iron that are parallel to the octahedron ; whenever 
 one of the last-mentioned plates happens to be situated near a lamella 
 of troilite, it will be found that the troilite has broken through it. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 23 
 
 The troilite seems to have been formed first. After it had become 
 covered with a layer of beam-iron, the octahedral lamella (the 
 tiinite and the beam-iron) appear to have been developed ; and last 
 of all the interstitial mass, likewise in accordance with the law 
 which governed the formation of the octahedral lamellae. 
 
 The troilite of this iron occurs almost entirely as cubic lamellae, 
 but rarely in the familiar nodular form. On examining the irons of 
 the Vienna Collection, Tschermak discovered thin plates of troilite, 
 covered, as above, with beam-iron, in the meteorite of Jewell Hill, 
 Madison Co., North Carolina, found in 1856. The lamellae are 
 just as abundant, have the same orientation as those of the South 
 American iron, and are about one-third the size. 
 
 These two irons differ but slightly in composition : 
 
 Iliraae. Jewell Hill. 
 
 Iron 91-53 91-12 
 
 Nickel 7-14 7'82 
 
 Cobalt 0-41 0-43 
 
 Copper trace. ... ... trace. 
 
 Phosphorus ... 0-44 0-08 
 
 99-52 99-45 
 
 The paper is illustrated with four beautifully executed plates : two 
 showing the natural markings of the surface, the other two the 
 figures developed by etching a section. 1 
 
 1 The following meteoric irons and siderolites from this region, several of which 
 probably belong to one fall, have now been recorded ; the greater number are pre- 
 served in one or other well-known collection, and have been submitted to examination. 
 
 (1). 1827. Siderolite (Brit. Mus. Coll.). Atacama, Bolivia. Reported on by 
 Bollaert (Journ. Royal Geogr. Soc., xxi. 127) ; and by Reid (Chambers' Jour., March 
 8, 1851), who places the locality in lat. 23 30' S. and 45 f to 50 leagues from the coast. 
 According to R. A. Philippi (Jahr. Min., 1855, 1), masses weighing 120 to 150 Ibs. 
 were found one league from Imilac, in the centre of the Atacama Desert. Imilac is 
 35 leagues from the coast, 40 leagues from Gobi j a, and 35 from Atacama. Rose 
 places the locality in Chili. (In Stieler's Atlas, Atacama Mt. is in Bolivia ; the 
 Desert of Atacama, partly in Chili, partly in Bolivia ; the Province of Atacama, in 
 Chili; and Atacama Alta in Bolivia.) This will be the meteorite analyzed by 
 Frapolli, and described by Bunsen in 1856, the metallic portion of which contains : 
 
 Fe = 88-01; Ni = 10-25; Co = 0'70; Mg = 0"22; Ca = 0'13; Na = 0-21; 
 K = 0-15; P = 0-33 =100-00. 
 
 (2). 1858. Iron (Brit. Mus. Coll.). Atacama, Bolivia. 
 
 (3). 1862. Siderolite (Brit. Mus. Coll.). Sierra de Chaco, Desert of Atacama. 
 Rose places this in Chili, and the position of Chaco is stated to be lat. 25 20' S. and 
 long. 69 20' W.; he (Ber. Berlin Akad., 1863, 30) could not develope etched figures 
 on the nickel-iron, which had the composition : Fe = 88-55 ; Ni = 11 -5 ; the meteorite 
 resembles that found at Hainholz some years earlier. 
 
 (4). 1863. Siderolite (Brit. Mus. Coll.). Copiapo, Chili. In the Amer. Jour. Sc. 
 (1864) xxxvii. 243, C. A. Joy describes a siderolite from the Janacero Pass, 50 
 English miles from Copiapo, Province of Atacama, Chili. The spec, gravity of this 
 specimen is 4-35, and it is composed of nickel-iron, troilite, and silicates. J. L. 
 Smith (Amer. Jour. Sc., xxxviii. 386) considers it to be identical with the Sierra di 
 Chaco meteorite described by Rose (see No. 3). Captain Gilliss, of the United 
 States Observatory at Washington, believes * Janacera ' to be a misprint for 
 ' Jarquera,' the name of a river which rises in one of the Atacama passes. 
 
 (5). (No date). Siderolite (Brit. Mus. Coll.). Atacama, Bolivia. 
 
 (6). 1866. Iron (Brit. Mus. Coll.). Cordilleras of Atacama, Chili. M. Daubree 
 
24 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Found 1870. Iquique, Peru. 1 
 
 This mass of iron was discovered on a mountain slope on the 
 western border of the pampa of Tamarugul, ten leagues east of 
 the harbour of Iquique. It lay at a depth of from two to four feet 
 below the surface, being imbedded partly in a bed of nitre, of the 
 hardness of stone, partly in the overlying soil. When found, the 
 metal was so hard that two chisels were broken in an attempt to 
 remove a fragment of it. A piece that had been heated became 
 malleable, and was beaten into very thin plate. 
 
 The Iquique iron is in the form of a slab, 6 cm. in thickness ; on 
 one side it is convex, bent somewhat inwards on the other, with a 
 deep cavity on one part of the surface. The former is covered with 
 ridges, running obliquely across its side, and in most cases parallel 
 to each other. The weight of this block of metal is 21 Ibs., and the 
 specific gravity 7-925. When cut, it takes a fine polish, and exhibits 
 strong metallic lustre and a steel-grey colour. Four analyses have 
 
 (Compt. rend., Ixxvi. 569) describes a large iron, weighing 104 kilog., acquired in 
 1867 for the Paris Collection. It was found in November, 1866, on the west slope 
 of the high cordillera of the Andes, between the Rio Juncal and the Salt-works of 
 Pedernal, 50 leagues N.E. of Paypote. (The difficulty of transporting heavy masses 
 across such an arid region is very great ; according to Dr. Phillippi ( The Times, 
 August 31st, 1874), it only rains about once in from 20 to 50 years.) This mass 
 bears on the surface the systems of lines which Tschermak observed on the Ilimae 
 iron, and Damour finds them agree in composition. They are probably all members 
 of the same aerolitic fall. 
 
 (7). (No date) ; Iron (Brit. Mus. Coll.). Sierra di Deesa, Chili. Under this 
 name M Daubree has given (Compt. rend., Ixxvi. 571) a description of a brecciated 
 iron from the cordillera of Deesa, near Santiago, acquired in 1867- It closely re- 
 sembles the iron found in 1840 at Hernalga, in the Desert of Talcahuayo, in Chili. 
 It contains 2-4 per cent, of silicate, which has been chemically examined by Meunier. 
 (Sitz. Wien Ak., Ixi.). 
 
 (8). 1866. Iron (Brit Mus. Coll.). Juncal, Cordilleras of Atacama, Chili. 
 
 (9). 1864. Sidttrolite (Berlin Coll.). Atacama, 50 miles from Copiapo. It 
 appears probable from the rough description of the locality that this may be the 
 same meteorite as the one mentioned under No. 4, although the dates do not corre- 
 spond. In that case J. L. Smith's view of the identity in character of the meteorites 
 will have to be extended to Nos. 3, 4, and 9. 
 
 (10). 1870. Iron (Vienna Coll ). Ilimae, Desert of Atacama, Chili. 
 
 (11). (No date). Siderolitc. Taltal, Desert of Atacama. J. Domeyko (Compt. 
 rend., Iviii. 551) describes some masses of considerable size on the high plateau of 
 the Desert near the copper mine of Taltal, south of Imilac. The spec, gravity of a 
 fragment was 5 '64. 
 
 (12). 1863. Siderolite (Vienna Coll.). Copiapo, Chili. Described by Haidinger 
 (Sitz. Wien Akad., xlix. 499), as a coarsely granular brecciated meteorite. The 
 nickel-iron, according to Von Hauer, consists of : Fe = 93 ; Ni = 6'4. 
 
 (13). 1859. Iron? Toconado, Desert of Atacama. J. J. von Tschudi, writing 
 under the above date to Haidinger (Sitz. Wien Akad. , xlix. 494), mentions a meteoric 
 mass, weighing 80 arobas (20 cwt.), which lies 20 leagues N.E. of Toconado. He 
 states that it agrees in structure and appearance with the Atacama iron lying 50 
 leagues southward. 
 
 1 G. Hose. Abdruck aus der Festschrift der Gesell. Naturforsch. Freunde zu 
 Berlin, 33. Berlin : Diimmler, 1873. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 25 
 
 been made of it, three by A. Kaimondi, of Lima, and one by Ramm els- 
 berg, that last quoted, with the following results : 
 
 i. ii. in. IY. 
 
 Iron 81-42 ... 85-61 ... 87'59 ... 81-66 
 
 Nickel 18-51 ... 14-37 ... 12-38 ... 15-49 
 
 Cobalt ... ... ... 0-19 
 
 Insoluble portion ... ... ... ... 2-66 
 
 99-93 99-98 99-97 100-00 
 
 The insoluble constituents of IV. were : iron 2*17 ; nickel 0'37 ; 
 phosphorus OOo ; and a residue, that withstood the action of 
 hydrochloric acid, 0-07. 
 
 The attention of the reader will be raised by the unusually large 
 per-centage of nickel present in this meteorite, it being as high as, or 
 higher than, that of the aerolite of Shingle Springs (see page 13). We 
 saw that the American iron, and the one from the Cape of Good Hope, 
 found at the end of last century, resembled each other not only in the 
 quantity of nickel in the alloy, but in the fact that neither of them 
 developed figures when etched. The Peruvian iron forms a third 
 example of this class, for it also shows no Widmannstattian figures : 
 by treatment with acid it takes a pale grey colour, and is dull. In 
 lieu, however, eight fine straight parallel stripes, singularly unlike 
 any markings usually observed, are seen to traverse the etched sur- 
 face, almost directly across the greatest length of the block. Four 
 of these crossing near the middle of the surface appear to be 
 equidistant from each other, like lines on ruled paper ; the remaining 
 four lie in pairs, one on the right, the other to the left of the group 
 of four, the whole number, as stated, being in parallel position. 
 The spaces between the members of the first pair and of the second 
 pair respectively exhibit for some distance the same lighter surface 
 that gives prominence to the stripes themselves. These stripes do 
 not appear to be in any way connected with the ridges on the outer 
 surface, and though evidently brighter than the face generally when 
 seen in certain directions, are duller than it when viewed in others. 
 Very similar stripes were noticed on the Cape iron 1 already men- 
 tioned ; in fact, till Eose made these observations, it was the only 
 iron which was known to exhibit such phenomena. As to their 
 cause, the author has not advanced any explanation beyond attributing 
 them to the position of the small particles composing the stripe. 
 They present some of the characteristics of the plates of beam-iron 
 observed in the Atacama and many other irons. 
 
 This iron apparently contains no sulphur, and the sections of little 
 inclosed crystals, such as those met with in the Cape iron, which 
 Baumhauer believed to be of pyrites (FeS 2 ), but which Rose main- 
 tained were of magnetic pyrites, were in vain sought for. 
 
 Two plates, copied from photographs of the aerolite, are appended 
 to the paper. 
 
 It rarely happens that Widmannstattian figures are developed in 
 
 1 G. Eose. Aiis Abhandl. Berl. Akad. Wiss., 1863, 70. E. H. yon Baumhauer, 
 Archiv. Neerland. des Sciences Exactcs et Natur., ii. 377. 
 
26 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 irons containing more than nine per cent of nickel. With a know- 
 ledge of the difficulties attending the complete separation of nickel 
 and cobalt from iron and of the different action of the re-agents, 
 employed to bring these metals into solution, on the phosphides, 
 rich in nickel, which frequently accompany them, it would not be 
 advisable to lay too great stress on the results of earlier analyses of 
 meteoric irons as pointing to any general conclusion when the details 
 of the processes made use of cannot likewise be studied. It is 
 worthy of note, however, that the irons mentioned below, with the 
 per-centage of nickel found in them, give lines occasionally, but no 
 figures : 
 
 Oktibbeha Co. = 59-69; Caille = 17'37; Babb's Mill = 17'l, 14-7, and 12-4: 
 Howard Co. (1862) = 12-94; Atacama (1862) = 11-5; Krasnojarsk = 10-73; 
 Tucuman = 10-0; Livingstone Co,, Kentucky = 10-0 ; Zacatecas = 9'89 ; and 
 Szlanicza = 8-91. 
 
 While the following irons exhibit them in great perfection : 
 
 Elbogen = 8-5; Lion River = 6'7; Lenarto=6'55; Madoc = 6-35; Sevier Co. = 
 6-5 and 5-8; Schwetz=5'77; Tabarz=5-69; Cambria = 5- 7 and 5-0; Asheville 
 =5-0; Cohahuila = 3-53; and Ruff's Mountain = 3- 12. 
 
 Meteoric Irons found August, 1870. Ovifak (or Uigfak) near 
 Godhavn, Kekertarssuak or Island of Disko, Greenland [Lat. 
 69 19' 30" N. ; Long. 54 V 22" W.] > 
 
 The interesting story of the discovery of these enormous masses 
 by Prof. Nordenskjold is already known to the readers of the 
 GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE through a translation of his original memoir. 
 While exploring in Danish Greenland in 1870, his attention was 
 
 1 A. E. Nordenskjold. Redogorelse for en Expedition till Gronland ar 1870. 
 JT. Vet.- Akad. Forh., 1870, 873. (See translation in GEOL. MAG., IX. 289, et seq.) 
 D. Forbes, Abstract Geol Soc., No. 238, November 8th, 1871. Chem. News, 
 November 17th, 1871. A. E. Nordenskjold. Remarks on Greenland Meteorites. 
 Abstract Geol. Soc., December 20th, 1871. T. Nordstrom. Ofv. Vet. Akad. Fork., 
 1871, 453. See also GEOL. MAG., VIII. 570, and IX. 88. A. E. Nordenskjold. 
 Les Meteorites. Revue Scientifique, 1872, ii. [2], 128. G. A. Daubree. Compt. 
 rend., Ixiii. 1268. Compt. rend., Ixxiv. 1542. Compt. rend., Ixxv. 240. E. Ludwig. 
 Min. Mitt., 1871, i. 109. E.Hebert. Seance Soc.Geol.de France, February 5th, 1872. 
 Revue Scientifique, i. [2], 858. E'. de Chancourtois and M. Jennatez. Seance Soc. 
 Geol. de France, February 19th, 1872. Revue Scientifique, i. [2], 905. G. A. 
 Daubree. Seance Soc. Geol. de France, May, 20th, 1872. Revue Scientifique, i. [2], 
 1169. Amer. Jour. Sc., iii. 71 and 388. F. Wohler. Nachricht. K. Gesell. Wiss. 
 zu Gottingen, 1872, No. 11, 197. Fogg. Ann., cxlvi. 297. Ann. der Chem., clxiii. 
 247. Nachricht. K. Gesell. Wiss. zu Gottingen, 1872, No. 26. Ann. der Chem., clxv. 
 313. G. Rose. Zeit. Deutsch. Geol. Gesell., xxiv. 174. G. von Helmerssen. Zeit. 
 Deutsch. Geol. Gesell., xxv. 347. C. Rammelsberg. Ueber die Meteoriten (Samm. 
 wiss. Vortrdge], pages 14 and 18. C. W. Blomstrand. JBer. Deutsch. Chem. Gesell., 
 iv. 987. G. Nauckhoff. Svenska Vet. Akad. Randl., 1872, i. No. 6. Ber. Deutsch. 
 Chem. Gesell., vi. 1463. Miner alogische Mittheilungen, 1874, 109. G. Tschermak. 
 Mineralogische Mittheilungen, 1874, 165. Der Naturforscher, 1874, Nos. 49-52. 
 For a map of Disko see Geographical Mag., February, 1875. J. Lawrence Smith, 
 Compt. rend., Ixxx. 301. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 27 
 
 directed to the possibility of meteorites being met with in Disko Island, 
 by the accidental discovery of a block of meteoric iron in some 
 ballast which had been taken in at the old whaling-station at Fortuna 
 Bay, near Godhavn, and he urged the Greenlanders to search the 
 district for masses of that metal. He proceeded to explore Omenak 
 and other islands north of Disko, and, on his return to Godhavn at 
 the end of August in the same year, not only learned from the 
 Greenlanders that masses such as he was seeking for had been found, 
 but he was shown a specimen of meteoric iron in confirmation of their 
 statement. The masses were discovered, not at Fortuna Bay, but further 
 westward along the shore, at Ovifak, between Laxe-bugt 1 and Disko 
 fjord, a spot than which there is none more difficult to reach along 
 the whole of the coast of Danish Greenland, as it lies open to the 
 south wind, and is rendered inaccessible by even a very moderately 
 rough sea. Nordenskjold at once chartered two whale-boats, manned by 
 Greenlanders, and set sail for Ovifak, where, the sea being calm, they 
 were able to land, and the stone at which they lay to proved afterwards 
 to be the largest block of meteoric iron that they were to discover. 
 
 For the description which Nordenskjold gives of the condition 
 under which these masses are found, we refer the reader to the 
 GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE, and proceed to consider the more recently 
 published report of Nauckhoff, the geologist of the expedition 
 of 1871, of the peculiar geological characters of the rocks at Ovifak 
 (Blafjell, or Blue Cliffs) with which they are associated. 
 
 The surface of the south-western and western portion of the 
 island of Disko is composed of basalt, which extends as far as 
 Smith's Sound, and was probably erupted in Miocene times. In only 
 a few points of the island, Godhavn, the islets of Fortuna Bay and 
 Nangiset, the primitive rock is observed. It consists for the most 
 part of slaty gneiss, passing over in some places iuto mica- schist 
 and often traversed by veins of pegmatite. Granite was nowhere 
 seen. 
 
 Immediately overlying the gneiss is a basalt breccia of dark 
 blackish-green colour, some two hundred feet in thickness. In 
 places the large angular fragments are cemented together with 
 calcite ; as a rule, however, they are so small that the rock at some 
 distance appears homogeneous. Few cavities are observed, and they 
 are usually filled with calcite, rarely with zeolites. Above the breccia 
 lies a bed of basalt-wacke of rust-brown colour, and with amygda- 
 loidal structure, the cavities containing apophyllite, chabasite, levynite, 
 stilbite, desmine, mesotype, analcime, and other zeolites. Over this 
 again rises a bed of basalt of vast thickness, sometimes attaining 
 one thousand feet, and of a dark greyish green hue ; it occurs not 
 unfrequently in vertical regular six-sided columns. The texture is 
 generally crypto-crystalline, though exhibiting in places the char- 
 acters of anamesite and dolerite; the few cavities are filled with 
 chalcedony, rarely with zeolites. At Ovifak the cliffs rise to a 
 
 1 See GEOL. MAG., 1872, Vol. IX. PI. VII. In this map two bays called Laxebugt 
 are given; the one mentioned above is situated to the south of Disko fjord. 
 
28 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 height of 2,000 feet above the sea-level. The upper portion consists 
 of compact dark-coloured basalt. Proceeding downwards on the 
 nearly vertical face, we see thick beds of red-wacke and basalt-clay, 
 until already at mid height the face is hidden by vast screes of 
 large and small fragments of basalt. Where the cascades of surface- 
 water have removed the finer portions of the talus, and the face can 
 be inspected at greater depths between the larger blocks of basalt, 
 the basalt-wacke is seen which overlies the breccia. 
 
 On the shore below these screes between high and low- water, 
 and within an area of about fifty square metres, twelve large and 
 many small iron masses were found. The six largest weigh 
 respectively 21,000 kilog., 8,000 kilog., 7,000 kilog., 142 kilog., 
 96 kilog., and 87 kilog. 
 
 Thanks to the kindness of Prof. Nordenskjold, I am enabled to give 
 a representation (see Plate) of the largest mass (about 19 English 
 tons in weight), which is now preserved in the hall of the Royal 
 Academy at Stockholm. This magnificent block is about two metres 
 in length and 1'7 metres wide. The second block, weighing about 
 nine tons, has, as a compliment to Denmark, on whose territory the 
 meteorites were found, been presented to the Museum of Copenhagen. 
 Another of the masses, weighing 195 Ibs. 8oz., has been acquired by 
 the British Museum. The aggregate weight of metal collected by 
 the Expedition amounted to 36,700 kilog. The woodcut, repre- 
 senting the three largest blocks, is from a sketch made by Nordstrom 
 in 1870. 
 
 For the earlier account of the discovery of these masses the reader 
 is referred to Nordenskjold's memoir, 1 and Nordstrom's paper. The 
 expedition of that year, 1870, having no means of bringing such vast 
 masses to Europe, a new expedition was equipped by the Swedish 
 Government in the following spring, consisting of the gunboat 
 " Ingegerd," Capt. F. W. von Otter, and the brig " Gladan," under 
 the command of M. von Krusenstern, who brought the meteorites to 
 Denmark in September, 1871. 
 
 1 GEOL. MAG. 1872, Vol. IX. pp. 461, 462, and Plate VIII. 
 
& 
 
 
 
 i 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 29 
 
 Nauckhoff in his paper draws attention to one remarkable block, 
 about 2001bs. in weight, which lay three feet below high water. 
 On the under-side it was covered with basalt grains, cemented to- 
 gether with hydrated oxide of iron, and consisted of coarsely crystal- 
 line iron, containing much carbon, and which readily weathered. 
 
 Sixty -five feet N.E. of the spot where the largest block lay, a ridge 
 of dark brown basalt-like rock comes to the surface. Through its 
 superior hardness it had withstood the denudation better than the 
 loose basalt-wackS on either side of it. It is soon lost to sight, but 
 reappears to take a direction towards the spot where the large iron 
 lay. The rock forming this ridge resembles ordinary compact 
 basalt, and is of finely granular texture. Near the margin it be- 
 comes crypto-crystalline, and is seen under the microscope to 
 consist of labradorite, greenish-brown augite and black grains of 
 magnetite. It will be found, when we come to speak of the analysis 
 of the rocks accompanying this iron, to accord in composition with 
 the basalt itself. It differs from it, however, in having the presence 
 of two accessory constituents which are disseminated through the 
 parts forming the edge of the ridge, and are : a greenish hydrated 
 ferrous silicate resembling hisingerite, and a yellowish brown iron 
 sulphide. The analyses of the former mineral, it will be seen in the 
 sequel, show that it is not identical with the chlorophseite so often 
 occurring in basalt ; the sulphide completely accords in composition 
 with the troilite of meteorites. The columnar structure, so often 
 found in basalt, was not noticed, the cracks occurring near the sides 
 appearing to be all parallel to the margin. The surface of a freshly 
 broken fragment displays peculiar smoothness and lustre. On the 
 east side of this ridge, and in the solid rock, a piece of much-weathered 
 iron was found inclosed by Nauckhoff: while another member of the 
 expedition, Mr. J. Steenstrup, detected metallic iron on the west side of 
 the ridge. An analysis of this iron, apparently of the same kind as that 
 analysed by Lindstrom, will be referred to later on. While blasting 
 this basalt, a rock was hit upon which was at once seen to differ con- 
 siderably from the matrix. It consists of a greenish ground mass, 
 inclosing spangles and grains of iron, and occurs in rounded masses 
 that are separated from the basalt by a coarsely crystalline greenish 
 shell, about 20 mm. thick as well as by an outer rusted brown 
 crust. The boundaries of these masses were well defined ; in no 
 instance were they detected passing over into the basalt. 
 
 The masses of iron lying in the basalt ridge had usually an ellip- 
 soidal form and a rusted crust, which allowed of their being easily 
 detached from the basalt. Nauckhoff succeeded in removing six 
 lumps, the aggregate weight whereof was 150 Ibs. This iron is 
 hard and crystalline, exhibits Widmannstattian figures, and is in 
 every respect like that of the large loose blocks. Moreover, like 
 them, it unfortunately possesses the property of exuding a yellow 
 liquid (ferrous chloride), and of weathering away. It was noticed 
 that these inclosed masses had their major axes parallel to the direc- 
 tion of the ridge, and that they were in a way connected with each 
 other by little veins of weathered iron. 
 
30 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Nordenskjold states that the large free blocks of metal had a tombac 
 to rusty-brown colour, and, when found, exhibited metallic lustre 
 on parts of their surface. Here and there, fragments of basalt, similar 
 to that of the ridge, were found adhering to them. The inner parts 
 contained none of the rock, and his analyses detected the presence 
 of little silicic acid. They were strongly polar, the upper surface 
 attracting the north, the lower side the south pole of a magnetic 
 needle. 
 
 The iron of the large masses is crystalline and brittle, so that 
 pieces can readily be removed with a hammer: the metal of the 
 ridge is tougher, and has a rougher fracture. The presence of 
 troilite was rarely detected in the detritus ; a few black magnetic 
 grains were met with which, by their octahedral faces, were recog- 
 nized to be magnetite. 
 
 The characters of the polished sections of the different masses 
 differ greatly : in some the surface shows rounded areas of varying 
 brightness and shades of colour, with parts of a brassy yellow 
 (troilite) ; others are more homogeneous, or appear to be made up 
 of fine prisms of " carburetted nickel-iron." Some, not all, exhibit 
 figures when etched. 
 
 Though containing little sulphur, the Greenland irons, since they 
 have been brought to Europe, have shown a marked tendency to 
 crumble to pieces. On the shore at Ovifak, sometimes exposed to the 
 wash of the -waves, sometimes left high and dry, but preserved 
 at the constant temperature of the sea, which varies little throughout 
 the year, the masses apparently underwent little change. Already 
 during the passage, however, many fragments crumbled away, and 
 when unpacked at Stockholm two months later, and placed in 
 a room of ordinary temperature, others broke up into a reddish 
 brown powder. A freshly fractured lustrous surface of one of the 
 masses began to rust at one place, expand and crumble away; 
 while the remainder experienced no change, till at length the oxida- 
 tion extended into the interior and the whole fell to pieces. In a 
 hermetically sealed glass tube the iron is preserved unchanged ; but 
 in another tube with a fine crack oxidation continued. In alcohol 
 no change takes place ; in air, dried by sulphuric acid, the change 
 is greatly impeded. Attempts to preserve them by coating them with 
 varnish were of slight avail. The cracking is caused by dilatation, 
 and takes place with such force that masses of metal, on which 
 chisel and saw were without effect, are broken and bent out of 
 shape during oxidation. 
 
 Nordenskjold found that a fragment of the largest iron, when 
 heated to redness, gave off more than 100 times its volume of 
 a gas which had a bituminous smell. It was evidently gas not 
 simply occluded by the metal, but was produced by the decomposi- 
 tion of " the organic matter in the meteorite," through the reducing 
 action of those compounds on the oxide of iron associated with 
 them. When such iron is treated with mercury chloride very little 
 gas is evolved; in aqua regia it dissolves, leaving in some cases 
 a carbonaceous residue, in others very little residue of any kind ; 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 31 
 
 by the action of hydrochloric acid a gas is given off which has a 
 penetrating odour resembling that of some hydrocarbon. By treat- 
 ment with acid a humus-like compound appears to be generated, 
 which is soluble in ammonia, insoluble in acid, and can be oxidized 
 only with difficulty by long boiling with very strong acids. 
 
 In Nordenskj old's paper are given the earliest analyses of these 
 irons : 
 
 I. Fragment of one of the large iron masses : this specimen evolved more gas 
 than II. and III. Specific gravity =5-86 6-36. Analysed by Nordenskjold. II. 
 Fragment of iron, more compact and less crystalline than I., probably from the 
 basalt ridge. Small grains were observed to be malleable. The specimen from 
 which this was taken subsequently crumbled away. Specific gravity = 7*05 7*06. 
 Analysed by T. Nordstrom. III. Fragment of iron from the basalt ridge, which 
 exhibited well-marked Widmanstattian figures. In external appearance this iron 
 exactly resembled II. Specific gravity = 6-24. Analysed by G. Lindstrbm. 
 
 Iron 
 
 Nickel 
 
 Cobalt 
 
 Copper 
 
 Phosphorus 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 Chlorine 
 
 Alumina 
 
 Lime 
 
 Magnesia 
 
 Potash 
 
 Soda 
 
 Silicic acid 
 
 Insoluble portion 
 
 Carbon, Organic Matter, 
 Oxygen, and "Water ... 
 
 I. 
 
 84-49 
 2-48 
 0-07 
 0-27 
 0-20 
 1-52 
 0-72 
 trace 
 trace 
 0-04 
 trace 
 trace 
 trace 
 0-05 
 
 10-16 
 
 100-00 
 
 II. 
 
 86-34 
 1-64 
 0-35 
 0-19 
 0-07 
 0-22 
 1-16 
 0-24 
 0-48 
 0-29 
 0-07 
 0-14 
 0-66 
 4-37 
 
 3-71 
 99-93 
 
 III. 
 
 93-24 
 1-24 
 0-56 
 0-19 
 0-03 
 1-21 
 0-16 
 
 trace 
 0-08 
 0-12 
 
 0-59 
 
 Carbon... 2-30 
 Hydrogen 0-07 
 
 99-79 
 
 Nordstrom analysed the carbonaceous residue of the compact iron 
 II., after digestion with double chloride of copper and sodium, and 
 iron chloride, and found, when a quantity of ash is deducted, that it 
 is composed of : 
 
 Carbon 63-59 63-64 
 
 Hydrogen 3-26 3-55 
 
 Oxygen (by difference) 33-15 32-81 
 
 100-00 
 
 100-00 
 
 These numbers yield no satisfactory atomic ratios, and it is not 
 improbable that the carbon is present in two allotropic modifications, 
 as well as a constituent of a complex organic compound. 
 
 In 1872 two interesting papers were published by Wohler on the 
 results of his examination of this iron, especially that from the ridge. 
 The specimen he chose for examination came from a vein of metal 
 several inches wide and some feet in length, which was inclosed in 
 a rock " that presents a marked difference in composition from the 
 basalt breccia whence it protrudes." He describes this iron as 
 bearing a close resemblance to grey cast iron ; it has a bright lustre, 
 
32 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 is very hard, is quite unalterable in air, and has a specific gravity 
 5'82. Nordenskjold, as we have seen, extracted gas from the metal 
 of the larger masses by heating it. Wohler finds that the iron 
 of the vein evolves more than one hundred times its volume of a gas 
 that burns with a pale blue flame, and is carbonic oxide, mixed with 
 a little carbonic acid. The " iron," in fact, contains a considerable 
 amount of carbon, as well as a compound of oxygen ; and, according 
 to Wohler, can at no time have been exposed to a high temperature. 
 After it has been heated, the iron becomes brighter, and, though more 
 soluble in acid, it still leaves a carbonaceous residue. A fragment 
 heated in dry hydrogen, with a view to determine the amount of 
 oxygen present, formed a quantity of water, and lost 11 '09 per cent, 
 of its weight. " It contained, in other words, 11-09 per cent, of 
 oxygen." It is not stated whether the water corresponded in weight 
 to that amount of oxygen. Hydrochloric acid acts very slowly and 
 imperfectly on this metal, evolving first sulphuretted hydrogen, and 
 then hydrogen possessing the odour of a hydrocarbon, and leaves a 
 black granular magnetic powder, which, though insoluble in cold 
 acid, generates on the application of heat a gas with a strong odour 
 of a hydrocarbon, leaving a residue of amorphous sooty carbon and 
 slightly lustrous graphitic particles. In iron chloride the "iron" 
 dissolves without evolution of gas, about 30 per cent, of a black 
 residue remaining, which, after having been dried at 200 0., lost by 
 ignition in hydrogen 19 per cent, of its weight, water being pro- 
 duced. It is now very readily attacked by acid, evolves sulphuretted 
 hydrogen, and gives a residue of nearly pure carbon in powder or in 
 graphitic scales. Iron chloride and acid appear, therefore, in the 
 main, to remove the free metal only, and to be without action on 
 the compounds with sulphur and oxygen. The ultimate composi- 
 tion of the specimen he analysed is as follows : 
 
 Iron 80-64 
 
 Nickel 1-19 
 
 Cobalt 0-47 
 
 Phosphorus ... 0*15 
 
 Sulphur 2-82 
 
 Carbon 3-69 
 
 Oxygen 11-09 
 
 100-05 
 
 Wohler was disposed to regard the oxygen, constituting so consider- 
 able a portion of an apparently metallic mass, as present in the form 
 of a diferrous oxide, Fe 2 0, were it not that, according to this view, 
 there would be no iron provided for combination with the sulphur 
 and carbon. As, however, Nordenskjold found magnetite in or near 
 other Ovifak irons, Wohler regards that constituting the veins as an 
 intimate mixture of magnetite, of which there would be 40-20 per 
 cent., with metallic iron, of which there would then be 46-60 per 
 cent., the sulphide, carbide, and phosphide, as well as the alloys 
 with nickel and cobalt, and some carbon in isolated particles. The 
 latter probably undergo no change when the magnetite and carbide, 
 by the action of heat, generate carbonic oxide. 
 
 A specimen of the iron from the basalt has also been investigated 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 33 
 
 by Daubree ; he describes it as having a metallic lustre and being 
 nearly black. He found its composition to be : 
 
 Iron in the free state 40-940 
 
 Iron in combination 30-150 
 
 Carbon in the free state 1'640 
 
 Carbon in combination 3-000 
 
 Nickel 2-650 
 
 Cobalt 0-910 
 
 Phosphorus 0-210 
 
 Arsenic 0-410 
 
 Sulphur 2-700 
 
 Silicium 0-075 
 
 Nitrogen 0-004 
 
 Oxygen 12-100 
 
 Water (hygrometric) 0-910 
 
 "Water in combination 1-950 
 
 Chromium, Copper, etc I'OIO 
 
 Calcium sulphate, chloride, etc 1-354 
 
 100-013 
 In his second paper he gives analyses of two more specimens : 
 
 II. Light grey iron, possessing metallic lustre. It is not homogeneous, as it 
 might be assumed to be from its lustre and colour. When crushed in a mortar, it 
 is divided into two parts : the one crumbles to fine powder, the other is flattened 
 into plates, requiring much trituration to break them up. III. Metallic grains 
 mechanically separated from the rocky portion in which they were distributed. 
 These spherules exhibit figures, when etched, and contain silicate distributed in very 
 fine pieces throughout their mass ; in one rounded fragment the silicic acid of this 
 silicate amounted to 11-9 per cent, of the total constituents. 
 
 II. III. 
 
 Iron in the free state ... , 80-800 61-990 
 
 Iron in combination 1-600 
 
 Carbon in the free state 0-300 
 
 8-110 
 1-100 
 3-600 
 
 Carbon in combination 2*600 
 
 Silicium ... 0-291 
 
 Water 0-700 
 
 Calcium chloride 0-233 0-146 
 
 Iron chloride 0-089 0-114 
 
 Calcium sulphate 0-053 0-047 
 
 Copper trace. trace. 
 
 It will be seen that in specimen III. the amount of carbon is the 
 same as in I., and that specimen II. also contains a considerable 
 quantity. Specimen I. is distinguished from II. by a large propor- 
 tion of combined iron. By treatment with alcohol, calcium chloride 
 was extracted and determined in I. ; with cold distilled water, the 
 soluble salts were removed from II. and III. I. contains more lime 
 sulphate and less chloride than II. and III. 
 
 These meteoric masses are distinguished by the amount of carbon, 
 free and combined, which they contain ; by the presence in them of 
 a large proportion of iron in combination with oxygen, but in what 
 state of oxidation is not clearly ascertained ; and by the occurrence 
 of soluble chlorides and sulphates, especially calcium sulphate, 
 throughout their structure. No salt of potassium has been detected 
 in them, nor, which is very remarkable, has sodium chloride been 
 found, although carefully sought for. The intimate distribution of 
 these salts throughout the Ovifak iron is certainly an indication that 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 they must be numbered among the original constituents of these 
 meteorites. 
 
 Daubree noticed that specimen II. showed a marked tendency to 
 absorb water and to rust away ; a few days sufficed to make this 
 apparent. The local nature of the oxidation he attributes to the 
 irregular distribution of the deliquescent salts. Among these com- 
 pounds, instead of iron chloride, to the action of which the 
 decay of meteoric iron has usually been ascribed, calcium chloride 
 appears to play the most prominent part. In support of this view 
 it may be remarked that No. II. iron, the one most liable to change, 
 is that which contains the greatest proportion of this salt, the amount 
 being six times that met with in No. I. iron. 
 
 Calcium and magnesium sulphates were noticed by Daubree to 
 form constituents of the Orgueil Stone, and the latter salt is also 
 present in the aerolites of Kaba and Alais. All these are carbon- 
 aceous meteorites. May the calcium sulphate of these irons, as well 
 as that of the above-mentioned aerolite, be a product of the oxidation 
 of a calcium (magnesium) sulphide such as occurs in the meteorite of 
 Busti, which stone also contains, among other constituents, augite 
 and metallic iron ? 
 
 The greater stability which these masses exhibited so long as they 
 were in polar latitudes is no doubt due to the reduced tension of 
 aqueous vapour ; had they fallen in regions further south and been 
 exposed to a milder climate, they would without doubt have long since 
 fallen to powder. 
 
 In his second paper Wohler points out the probability of the No. II. 
 iron which Daubree examined being of the same kind as that 
 which he himself analysed. He remarks that, although Daubree 
 found this variety of the metal to show a tendency to oxidize even 
 in a few days, his specimen had remained bright and unchanged 
 after it had been a year in his collection. 
 
 Nauckhoff, whose exhaustive examination of the rocks associated 
 with the Ovifak irons we shall immediately turn to consider, analysed 
 the spangles and spherules which can be removed by a magnet from 
 the rock that occurs in rounded masses in the basalt ridge, and of 
 which the composition is given in the table of his analyses under III. 
 Some of these spangles could be pulverized only with difficulty, and 
 were readily flattened out ; the spherules, though so hard that a 
 sharp steel file would scarcely touch them, were easily crushed. They 
 had the following composition : 
 
 Phosphoric acid trace. 
 
 Alumina 1'45 
 
 Nickel and Cobalt oxides 0-44 
 
 Magnesia 0-33 
 
 Lime 0-50 
 
 Soda 0-09 
 
 Potash trace. 
 
 Kesidue 6-07 
 
 102-64 
 
 In the basalt of the ridge, of which an analysis is given under II. 
 in the same table, a compact, very brittle, yellow, or slightly brown 
 
 Iron ... 
 
 
 
 .. 58-25 
 
 Nickel ... \ 
 
 
 
 2-16 
 
 Cobalt 
 
 
 
 0-30 
 
 Copper ... 
 Hydrogen 
 Carbon .. 
 Sulphur... 
 
 
 t 
 
 0-13 
 0-28 
 1-64 
 0-16 
 
 Chlorine 
 Magnetite 
 Silicic acid 
 
 
 " 
 
 0-16 
 30-42 
 0-26 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 35 
 
 mineral occurs in thin flakes, sometimes in nodules of the size of 
 a pea; it is invariably penetrated and usually surrounded by 
 a mineral resembling hisingerite, to which attention will presently 
 be directed. The mineral has a hardness of 5 to 5'5, and easily 
 fuses before the blowpipe with evolution of sulphurous acid to a 
 magnetic regulus. It has the composition : 
 
 Equivalent 
 
 Eatios. 
 Iron 52-94 .. 57'91 .. 2-068 ) O . a 
 
 Nickel 5-06 
 
 Copper trace. 
 
 Sulphur 33-41 
 
 Silicate ., 8-59 
 
 5-53 .. 
 trace. .. 
 36-56 . 
 
 0-190] 
 2-285 
 
 100-00 100-00 
 
 These numbers give the formula (Fe,Ni) S, or that of the iron (nickel) 
 monosulphide or troilite, which has hitherto only been met with in 
 meteorites. 
 
 Intimately associated with the troilite, and evidently a product 
 of its oxidation and further alteration, is the mineral already men- 
 tioned, the fresh fracture of which is of a light olive-green colour, 
 which by exposure to the air soon becomes brown, and after some 
 days turns quite black. 
 
 Its specific gravity is 2-919, and composition : 
 
 Oxygen. 
 
 Silicic acid 31-70 16-90 
 
 Iron sesquioxide 51-49 15*44 
 
 Iron protoxide 3-81 0-85 
 
 Water 15-56 ... ... 12-05 
 
 100-56 
 
 These numbers indicate the formula : 
 
 FeO,Si0 2 +3(2Fe 2 3 ,3Si0 2 )+14H 2 
 
 as that of the mineral. Nauckhoff, however, draws attention to the 
 rapidity with which the oxidation of the pulverized mineral takes 
 place : five days after the analysis was made the per-centage of iron 
 protoxide in another portion had fallen to 3'47, and after three weeks 
 to 1-55. The original unchanged mineral was probably a hydrated 
 ferrous silicate. 
 
 The following rocks from Disko Island have been examined by 
 Nauckhoff : 
 
 I. Section of a six-sided basalt column from Brededal, east side of Skarfvefjell, 
 and about 10' E. of Godhavn; showing compact dark greyish-green ground-mass 
 with crypto-crystalline texture ; under the microscope crystals of a felspar, augite 
 and magnetite are recognized. Fusible before the blowpipe. II. Basalt from the 
 east side of the ridge at Ovifak, where the iron and breccia were found. Fusible 
 before the blowpipe. III. Rock occurring in rounded masses, with green foliated 
 crust, in the basalt ridge, and inclosing spangles and spherules of iron, some 6 7 
 mm. in diameter; these exhibit Widmannstattian figures. Appears to be a very 
 finely granular mixture of a felspar with a small amount of a green mineral, prob- 
 ably augite, and imperfectly crystallized magnetite, which latter usually surrounds 
 the spangles of iron ; olivine is only occasionally met with, in grains the size of a 
 pea. Melts with difficulty before the blowpipe. IV. Very hard brown- coloured 
 mass inclosing rock in which iron spangles are found ; it closely resembles III. The 
 ground-mass consists of a felspar, probably anorthite, the crystals of which are 
 occasionally large, and show marks of twinning, and a great number of reddish 
 
36 
 
 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 octahedra closely resembling spinel. Small particles of a greenish mineral of the 
 appearance of augite are also to be distinguished. Spangles of iron are very rarely 
 found in the felspar ; and magnetite is apparently absent. Melts very slowly before 
 the blowpipe. V. Eounded lump of grey rock from the basalt ridge ; it was 
 covered with a dark green vesicular crust, from 15 to 20 mm. thick. Through the 
 ground-mass, which appears to consist of a felspar, were disseminated numerous 
 brilliant greyish scales, besides some very black magnetite or graphite. Augite 
 sparsely distributed ; abundance of red spinel in some parts, none in others. Melts 
 with great difficulty before the blowpipe. VI. The dark greenish-brown crust of 
 V, closely resembling that of the rounded masses III. It consists of a felspar 
 inclosing a brown and a green augite-like mineral, and, in places, clusters of 
 granules of spinel. Melts with great difficulty before the blowpipe. VII. Light 
 grey foliated rock from Ovifak, the exact circumstances of the occurrence of which 
 are not known. The ground-mass consists of a mixture of a felspar with a grey, finely 
 foliated mineral with graphitic lustre. Eed spinel is met with abundantly in both 
 constituent minerals. This variety of rock, like those from the ridge, is 
 covered with a rust-like crust. It breaks easily, and always parallel to the scales. 
 Before the blowpipe it melts with difficulty on the edges. VIII. Compact, slightly- 
 weathered breccia, filling a fissure two to three inches wide in the basalt ridge, 
 parallel to which it runs. It is a black granular mass, devoid of metallic lustre, and 
 incloses fragments, some with edges sharp and angular, others with the corners 
 rounded, of a rock exactly like that forming the ridge. IX. Loose, much-weathered 
 breccia, from the top of the ridge, in irregularly-shaped fragments. It can be 
 broken in pieces with the hand, is much rusted, and closely resembles the product 
 of the oxidation of the metal blocks. Like the preceding specimen, it incloses 
 rounded fragments of the rock forming the ridge. The specific gravity is about 
 midway between that of iron and of magnetite. X. The broken-up basalt, resembling 
 that of the ridge, inclosed in the weathered breccia IX. 
 
 
 I. 
 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 IV. 
 
 V. 
 
 VI. 
 
 VII. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 IX. 
 
 X. 
 
 Silicic acid 
 Titanic acid ... 
 Phosphoric acid 
 Iron sesquioxide 
 Alumina 
 
 49-18 
 0-52 
 0-13 
 5-52 
 13-52 
 
 48-04 
 0-39 
 0-07 
 6-89 
 13-13 
 
 42-72 
 trace 
 trace 
 1-64 
 16-01 
 
 34-72 
 
 4-88 
 31-83 
 
 36-59 
 19-18 
 
 44-94 
 22-20 
 
 37-92 
 32-36 
 
 1-04 
 0-12 
 2-31 
 
 0-81 
 0-12 
 2-92 
 
 41-25 
 0-34 
 
 16-18 
 13-06 
 
 Chromium oxide 
 Magnetite 
 Iron protoxide.. 
 Manganese ) 
 protoxide /*" 
 Nickel and j 
 Cobalt oxides/ 
 Magnesia 
 Lime . 
 
 10-31 
 
 0-28 
 
 6-83 
 11-51 
 
 11-14 
 
 0-11 
 
 5-17 
 10-87 
 
 14-27 
 trace 
 
 7-93 
 10-10 
 
 5-53 
 
 9-35 
 10-19 
 
 14-85 
 0-29 
 
 7-24 
 8-73 
 
 9-45 
 4-98 
 
 iroi 
 
 0-08 
 
 4-02 
 0-19 
 
 2-86 
 11-57 
 
 52-51 
 
 1-17 
 
 0-02 
 0-30 
 
 77-39 
 
 0-82 
 
 trace 
 0-20 
 
 10-78 
 0-25 
 
 6-41 
 7-97 
 
 Soda 
 
 1-84 
 
 2*83 
 
 1-65 
 
 1-00 
 
 0-79 
 
 1-86 
 
 1-48 
 
 0-08 
 
 0-11 
 
 1-54 
 
 Potash 
 
 0-06 
 
 0'06 
 
 0-13 
 
 0-27 
 
 trace 
 
 0-06 
 
 trace 
 
 trace 
 
 trace 
 
 0-03 
 
 Iron 
 
 
 
 4-57 
 
 0-09 
 
 5-01 
 
 I'll 
 
 
 28*36 
 
 7'73 
 
 
 Nickel 
 
 
 
 0'44 
 
 
 0-25 
 
 
 trace 
 
 1-22 
 
 1-81 
 
 
 Cobalt 
 
 == 
 
 
 trace 
 
 
 trace 
 
 
 trace 
 
 0-30 
 
 0-33 
 
 trace 
 
 Copper . 
 
 trace 
 
 
 trace 
 
 
 trace 
 
 trace 
 
 trace 
 
 0-08 
 
 0-30? 
 
 trace 
 
 Hydrogen 
 Carbon 
 
 
 0-25? 
 0*79 
 
 0-30? 
 0-30 
 
 0-29? 
 0-53 
 
 0-31? 
 2-55 
 
 0-31? 
 3-35 
 
 0-24? 
 6-90 
 
 0-38 
 3-52 
 
 0-51 
 2-33 
 
 0-49 
 0-86 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 Chlorine .. 
 
 trace 
 
 0-98 
 trace 
 
 0-32 
 0-08 
 
 0*12 
 
 trace 
 0-23 
 
 trace 
 0'20 
 
 0-77 
 trace 
 
 0-34 
 trace 
 
 trace 
 0-14 
 
 trace 
 0-25 
 
 "Water 
 
 0-34 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 licsiillic 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9-64 
 
 3-71 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 100-04 
 
 100-72 
 
 100-46 
 
 98-80 
 
 96-02 
 
 99-47 
 
 98-39; 
 
 100-39 
 
 99-23 
 
 99-41 
 
 Specific Gravity 
 
 3-016 
 
 3-024 
 
 3-169 
 
 2-942 
 
 3-141 
 
 2-927 
 
 2-761 
 
 4-560 
 
 6-570 
 
 3-358 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 37 
 
 Tschermak examined two microscopic sections of the Ovifak rocks, 
 and compared them with sections of the meteorites of Jonsac, 
 Juvinas, Petersburg, and Stannern, which consist chiefly of augite 
 and anorthite, with little or no nickel-iron ; they form a class which 
 G. Eose termed 'eucritic.' Both sections exhibit a crust, as meteorites 
 possess ; it is, however, so altered by oxidation, that it is not possible 
 to determine whether it is the fused crust usually noticed on a 
 meteorite. The crystals of felspar, which, according to Nauckhoff's 
 analyses, must be regarded as anorthite, are fully developed ; they 
 penetrate the augite, iron, and magnetite, and must evidently have 
 been formed before them. They are completely transparent, and 
 have but few and large cavities, which are filled, partly with black 
 granules, partly with a brown substance of irregular form; some 
 traversing the length of the crystals are filled with a transparent 
 glassy substance. The augite is of a light greenish-brown hue, 
 traversed here and there by flaws ; it fills gaps between the other 
 constituents, as has been often observed in dolerites and diabases, 
 and encloses individual black grains. In the section containing iron 
 the colourless felspar encloses a black or brown substance running 
 the length of the crystals, or dust-like fine black granules, or larger 
 round transparent bodies of a violet colour, which may be the 
 mineral Nauckhoff regards as spinel. Side by side with the felspar, 
 brown grains, less numerous than in the former section, are seen, 
 and these are probably augite. Black particles, moreover, occur, 
 which by reflected light appear to be semi-metallio, and are probably 
 magnetite, as well as others that are likewise black, but devoid of 
 lustre, which seem to be graphite. A few small grains of troilite 
 were also recognized. In the second section, which bore a general 
 resemblance to the first, the felspar crystals were larger, the 
 matrix being made up of finer crystals. In some of the felspar 
 crystals cloudy pale brown patches were observed, which, when 
 viewed with a higher power, were found to be due to numberless 
 minute elongated inclosed granules lying in parallel position, or to 
 others that were shorter and more rounded. These appearances recall 
 those noticed in eucritic meteorites, like that of Jonsac, except for 
 the fact that the inclosed particles are of smaller size. The larger 
 cavities in the felspar are filled in the same manner as in the other 
 rock section from Ovifak. The structure of eucritic meteorites is 
 tufaceous ; that of the Ovifak rock very compact. This distinction, 
 however, has often been observed in meteorites. Many chondritic 
 meteorites are tufaceous ; while others, having similar chemical com- 
 position, like the aerolites of Lodran and Manbhoom, are compact 
 and crystalline. The augite of the Ovifak rocks has not the charac- 
 teristically filled cavities observed in that of certain eucritic meteor- 
 ites ; but in the augite of some meteorites, as those of Shergotty and 
 Busti, for example, they are equally wanting. 
 
 The meteorites of Ovifak in some respects resemble the carbona- 
 ceous meteorites, though they differ greatly from them in other 
 characters : especially in the appearance of both metallic and rocky 
 portions. They form a new type in the series of meteoric rocks, 
 
38 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 and fill the gap that has hitherto separated the carbonaceous from 
 other meteorites. 
 
 If some differences are to be traced between the remarkable rocks 
 and irons of Ovifak and known meteorites, others still greater 
 present themselves, when we compare the Greenland masses with 
 terrestrial rocks, even with the basalts and diorites, near which it 
 might be proposed to class them, on account of the occurrence in 
 them of magnetite, and of the crystalline arrangement of their silicates. 
 Iron has not hitherto been found as metal inclosed in basalt, except 
 on very rare occasions (as by Andrews in the basalt of Antrim, 1 and 
 then only in fine particles, and apparently not alloyed with nickel 
 and cobalt), while troilite is a meteoric mineral, and has never been 
 met with in a terrestrial rock. 
 
 But if the weight of evidence favours the assumption that these 
 masses are of meteoric origin, there remain the following considera- 
 tions, to which attention has been drawn by Eammelsberg, sup- 
 porting the view that they may possibly have been erupted. 
 
 Of the rocks composing the globe, the greater portion accessible to 
 us have been modified by the action of water. There is one class 
 of which this cannot be said : the molten masses brought to the 
 surface by volcanos, the various rocks we term " lava." However 
 they may differ as regards constituent minerals, they have amongst 
 them a family resemblance, and it is with them that the meteoric 
 rocks may be compared. The old lavas of Iceland and Java consist 
 of augite and anorthite, as do the meteorites of Juvinas, Jonsac and 
 Stannern. The "bombs" of the prehistoric volcanos of the Eifel 
 are composed of olivine, augite, bronzite and chromite, minerals that 
 are commonly met with in meteorites. Hence arises the question : 
 Are these masses, so similar in their lithological characters to the 
 meteorites, samples perhaps of the inner unchanged nucleus of 
 our planet ? Does the original mass of the earth differ only in 
 point of magnitude from the fragments which yield to its attraction ? 
 
 The mean density of the earth is greater than that of the minerals 
 composing the rocks of the outer crust. The volcanic rocks and the 
 meteorites, which in point of chemical constitution are basic, are 
 alike denser than this crust. The presence of metallic iron, a 
 characteristic feature of meteorites, points to the absence of water 
 and free oxygen as one of the essential conditions for their form- 
 ation. Terrestrial rocks rarely contain iron, but it is replaced by an 
 oxidized form of iron, magnetite ; only in combination with 
 platinum is it found in the metallic state. May the rocks of the 
 
 1 A. E. Reuss detected the presence of iron in some Bohemian basalts by Andrews' 
 method. (Kenngotfs Uebersicht Result. Min. Forschungen, 1859, 105.) At a meeting 
 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Hartford, J. L. 
 Smith (Revue Scientifiqw, 1875, June 5th, No. 49, 1167,) maintained the great 
 importance of the study of basaltic rocks as affording us the only means of becoming 
 acquainted with the mineral constitution of the greater part of the globe. He 
 called attention to the existence of metallic iron and the presence of nickel and 
 cobalt in the basalt of Arizona, and alluded to some researches on which he had 
 been recently occupied which had convinced him that at temperatures which we are 
 able to produce by artificial means the oxides of iron can be dissociated. 
 
HISTORY OR METEORITES. 39 
 
 interior of our globe contain this, the most important of all the 
 metals, in an uncombined condition ? 
 
 It has been pointed out by Daubree that a region like Greenland, 
 where doleritic rocks cover so wide an area, appears in a marked 
 degree to present the conditions necessary and favourable for the 
 upheaval of masses from very considerable depths. 
 
 Another phase of the question to which he directs attention 
 should also be mentioned. It appears not improbable that the basalt 
 of Greenland, which contains more than 20 per cent, of iron oxide, 
 may during eruption have undergone reduction such as he imitated 
 in his laboratory some years since. This theory is the more ad- 
 missible from the fact that in the region under consideration, between 
 Lat. 69 and 72, numerous large beds of lignite, as well as graphite, 
 occur, especially in the island of Disko, in which Ovifak is situated. 
 
 In a paper on the anomalous magnetic characters of iron sesqui- 
 oxide, prepared from meteoric iron, recently communicated to the 
 French Academy by Dr, Lawrence Smith, he announces that the 
 investigation of this iron, on which he is at present occupied, has 
 convinced him that the Ovifak metallic masses are of terrestrial 
 origin. 
 
 The fact, observed by Nordenskjold and Wb'hler, of the evolution 
 of a large amount of gas by Ovifak iron when heated, led these 
 observers to the conclusion that it could never have been exposed to a 
 high temperature. Tsohermak, however, points out that this phe- 
 nomenon has only been observed in experiments conducted at ordinary 
 pressure; and it must not be forgotten, he maintains, that these 
 masses, though surrounded by a heated medium, were at the same 
 time subjected to the superincumbent pressure of a vast layer of 
 fluid basalt. They may, moreover, have originally had a different 
 composition, and the oxygen, which plays so essential a part in the 
 gaseous evolution, may have been taken up subsequently during ex- 
 posure to the atmosphere. 
 
 Daubree draws attention to a reaction, mentioned by Stammer, and 
 thoroughly investigated by Gruner, 1 that, in the presence of iron 
 oxide, or even of iron under certain circumstances, carbonic oxide 
 breaks up, depositing carbon, partly in combination with iron, partly 
 in intimate mixture with iron oxide; and that this reaction, which 
 has been found to occur at 400, does not take place at very high 
 temperatures. 
 
 Nordenskj old's paper is illustrated by a plan of the shore at Ovifak, 
 where the irons were found, and by a sketch made on the spot by 
 Nordstrom of the three largest masses, showing them partly im- 
 mersed ; while in a plate are given representations of seven of the 
 blocks one showing very distinctly the manner in which the metal 
 is rent during oxidation. Nauckhoff has appended to his paper in 
 the Afittheilungen a drawing of the gangue, indicating the position 
 of the smaller pieces of iron and the breccia. Four excellent photo- 
 graphs of the larger masses have been published by the Hofphoto- 
 graph Jaeger, in Stockholm. 
 
 1 E. L. Gruner. Compt. rend., xxiii. 28; xxiv. 226. 
 
40 
 
 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 One of the largest blocks, weighing 10,000 Ibs., was offered for 
 sale in New York for 12,500 dollars in gold, and smaller specimens 
 at eight dollars per Ib. 
 
 As is well known, implements of meteoric iron have from time to 
 time been found in the possession of the Esquimaux. Some recent 
 specimens, inserted in bone handles, from Esquimaux kjoekkenmoed- 
 dings, were described by Steenstrup at the Congres international 
 d' Anthropologie et d" ArcJieologie prenistoriques a Bruxettes (Session 
 de 1872). Figures of a number of these implements are to be found 
 in the Materiaux pour I'Jiistoire primitive et naturelle de THomme, 
 9 Annee, 2 e Serie, Tome IV. 2 e Livraison, 1873, 65, the original 
 paper with illustrations appearing in the Compt. rend, de la 6 e 
 Session, 242, and plates 24, 25, and 26. J. Steenstrup examined more 
 than twenty of these implements, and gives drawings of seven of 
 them, four of which are reproduced in the following woodcut. 
 
 Fig. I. is a barbed weapon with iron point ; Fig. II. is an axehead 
 set in bone, with a socket of wood ; Fig. 3 is an " Ullo," a tool for 
 cutting leather ; and Fig. IV. is a knife with a blade of meteoric 
 iron, formed like the earlier known implements. Prof. F. John- 
 strup, Professor of Mineralogy in the University of Copenhagen, 
 determined the presence of about 3 per cent, of nickel in these irons, 
 and found them to distinctly exhibit Widmannstattian figures. 
 He believes that the metal has not been subjected to the action of 
 heat. It is not a little curious that among the Esquimaux tradition 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 41 
 
 has'always pointed to the Island of Disko and the neighbourhood of 
 Waigat, those districts, in fact, whence they procured iron, as the 
 area where the earliest settlements took place in Greenland. 1 
 
 Cryoconite found 1870, July 19th 25th, on inland ice, east of 
 Auleitsivik Fjord, Disko Bay, Greenland. Meteoric metallic 
 particles found in snow, which fell: 1.) 1871, December- 
 Stockholm. 2.) 1872, March 13th Evoia, Finnland. 3.) 1872, 
 August 8th Lat. 80 N. ; Long. 13 E. 4.) 1872, September 
 2nd-Lat. 80 N,; Long. 15 E. 2 
 
 Early in December, 1871, there was a heavier fall of snow in 
 the neighbourhood of Stockholm than any that had occurred there 
 within the memory of living persons ; and it presented to Norden- 
 skjold an opportunity of determining whether the snow brought 
 cosmical matter to the earth's surface. A cubic metre of apparently 
 pure snow, collected towards the end of the fall, left on melting a 
 small black residue. From some of this substance, when heated, 
 a liquid product distilled over ; a portion when burnt left a red ash ; 
 while a magnet extracted particles which, when rubbed in an agate 
 mortar, exhibited metallic characters, and on being treated with acid 
 proved to be iron. Although the possibility must be admitted 
 that this material may have been derived from the chimneys and 
 iron roofs of the city, already covered with a thick layer of snow, 
 the result was sufficiently interesting to make it desirable that a 
 similar experiment should be tried with snow falling remote from 
 towns. For this purpose snow was collected on the 13th March, 
 1872, by Dr. Karl Nordenskjold at Evoia, in Finnland, to the north 
 of Helsingfors, and lying in the centre of a large forest. It was 
 taken from off the ice of the Eautajerwi, at a spot which is separated 
 by a dense wood from the houses of that northern station. When 
 melted, this snow yielded a soot-like residue, which under the micro- 
 scope was found to consist not only of a black carbonaceous sub- 
 stance, but white or yellowish-white granules, and from it the magnet 
 
 1 Dr. I. J. Hayes, the arctic explorer, in a letter tp Prof. Shepard (Am. Jour. Sc., 
 1866, xlii., 249), speaks of a flake of meteoric iron which he obtained at Port Foulke 
 in 1861 from an Esquimaux, who had carefully preserved it and other fragments to 
 make (with an ivory blade) the edge of a knife. The iron, it was stated, had been 
 detached by means of flints, and was obtained from a place called Savisavik (savik 
 = knife) 20 miles S. and E. of Cape York, N. Greenland, in Lat. 76. This does not 
 appear to be the same source of metal as that described in Ross's Voyage to Baffin's 
 Bay, 1819, 105, as Sowallick (iron mountain), between Cape Melville and Cape 
 York (Lat. 76 12' N., Long. 65 53' W.), which is N.W. of the latter Cape. 
 
 2 A. E. Nordenskjold. Redogbrelse for en Expedition till Grouland ar 1870, 28. 
 (See also GEOL. MAG. IX. 356.) Compt. rend., Ixxvii. 463. Jour. Prakt. Chem., 
 x. 356. Pogg. Ann., cli. 154. 
 
42 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 removed black grains, that when rubbed in a mortar were seen to 
 be iron. Here again the material was too small in amount to allow 
 of a determination of the presence of nickel and cobalt ; in other 
 words, to establish the meteoric origin of the metal. The Arctic 
 Expedition of 1872 presented an opportunity for the collection of 
 snow in a region as far removed as possible from human habitation. 
 On the 8th August, the snow covering the drift-ice at Lat. 80 N. and 
 Long. 13 E., was observed to be thickly covered with small black 
 particles, while in places these penetrated to a depth of some inches 
 the granular mass of ice into which the underlying snow had been 
 converted. Magnetic particles were abundant, and their power to 
 reduce copper sulphate was established. Again, on the 2nd September, 
 at Lat. 80 N. and Long. 15 E., the ice-field was found covered 
 with a bed of freshly fallen snow, 50 mm. thick, then a more com- 
 pact bed 8 mm. in thickness, and below this a layer 30 mm. thick 
 of snow converted into a crystalline granular mass. The latter was 
 full of black granules, which became grey when dried, and exhibited 
 the magnetic and chemical characters already mentioned; they 
 amounted to 0-1 to I'O millegramme in a cubic metre of snow. 
 Analysis of some inillegrammes enabled Nordenskjold to establish 
 the presence of iron, phosphorus, cobalt, and probably nickel. The 
 filtrate from the iron oxide gave a small brown precipitate, which gave 
 a blue head with borax. The portion insoluble in acid consisted of 
 fine angular colourless matter, containing fragments of diatoms. 
 This dust from the polar ice north of Spitzbergen bears a great 
 resemblance to the remarkable substance, cryoconite, 1 which was 
 found in Greenland in 1870, very evenly distributed in not incon- 
 siderable quantity on shore-ice, as well as on ice thirty miles from 
 the coast and at a height of 700 metres above the sea. The dust of 
 both localities has probably a common origin. 
 
 The cryoconite is chiefly met with in the holes of the ice, forming 
 a layer of grey powder at the bottom of the water filling the holes. 
 Considerable quantities of this substance are often carried down by 
 the streams which traverse the glacier in all directions. The icehills 
 which feed these streams lie towards the east, on a slowly rising 
 undulating plateau, on the surface of which not the slightest trace of 
 stone or larger rock masses was observed. The actual position of 
 this material, to which Nordenskjold has given the name of cryo- 
 conite (icpvos ice, and KOVLS dust), in open hollows on the surface of 
 the glacier, precluded the possibility of its having been derived from 
 the ground beneath. 
 
 The grey powder contained a not inconsiderable amount of organic 
 matter, which, even at the low temperature of the ice, undergoes 
 putrefactive decomposition. A quantity, amounting to from two to 
 three cubic metres, which was lying in the dried-up bed of a glacier 
 stream, emitted a very offensive odour, bearing some resemblance to 
 that of butyric acid. 
 
 1 A. E. Nordenskjold. An Account of an Expedition to Greenland. GEOL. MAO. 
 Vol. IX. p. 355. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 43 
 
 When examined with the microscope, the chief constituent of this 
 powder appears to consist of colourless, crystalline, angular, trans- 
 parent grains, among which are a few yellow and less transparent. 
 Some had distinct cleavage-surfaces, and were possibly a felspar ; 
 other crystal fragments, having a green colour, were probably augite ; 
 while other black, opaque particles could be removed with a magnet. 
 These foreign constituents, however, are present in so small a 
 quantity that if all the white grains consist of one and the same 
 mineral, it may be regarded as homogeneous. The specific gravity of 
 this mineral is 2-63 ; the hardness apparently inconsiderable, and 
 the form probably monoclinic. It resists the action of acids : by 
 long digestion with sulphuric acid 7-73 per cent., with hydro- 
 chloric acid 16*46 per cent, were dissolved. Lime carbonate was 
 not present. According to Lindstrom's analysis, it consists of : 
 
 Silicic acid 62-65 Potash 2-02 
 
 Phosphoric acid (HI Soda 4-01 
 
 Alumina 14<93 Chlorine 0-06 
 
 Iron oxide ,.. 0*74 "Water (hygroscopic) 0-34 
 
 Iron protoxide 4-64 Organic matter and combined 
 
 Manganese protoxide 0<07 water 1 2 - 86 
 
 . Lime 5-09 
 
 3-00 100-12 
 
 This composition corresponds with the formula : 
 2RO,Si0 2 + Al 2 3 ,3Si0 2 + H 2 0. 
 
 The origin of this cryoconite is highly enigmatical. That it is not 
 a product of the weathering of the gneiss of the coast is shown by 
 its inferior hardness, indicating the absence of quartz, the large pro- 
 portion of soda, and the fact of mica not being present. That it is 
 not dust derived from the basalt area of Greenland is indicated by 
 the subordinate position iron oxide occupies among the constituents, 
 as well as by the large proportion of silicic acid. We have then to 
 fall back on the assumption that it is either of volcanic or cosmical 
 origin. 
 
 That dust can be carried enormous distances has been well 
 established. Darwin 2 refers to instances of dust having fallen on 
 ships when more than a thousand miles from the coast of Africa, and 
 at points sixteen hundred miles distant in a north and south direction. 
 If the Greenland dust were volcanic, it would probably have been 
 wafted from Iceland or Jan Mayen, or some as yet unknown volcanic 
 region in the interior of Greenland. Nordenskjold found it to bear 
 the closest resemblance under the microscope to the ash of 
 Vesuvius (1822), and a specimen of that which fell at Barbadoes 
 and probably came from St. Vincent. Looked at in the mass, how- 
 ever, it is at once seen that the volcanic ash is of a brownish 
 red ; the cryoconite is grey. The magnet when placed in contact with 
 the Vesuvian ash extracted nothing; out of that from Barbadoes 
 
 1 This passed off when the mineral was heated to temperatures ranging from 100 
 to a red heat. 
 
 2 C. Darwin. Journal of Researches Vogage of H.M.S. Beagle, new ed. 
 
 1870, p. 5. 
 
44 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 it drew magnetic particles, which, however, were not metallic, nor 
 did they contain nickel or cobalt. 
 
 The cryoconite, nevertheless, whencesoever it comes, contains one 
 constituent of cosmical origin. Nordenskjold extracted, by means 
 of the magnet, from a large quantity of material, sufficient particles 
 to determine their metallic nature and composition. These grains 
 separate copper from a solution of the sulphate, and exhibit con- 
 clusive indications of the presence of cobalt (not only before the 
 blowpipe, but with solution of potassium nitrite), of copper, and of 
 nickel, though in the latter case with a smaller degree of certainty, 
 through the reactions of this metal being of a less delicate character. 
 Moreover, ammonia removes from cryoconite a humus-like substance 
 that, among other characteristics, in its powers of resisting powerful 
 oxidizing reagents, closely resembles the organic compound found in 
 the residue of Ovifak iron after treatment with acid. 
 
 Hail, which fell at Stockholm in the autumn of 1873, was found 
 by Nordenskjold to contain grey metallic particles that reduced cop- 
 per from its sulphate. Although the roofs of the buildings surround- 
 ing the Academy, in the courtyard of which these hailstones fell, are 
 of iron, the grains were rounded, and of light colour, instead of a 
 reddish-brown, and the observation is of sufficient interest to allow 
 of its being placed on record. 
 
 It has been shown that small quantities of a cosmical dust, 
 containing iron, cobalt, nickel, phosphorus, and carbonaceous sub- 
 stances, fall with other atmospheric precipitates on the earth's surface. 
 Nordenskjold, in his paper, alludes to the theory, already advanced, 
 we believe, by Haidinger, that this deposit may play an important 
 part in the economy of nature in supplying phosphorus to soils 
 already exhausted by the growth of crops. His observations, more- 
 over, are of value from the light they throw on the theories of 
 star-showers, aurora3, etc. The small but continuous increase of the 
 mass of our planet which appears to take place may lead students of 
 geology to modify the view at present held, that from the time of 
 the first appearance of vegetable and animal life upon our planet it 
 has undergone no change, in a quantitative sense in other words, 
 that the geological changes which have occurred have been confined 
 to a difference in the distribution of material, and not to the intro- 
 duction of new material from without. 
 
 When the instances of the fall of soot-like particles, blood-rain, 
 sulphur- showers, etc., which have from time to time been described, 
 are considered, the view pronounced by Chladni, that these pheno- 
 mena are due to the precipitation of large quantities of cosmical dust, 
 appears of great import. The black carbonaceous substances which fell 
 with the Hessle meteorites, and coated some of them, may be quoted 
 as an illustration. Some meteorites, moreover, are so loose and fri- 
 able in texture that they are very readily reduced to powder, as the 
 Ornans meteorite (1868, July llth), while that which fell at 
 Orgeuil (1864, May 14th) breaks up when placed in water. If this 
 stone had not fallen on a day when the atmosphere was dry, portions, 
 if not the whole of it, would probably have reached the earth's sur- 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 45 
 
 face in the form of powder. These atmospheric deposits may have a 
 very varied composition. The dust which fell in Calabria, in 1817, 1 
 contained chromium. The red rain that fell at Blankenberg, in 
 Flanders, 2 in 1819, owed its colour to the presence of cobalt chloride. 
 
 In 1872 three papers were published in the Comptes rendus, 3 on the 
 origin of polar auroras, which called forth one from Baumhauer, 4 
 where he refers to a theory as to their origin propounded in his 
 thesis De ortu lapidum meteoricorum (Utrecht, 1844). After having 
 shown the connexion which apparently exists between the planets, 
 their satellites, the comets, the shooting-stars, the meteorites (" qui, 
 pour moi, sont de petites planetes"), and the zodiacal light, a disk of 
 asteroids or cosmical matter massed together near the sun, he gives 
 expression to the following views respecting the polar aurora : Not 
 only solid masses, large and small, but clouds of " uncondensed " 
 matter probably enter our atmosphere (probabile etiam est nebulas 
 materiei primigeniae sine nucleo condensato in atmosphaBram venire). 
 If, from our knowledge of the chemical composition of the stones and 
 irons which fall to the earth's surface, we may draw any conclusion 
 respecting the chemical constitution of these clouds of matter, it 
 appears possible that, as many of these stones consist partly, and 
 the irons almost entirely, of iron and nickel, the attenuated cloud- 
 like matter may also contain a considerable proportion of these mag- 
 netic metals. 
 
 Let such a cloud, the greater part of the constituents of which have 
 magnetic characters, approach our earth, which we have been taught 
 to regard as a great magnet. It will evidently be attracted towards 
 the poles of this magnet, and, penetrating our atmosphere, the parti- 
 cles which have not been oxidized and are in a state of extremely 
 fine division will, by their oxidation, generate light and heat, the 
 result being the phenomenon which we term a polar aurora. Obser- 
 vations have shown that the seat of these phenomena is about, not 
 the geographical, but the magnetic poles. Not a few facts, even at 
 that time, could be advanced in support of the theory, which assumes 
 the occasional presence of metallic particles in the higher regions 
 of our atmosphere. More than once such particles had been dis- 
 covered in a fall of hail. Eversmann 5 found in the hailstones which 
 fell on the llth June, 1825, at Sterlitamak, 200 wersts from Oren- 
 burg, Siberia, crystals of a compound of iron and sulphur, in which 
 Hermann found 90 per cent, of that metal. 6 In hail which fell in 
 
 1 L. Sementini. Atti detta Reale Acad. delle Scienze, 1819, i. 285. Gilbert's 
 Ann., Ixiv. 327. 2 Meyer and Van Stoop. Gilbert's Ann., Ixiv. 335. 
 
 3 Le Marechal Vaillant. Compt. rend., Ixxiv. 510 and 701. J. Silbermann. 
 Compt. rend., Ixxiv. 553, 638, 959, and 1182. H. Tarry. Compt rend., Ixxiv. 
 549. 
 
 4 E. H. Yon Baumhauer. Compt. rend., Ixxiv. 678. 
 
 5 E. Von Eversmann. Archiv fur diegesammte Naturlehre, iv. 196. A. Neljubin. 
 Archiv fur die gesammte Naturlehre, x. 378. R. Hermann, Gilbert's Ann., Ixxvi. 
 340. 
 
 6 Though von Baumhauer cites this instance, it does not appear that the metallic cha- 
 racter of the "crystals" was folly established in this case. Neljubin found them to 
 consist of 70 per cent, iron oxide, and 17'5 per cent, of other metallic oxides. In 
 
46 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 the province of Majo in Spain on the 21st June, 1821, Pictet 1 found 
 metallic nuclei which were proved to be iron ; and the hail which fell 
 in Padua on the 26th August, 1834, was observed to contain nuclei 
 of an ashy grey colour. The larger ones were shown by Cozari 2 to 
 be attracted by the magnet, and to contain iron and nickel. " It would," 
 wrote Baumhauer, " be very interesting, in verification of this 
 theory of the origin of polar auroras, to detect in the soil of polar 
 areas the presence of nickel." This theory, which at the time it was 
 promulgated appeared so rash that it met with severe criticism by 
 the great Berzelius, 3 has gained support from recent researches; 
 among others, the discovery by Heis of the simultaneity of boreal 
 and austral auroras, the relation between the auroree and the meteor 
 showers, the perturbations of the telegraph lines, which not only 
 accompany, but forecast an auroral display ; and the identity of the 
 light, principally that of the green portion of the spectrum, in 
 zodiacal and auroral light, as established by Eespighi. 4 
 
 In connexion with this subject, reference should be made to the 
 discovery by Keichenbach some years since of the presence of nickel 
 in soils. From the Lahisberg in Austria, a conical hill some 300 to 
 400 metres in height, and covered to the summit with beech-trees, 
 he took samples of soil from the thick underwood, and found 
 therein traces of nickel and cobalt. Other specimens from the 
 Haindelberg, Kallenberg, and Dreymarcksteinberg, adjacent hills, 
 yielded the same results, and that from the Marchfeld plain also 
 revealed traces of nickel. These hills consist of beds of sandstone 
 and chalk, and are quite free from metallic veins. It has already 
 been suggested that impoverished soils may have their fertilizing 
 powers renewed by the precipitation of cosmical matter containing 
 phosphorus. 
 
 1871. February 4th. 2-20 p.m. Konisha, Minnesota. 5 
 
 The meteor appeared to come from N. of E. When it reached a 
 point 4 N. of W. of Konisha (Lat. 45 10' ; Long. 94 10'), and was 
 at an elevation of 38, it exploded with a detonation like the com- 
 bined roar of a park of artillery. The concussion was so great that 
 
 fact, this substance appears to have been an impure limonite, like that which fell at 
 Iwan, in Hungary, on the 10th August, 1841, and was probably not meteoric. 
 
 1 M. Pictet. Gilbert's Ann., Ixxii. 436. 
 
 2 D. L. Cozari. Ann. Sc. Eegn. Lamb., 1834, Nov. e Dec. New Ed. Phil. Jour., 
 xxxvii. 83. 
 
 3 Jahresbericht, xxvi. 1847, 386. 
 
 * L. Respighi. Compt. rend., Ixxiv. 514. The green ray is that known as 1241 
 in Kirchhoff's scale; and near it is another of less brilliancy, 1826 in the same scale. 
 For a description of a spectroscopic examination of the zodiacal light see a paper 
 by A. W. Wright (Arch. sc. ph. et. nat., October, 1874). 
 
 5 Amer. Jour. 8c., 1871. i. 308. 
 
HISTORY OP METEORITES. 47 
 
 it shook the houses. From four different points on a base-line 
 of 42 miles observers were not able to mark any divergence from the 
 general direction of N. 86 W. The distance from Konisha must 
 have been considerable at which the explosion of the meteor took 
 place. No meteorites have yet been found. 
 
 1871. March 24th. 2 a.m. (local time). Urbino, Province of Urbino 
 and Pesaro, Italy. 1 
 
 A brilliant meteor was observed by Serpieri at the Observatory of 
 Urbino, which left a persistent streak. It was attended with an 
 explosion. 
 
 1871. March 24th. 4-25 a.m. (local time). Volpeglino, Piedmont, 
 
 Italy. 8 
 
 This meteor is described in a Turin newspaper by F. Denza. Its 
 apparent course was from a Cygni across a Andromedse to near f 
 Piscium. The nucleus had a diameter of 25'. The colour was of a 
 brilliant white, and it left a very persistent ruddy streak along 
 its whole course. It burst with a violent detonation, which was 
 heard about half a minute after its disappearance. 
 
 1871. April 12th. 8-15 p.m. (local time). Lodi, Moncalieri, 
 Piedmont, Italy. 3 
 
 A very large and brilliant meteor traversed the heavens from 111 
 + 7 to 105 + 2, and burst with a loud detonation, which was heard in 
 houses with closed doors. The account of this meteor is communi- 
 cated by F. Denza, of the Observatory of Moncalieri. 
 
 1871. May 21st. 8-15 a.m. Searsmont, Maine. 4 
 
 The explosion attending this fall resembled the report of a heavy 
 gun, followed by a rushing sound like the escape of steam from a 
 
 1 Brit. Assoc. Report, 1871. Obs. Luminous Meteors, 37. 
 
 2 Brit. Assoc. Report, 1871, Obs. Luminous Meteors, 36. 
 8 Brit. Assoc. Report, 1871. Obs. Luminous Meteors, 36. 
 
 4 C. U. Shepard. Amer. Jour. Sc. [3], ii. 133. J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. Se. 
 [3], ii. 200. 
 
48 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 boiler. It probably came from the south, as the report was heard at 
 Warren, 12 miles to the S.W., but not at Searsmont, 3 miles to the 
 N.E. About two minutes after the explosion a woman saw the 
 earth thrown up at a spot about 30 rods distant from her. The 
 meteorite entered the hard soil to a depth of two feet, making a 
 vertical hole, and striking some large pebbles which shattered the 
 stone. It weighed altogether 121bs., the largest fragment being 21bs. 
 When dug out, 25 minutes after the fall, it was still hot. The 
 form of the complete stone is described as of an oval subconical 
 figure, with a flat base, and resembles the Durala meteorite 
 (1815, February 18th) preserved in the British Museum. The crust 
 of the base is perfectly black, and more perfectly fused than that of 
 the sides ; it is moreover of unusual thickness, amounting to about 
 1-1 6th of an inch. The colour of the interior is a bluish- white and 
 is very uniform. More than half the stone is made up of rounded 
 grains of the size of mustard-seed, with fine-grained white or 
 greyish- white interstitial matter, which Shepard calls chladnite, but 
 which would perhaps now be more correctly termed enstatite. The 
 larger globules are bluish-grey, with an occasional faint tinge of 
 yellow, are vitreous and translucent, have two imperfect oblique cleav- 
 ages, and bear a resemblance to boltonite. Minute grains of iron are 
 thickly scattered through the mass, with a few grains of troilite and 
 one little black mass, which was probably graphite. The specific 
 gravity of the stone is 3-626 3-701. Dr. Lawrence Smith traces a 
 great resemblance, as regards the crust, between this stone and that 
 which fell at Mauerkirchen (1768, November 20th) ; but both 
 observers agree that in other respects, more especially in spherular 
 structure, it is like the meteorite of Aussun (1858, December 9th). 
 It is to be regretted that the constituents of this stone, which can 
 apparently be so readily isolated, have not been subjected to separate 
 analysis. 
 
 The total composition of the stone is as follows : 
 
 Olivine 43-04 
 
 Bronzite, hornblende, with a little albite (or orthoclase) and chromite 39 27 
 
 Nickel-iron 14-63 
 
 Magnetic pyrites (?) 3-06 
 
 100-00 
 The nickel -iron consists of: 
 
 Iron = 90-02 ; Nickel = 9-05 ; Cobalt = 0-43 = 99-5 
 
 and the stony portions, soluble and insoluble in acid (and alkali), 
 amounting respectively to 52-3 per cent, and 47-7 per cent., have the 
 following composition : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO MgO Alkalies Fe 7 S 8 
 
 A. Soluble 40-61 ... 19-21 36-34 ... 3'06 = 99-22 
 
 B. Insoluble 56-25 2-01 13-02 24-14 2-10 ... = 97-52 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 49 
 
 1871, Spring of. Roda, Province of Huesca, Spain. 1 
 
 The exact date of the fall of this meteorite is not known, but it is 
 stated to have occurred during the spring of 1871, at a spot two 
 kilometres from Eoda. Two fragments, in the possession of Pisani, 
 weigh about 200 grammes, and appear to have formed the half of a 
 stone which was of the size of a fist. It is covered with a black 
 crust, which is continuous and brilliant in places where this species 
 of lustrous varnish has run. The interior is ashey-grey, with greenish 
 grains resembling peridot (some of them several millimetres in 
 diameter) scattered throughout the mass. The grey surface is, how- 
 ever, not of a uniform tint, but presents two irregularly shaped 
 areas, one being grey, the other yellowish-grey. The stone is very 
 friable, and is without action on the magnetic needle. Before the 
 blowpipe it is fusible, becoming black and feebly magnetic. 
 
 " Only a small portion, 14*75 per cent., of the meteorite is broken 
 up by acid, that unacted upon amounting to 85-97 per cent. Below 
 are given, in addition to the composition of the constituents separated 
 by acid, the results of an analysis of the minerals constituting 
 the mass of the stone : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 Cr 2 3 FeO CaO MgO K 2 and Na-jO S 
 
 A. Soluble. 38-85 4-81 ... 24-27 8-21 23-86 ... =100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble. 52-93 1-95 0-39 16-29 1-92 26-52 ...... =100-00 
 
 C. Total. 51-51 2-30 0-34 17'04 2-31 26-61 0-80 0-40 = 101-31 
 
 The soluble portion appears to be an iron olivine, mixed 
 probably with a little anorthite ; the insoluble portion consists 
 chiefly of bronzite, or, according to Pisani, probably hypersthene, 
 with the specific gravity of which mineral that of the meteorite 
 more closely accords. The sulphur and the chromium are, it is pre- 
 sumed, present as magnetic pyrites and chromite ; no nickel what- 
 ever was detected. 
 
 The yellowish-green grains were very slightly attacked by 
 acid, only 6 per cent, being soluble in that reagent. Their com- 
 position proved to be 
 
 Silicic acid ........... 51-10 ...... 27-3 
 
 Alumina ............... 2-83 ...... 1-3 
 
 Iron protoxide ......... 27'70 ...... 11-M . . 
 
 Magnesia ............ 17-20 ...... 3'8 j M 
 
 98-83 
 
 These numbers indicate, according to Pisani's view, the presence 
 of a hypersthene rather than a bronzite, a hypersthene richer in 
 iron than that of Farsund, Norway. The ratio of iron oxide to 
 magnesia is the same as that in the bronzites of the Hainholz, 
 Shalka, Borkut and several other meteorites. 
 
 On some grains of this mineral a well-marked cleavage was dis- 
 tinguished along one direction; in others a disposition to cleave 
 
 1 F. Pisani. Compt. rend., Ixxix. 1507. Gr. A. Daubree. Compt. rend., Ixxix. 1509. 
 Der Naturforscher, viii. 92. 
 
 4 
 
50 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 along a second direction was remarked; on examining such frag- 
 ments in the polarizing microscope, however, one of the optic axes 
 was almost always seen, while the other was invisible. The angle 
 of the optic axes, as measured in oil, was approximately determined, 
 making 2H= 104. The bisectrix is negative; but whether it was 
 the acute or obtuse bisectrix, was not determined. 
 
 This meteorite is remarkable for containing no metallic iron, and 
 a very large proportion of bronzite or hypersthene. 
 
 Daubree, during an examination of microscopic sections, noted 
 many characters which favour the assumption that the chief consti- 
 tuent of this meteorite is bronzite rather than hypersthene. Such 
 are : the absence of dichroism, the frequent occurrence of the right 
 angle in the contour of the crystals, and the fineness of the strias, 
 peculiar to bronzite. When magnified 800 diameters, most of the 
 crystals are found to enclose yellowish-brown rarely translucent mat- 
 ter, with very varied contour, and occasionally with a crystalline form, 
 that of a modified oblique prism, which is that of pyroxene. They 
 are ranged in rectilinear series, which are not always orientated 
 parallel to the axes of the crystal. Here and there, adhering to the 
 crystals, a brown vitreous substance, which is without action on 
 polarized light, is seen ; and in it occur cavities of relatively large 
 dimensions, closely resembling those usually found in basaltic rocks. 
 The Koda meteorite, with the single exception that it contains no 
 iron, bears a great likeness to the meteorite of Lodran (1868, October 
 1st), and establishes a new link between cosmical rocks and those 
 belonging to our planet. If, says Daubree, we were to refuse to 
 admit the testimony of those persons who affirm that they witnessed 
 the fall of this fragment of rock, the characters of its crust would 
 fully attest its cosmical origin. 
 
 1871, November. Montereau, Seine-et-Marne, France. 1 
 
 " It is stated that a meteorite, weighing 12 Tibs., lately fell near 
 Montereau. It came from the east, and burst with a loud explosion, 
 emitting a bright blue light. It is an irregular spheroid, and is 
 black (on the outer surface only?). It is to be sent to the Academy 
 of Sciences." No more recent information respecting this meteorite 
 has reached me. 
 
 1871, December 10th, 1-30 p.m. Goemoroeh, etc., near Bandong, 
 
 Java. 2 
 
 Three strange explosions were heard, and six stones were found. 
 The largest, weighing 8 kilog., fell in a rice-field in the village of 
 
 1 Nature, November 30, 1871. R. P. Greg. Brit. Jssoc. Report, 1872, 79. 
 
 2 G. A. Daubree and R. Everwijn. Compt. rend., Ixxv. 1676. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 51 
 
 Gcemoroeh, and penetrated the soil obliquely to the depth of one 
 metre. A second, 2-24 kilog. in weight, and a third, weighing 
 0-68 kilog., fell in a rice-field about 2200 metres S.W. of Babakan 
 Djattie, and 1500 metres from Tjignelling, or 3700 metres from the 
 spot where the first stone struck the ground. The three remaining 
 stones weighed in all 150 grammes. 
 
 The stone second in size, now in the Paris collection, is an 
 irregular block, with rounded edges. It is completely enveloped 
 in a dull black crust, and the natural surface exhibits numerous 
 cavities of different size, which bear a great resemblance to those 
 produced on quartzite by exposing it to the oxy-hydrogen flame. 
 A fresh fracture is grey, and enclosed in the silicate forming the 
 greater portion of the stones are three kinds of granules, which have 
 metallic lustre : the one, of an iron grey, which is at once identified 
 as nickel-iron ; the second, of a bronze-yellow, which often possesses 
 a blue or yellow tint, is troilite ; and the third, black and insoluble, 
 is chromite. The siliceous portion, when examined under the micro- 
 scope, was found to be made up of transparent, much-broken grains, 
 which are, throughout, crystalline. 
 
 The stone was examined in Java by Dr. Vlaanderen, who found 
 it to have the specific gravity 3*519, and the following composition : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO MnO MgO CaO K 2 Na-jO Fe Ni 
 
 A. Soluble. 28-669 2-377 28-036 0-199 21-290 0-498 1-479 1-164 8'227 1712 
 
 B. Insoluble. 51-218 6-352 10-796 trace 13-633 1-908 0-452 3*741 
 
 Co S Chromite. 
 0-233 3-540 ... = 97'424 
 11-074 = 99-174 
 
 The analyst's method of grouping these constituents shows the 
 meteorite to have the following mineralogical composition : 
 
 Olivine 47'26 
 
 Augite 20-98 
 
 Felspar 17'00 
 
 Nickel-iron 2-81 
 
 Troilite 5-44 
 
 Chromite 4-41 
 
 97-90 
 
 If we assume that the iron oxide in the insoluble portion of this 
 meteorite, which is stated in Ylaanderen's analytical results to be in 
 the state of peroxide, to be, as is more probable, in the form of 
 protoxide, this portion of the stone appears to consist of a bronzite, 
 in which Fe : Mg is as 1 : 1, and a felspar with the oxygen ratios of 
 RO : R 2 3 : Si0 2 as 1-04 : 2-96 : 11-6 or those of an albite or ortho- 
 clase. About 60 per cent, of the minerals in this meteorite may 
 be broken up by acid, the remaining 40 per cent, withstanding its 
 action. 
 
 1 Annaks des Mines, 1869, xix. 29. 
 
52 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Meteoric Irons found 1870 or 1871. San Gregorio, etc., Bolson de 
 Mapimi, Mexico. 1 
 
 With the object of fixing with greater precision the geographical 
 position of the meteoric masses that have from time to time been 
 met with on the Mexican Desert, Dr. Lawrence Smith communicated 
 a paper to the Amer. Jour. Science. There were already known 
 the Cohahuila meteorite of 1854 (No. 1); the Cohahuila meteorite 
 of 1868 (No. 2) ; the Chihuahua iron of 1854 (No. 3), still at the 
 JTacienda de Conception, weighing about 40001bs. ; and the Tucson 
 iron (No. 4), found in 1854 on the north side of the Eio Grande ; it 
 is in the form of a ring, and weighs from two to three thousand 
 pounds. Another mass (No. 5) has since been heard of on the 
 western border of the Mexican Desert, which from the locality has 
 been named the San Gregorio Meteoric Iron* It measures 6 feet 
 6 inches in length, is 5 feet 6 inches high, and 4 feet thick at the 
 base, and is in the form of a sofa. On one part of its surface the 
 date " 1821 " 3 has been cut with a chisel, and above it stands 
 the inscription : " Solo dios con su poder estefierro destruird, porque 
 en el mundo no habra quien lo pueda deshacer." (God alone with his 
 might this iron will destroy, for in the world is no one able to break 
 it in pieces.) It lies within the enclosure of a hacienda, having 
 been hauled to the ranch years ago by the Spaniards, who, so the 
 story goes, thought to use it for the manufacture of farm implements. 
 Its weight is estimated to be about five tons. An examination of a 
 fragment showed it to consist of : 
 
 Iron =95-01; Nickel = 4-22; Cobalt = 0-51 ; Phosphorus = 0-08; Copper = Trace; 
 
 Total = 99-82. 
 
 Still more recently we have news of the discovery, in the central 
 portion of the desert, of a meteorite (No. 6) larger than any previously 
 found in that region. It should be stated here, that in addition to 
 meteorites No. 3 and No. 4, Juan Urgindi mentions other larger 
 ones at Ohupaderos, 20 leagues N.W. of No. 4. L. Smith's paper is 
 illustrated with a little map indicating the relative position of these 
 masses. He is of opinion that they are the result of two falls. The 
 Tucson iron (also called the Signet meteorite and the Ainsa meteorite) 
 he finds to possess characters which distinguish it from the other five. 
 The latter probably fell at an epoch far remote, moving from N.E. to 
 S.W. during their descent. Nos. 1 and 2 fell first, 85 miles apart. 
 The distances between the larger masses are from No. 2 to No. 6, 
 135 miles; from No. 6 to No. 5, 165 miles; and from No. 5 to 
 No. 3, about 90 miles. 
 
 In a paper on some of the meteoric irons of Mexico, D. J. Correjo 
 
 1 J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1871, 335. See also H. J. Burkart. Ncues 
 Jahr. Min., 1871, 853. J. Urgindi. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1872, iii. 209. 
 
 2 This is probably the meteoric iron of which earlier mention is made by "W. H. 
 Hardy in his Travels in the Interior of Mexico in 1825-1828, London, 1829, 481. 
 
 3 Burkart gives the date 1828. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 53 
 
 (La Naturaleza, Periodico eientifico de la Sociedad mwicana de Historia 
 Natural, i. 252) reviews what has been published about the Mexican 
 irons, and gives some additional facts respecting them. A recent 
 number of the journal contains an indignant protest on the part of 
 the Society with reference to the destruction of the large mete- 
 orite, called " The Descubridora" ordered by the Mexican Society of 
 Geography and Statistics (Amer. Jour. Sc., vii. 75). A detailed 
 description of this meteorite will be found in Part II. (See the 
 Mexican Meteorites.) 
 
 1871, Victoria, Saskatchewan River, British North America, 
 [Lat. 53 45' H. f Long. 111 30' W.]. 1 
 
 In 1870 Captain Butler received orders from Lieut. -Governor 
 Archibald, of Manitoba, to proceed on a mission to the Saskatchewan. 
 While returning from the Far West he passed, on the 25th Decem- 
 ber, 1871, through the village of Victoria, which lies on the North 
 Branch of the river, about midway between Fort Edmonton and 
 Fort Pitt, and was shown, in the farmyard of the mission-house of 
 that Station, a curious block of metal of immense weight. It was 
 rugged, deeply indented, and polished on the edges by wear and 
 friction. Longer than any man could say, it had lain on the summit 
 of a hill out on the southern prairies. It had been a medicine-stone 
 of surpassing virtue among the Indians far and wide, and no tribe, 
 or member of a tribe, would pass in the neighbourhood without 
 visiting this great medicine. It was said to be increasing yearly in 
 weight. Old men remember to have heard old men say that they 
 had, at one time, lifted it easily from the ground ; now, no single 
 man can carry it. Not very long before Captain Butler saw this 
 meteorite, it had been removed from the hill on which it had so long 
 rested and been brought to Victoria. When the Indians found that it 
 had been taken away, they were loud in the expression of their regret. 
 The old medicine-men declared that its removal would bring great 
 misfortune, and that war, disease, and dearth of buffalo would afflict 
 the tribes of the- Saskatchewan. This was not a prophecy made after 
 the outbreak of small-pox which was devastating the district when 
 Captain Butler was there, for in a magazine published by the Wes- 
 leyan Society of Canada, there appears a letter from the missionary, 
 announcing the predictions of the medicine-men a year prior to Cap- 
 tain Butler's visit, and concluding with an expression of thankful- 
 ness that their dismal prognostications had not been realized. A few 
 months later, however, brought all the three evils upon the Indians. 
 Never, probably, since the first trader had traversed their land had 
 so many afflictions of war, famine, and plague fallen upon the Crees 
 and the Blackfeet as during the year succeeding the removal of 
 
 1 The Great Lone Land. By W. F. Butler. London : Sampson Low. 1872. 
 Page 304. 
 
54 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 their Manito-stone from the lone hill-top upon which the skies had 
 cast it. 1 
 
 This iron has not yet been analysed. 
 
 1871. Rockingham Co., N. Carolina. 2 
 
 This meteoric iron, a small specimen of which is in the Vienna 
 collection, is described as exhibiting the ordinary lamella and figures. 
 It contains iron chloride in the form of a solid green substance 
 enclosed in the metal itself. This compound was first observed by 
 J. L. Smith in 1852 in the Tazewell iron. 
 
 1872, July 23rd, 5-20 p.m. (Tours mean time). Lance and 
 Authon, Canton of St.-Amand, Loir-et-Cher, France. 3 
 
 An observer, reports M. De Tastes, stationed between Champigny 
 and Brisay, in the Canton 1'Ile-Bouchard, noticed during full sun- 
 shine a sudden increase of light, and raising his eyes saw a brilliant 
 meteor, which was of a rosy orange colour, and appeared to be double, 
 traversing the heavens with enormous velocity from S.W. to N.E. 
 Its brilliancy suddenly increased as it separated into two luminous 
 globes and passed out of sight in the direction of Tours. At 5 '26 he 
 
 1 The supernatural attributes ascribed by savage or superstitious races to 
 meteorites are not a little curious. The large block of meteoric iron, found near 
 the source of the Brazos River, Texas, Lat. 34 N. ; Long, 100 W., was held by the 
 Comanches to possess healing virtues. (B. F. Shumard. Trans. Ac. Sc. St. Louis, 1860, 
 i. 622. 0. Buchner. Die Meteoriten, 161.) The iron of Charcas, Mexico, was 
 built into the wall of the church, and held in peculiar veneration, especially by 
 women, who paid it worship, believing that in return for offerings made to it they 
 would be shielded from the misfortune of sterility. The soldiers of Bazaine, however, 
 carried off their fetish, and it has been placed in the Paris Collection, sawn asunder, 
 polished, etched, and analysed, without apparently causing any sensible diminution 
 in the average increase of the Mexican population. (S. Meunier. La Nature) i. 294.) 
 The meteoric stone which fell at Durama, Wanika-land, East Africa, in 1853, was 
 anointed with oil by the natives, dressed with beads, and set up as a god. (R. P. 
 Greg. Phil. Mag. SuppL, January, 1863.) The meteorites of Khetrie, Eajpootana, 
 India, which fell in 1867, were treated with less respect ; being regarded as the 
 missiles of an offended deity, the greater part of them were seized upon by the natives 
 and ground to powder to render them harmless. (R. Waldie. Proc. Asiat. Soc. 
 Bengal, 1869, 169.) Compare also with Nidigullam iron (page 16). 
 
 2 G. Tschermak. Mineralog. Mitt., Jahrgang 1872. J. L. Smith, Am. Jour. Sc., 
 1871 vii. 395. 
 
 s L' Union liberate, Tours, 26th July, 1872. Le Loir, 4th August, 1872. M. De 
 Tastes. Compt. rend. , Ixxv. 273. G. A. Daubree. Compt. rend. , Ixxv. 308 and 465. 
 G. A. Daubree and M. Jolly. Compt. rend., Ixxv. 505. P. de Fleury. Note sur les 
 Meteores d'origine cosmique a propos de 1'Aerolithe du 23 Juillet, 1872. Blois : 
 Imp. P. Dufresne, 1872. M. Nouel. Notice sur le bolide du 23 Juillet, 1872. 
 Vend6me, 1873. G. A. Daubree. Compt. rend., Ixxix. 277.L'Institut, August 
 5th, 1874. La Nature, ii. 159. R. von Drasche. Miner alogische Mitt., 1875, i. 1. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 55 
 
 heard a sharp sound, unattended by an echo. The inhabitants of the 
 Communes Monthodon, Neuville, Chateaurenant, Beauinont-la-Ronce, 
 and Dammarie, north of Tours, were alarmed by a tremendous ex- 
 plosion, which shook the houses, and a small cloud of smoke was 
 seen in the direction of Saint- Amand, still further north. Had this 
 happened at night instead of in an atmosphere illumined by the 
 evening sun, it would certainly have attracted the notice of more 
 than the few observers whose attention happened at that instant to 
 be directed towards the sky. The meteors, though seen distinctly 
 separately by many observers, were close together, and had the 
 appearance of two candle flames proceeding horizontally at a very 
 low elevation. 1 The loud report, which to many persons appeared 
 to be two reports in rapid succession, was followed, as is so often 
 the case in explosions of this kind, with " rolls of musketry," lasting 
 30 to 40 seconds. 
 
 A large meteorite fell in a field at La Haye de Blois, near the bound- 
 ary of the commune of Lance and Saint-Amand, and penetrated the 
 soil to a depth of 1'4 metres. The explosion detached the hinder 
 portion of the meteorite, which fell as one block to the ground, but 
 which, when taken out of the hole, broke into three pieces. The 
 anterior portion of the stone was shattered into fragments, which 
 were scattered over a stubbled field of wheat. The owner of some 
 cultivated land near St.-Ainand was within 200 metres of the spot 
 where it fell. It weighed altogether 47 kilog. The trajectory of 
 the meteorite appears to have been nearly parallel to the plane of 
 the horizon, and the velocity is calculated to have been 640 metres 
 per second. 
 
 A search having been instituted in the neighbourhood for other 
 meteorites that may have fallen at the same time, a second stone, 
 weighing 250 grammes, was found a few days later at a depth of 
 half a metre below the surface, at a point two kilometres from the 
 village of Pont-Loiselle in the Commuue of Authon, and 12 kilometres 
 to the S W. of the spot where the first stone fell. These two places 
 are on the line of the trajectory of the meteor. Here, as in the case 
 of the fall of other meteorites for example, those of Orgueil, Tarn- 
 et-Garonne (1864, March 14th) the smaller stone fell first. A 
 superficial inspection will convince the observer of the common 
 origin and similar constitution of the two stones. 
 
 The crust of this meteorite is dull, and shows in different parts 
 the manner in which the air has affected the heated surface during 
 the descent. A freshly-fractured surface of it differs from that of a 
 great number of meteorites in being of a very dark grey or black 
 colour, recalling that of certain basalts; it possesses a spherular 
 structure, the grains not exceeding 1 mm. in diameter. Many are 
 transparent and colourless, while some are of a yellowish-green ; 
 when examined in a microscopic section, these are seen to be full of 
 flaws and to act powerfully on polarized light ; here and there are 
 
 1 A similar instance of the division of a meteor into two during its passage through 
 
 the atmosphere (which may be represented thus * *) was observed at the 
 
 Xicobars, 1874, May 31st, 5-30 p.m. (Proc. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1874, No. viii. 156.) 
 
00 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 particles of the bronze-like yellow hue of iron monosulphide or with 
 metallic lustre ; the latter are rarely more than \ mm. in diameter, 
 and are malleable. The specific gravity is found to be 3-80; but 
 whether this is the density of the silicate freed from nickel-iron, is 
 not stated. 
 
 By treatment with water 0-12 per cent, of sodium chloride was 
 extracted from a portion of this meteorite. As this salt is so common 
 a constituent of the earth's crust, it seemed at first sight probable 
 that it owes its presence to infiltration of water holding it in solu- 
 tion. The clay-like soil, however, in which the Lance meteorite lay 
 during three days was dry, and the vitrified crust, covering the stone 
 would preclude an infiltration of salt to its centre, from which part 
 the fragment analysed was taken. Moreover, the absence of calcium 
 salts, which would be expected to be associated with it, was fully 
 established. The sodium chloride l of the Lance meteorite, like the 
 calcium chloride of the Ovifak iron (see page 33), appears beyond 
 question to be of cosrnical origin. The probable presence of what must 
 be a trace only of copper was ascertained by spectrum analysis. No 
 carbon was met with. 
 
 An analysis of the stone showed it to possess the following com- 
 position : 
 
 1. Iron, as nickel-iron. 7-81 
 
 2. Iron and other metals combined with sulphur 9*09 
 
 3 Sulphur combined with the above metals 5-19 
 
 4. Silicic acid 17-20 
 
 5. Iron protoxide 1T33 
 
 6. Manganese protoxide 0-05 
 
 7. Magnesia 13-86 
 
 8. Sodium chloride 0'12 
 
 9. Constituents not acted upon by acid 33-44 
 
 10. Hygrometric water 1-24 
 
 99-33 
 
 The constituents Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7 make up 42-44 per cent, of 
 the stone, and are those of an olivine in which the oxygen ratio 
 of Fe : Mg is 1 : 2, the same as that of the olivine of Chassigny, 
 Alais, and other meteorites. 
 
 By acting upon a portion of the meteorite with hydrogen and 
 chlorine successively at a high temperature it lost 34-98 per cent, in 
 weight. It appears from this that the iron and manganese oxides 
 of the olivine underwent reduction, and the water was removed by 
 the first reagent, while the iron, nickel, and cobalt, either free or 
 combined with sulphur, together with this sulphur, as well as the 
 two metals forming constituents of the olivine, which, it appears, 
 lose their oxygen when treated with hydrogen, were, one and all, 
 removed by the action of chlorine. They amount together to 34-66 
 per cent. Daubree concludes from this that the residue consists of 
 
 1 Scheerer found this chloride in the meteorite of Stannern (Jour, de Phys., Ixi., 
 469). In some hailstones which fell 1871, August 20th, 11 a.m., at Zurich, some 
 of which weighed 12 grains, Kenngott found cubes or fragments of cubes of sodium 
 chloride. He believed that they might have been carried by the wind from North 
 Africa. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 57 
 
 the silicate which withstood the action of acid, together with the 
 silicic acid and magnesia of that which gelatinizes in contact with 
 this reagent. It is to be regretted that the composition of the 
 insoluble portion, which constitutes one-third of the stone, and of 
 which we are told that it consists at least of two substances, one 
 colourless (enstatite?), and the other almost black (chromite?), has 
 not been determined. In its general aspect the Lance meteorite re- 
 sembles that which fell at Ornans (1868, July llth). 
 
 Since the publication of these papers recording the fall and the 
 examination of the Lance stone, a letter has been addressed to 
 M. Daubree by M. Jolly, stating that an observer, who was at 
 Chinee, Commune of Jaulnay, Canton of Saint- Georges. Dep. of la 
 Vienne, heard two loud explosions, which appeared to come from 
 the direction of Chatellerault. and a hissing noise, such as would be 
 caused by the rapid passage of a large body through the air. This 
 point is forty kilometres to the S.W. of that reported on by M. De 
 Tastes. In Aug., 1874, Daubree announced the discovery of four more 
 meteorites belonging to this fall. They weigh 3 kilog , 0'62 kilog., 
 0-60 kilog., and 0-30 kilog. The first had fallen near the Sablet, 
 between Authon and Villechauve ; the second and third were found 
 about 100 metres apart at points north of Authon and about three 
 kilometres from Prunay ; and the fourth had fallen in the Commune 
 of Authon. 
 
 The most recent contribution to the history of this meteorite is a 
 paper by von Drasche, who has examined its mineralogical characters. 
 His memoir is illustrated with three drawings of the stone itself, 
 and twelve displaying its microscopic structure. The crust is about 
 0-5 mm. in thickness, and exhibits on one part a number of fine lines, 1 
 which appear to be the result of the oscillation of the meteorite about 
 its centre of gravity during its transit through the atmosphere ; on 
 the posterior surface the crust has an appearance as if it had been 
 pricked with fine needle-points, a phenomenon which the author 
 attributes to a disengagement of gas from the meteorite while the 
 crust was still soft. (Compare with Wright's experiments on the 
 evolution of gas from the Iowa meteorite.) Von Drasche's descrip- 
 tion of the grains which make up the rock confirms and extends that 
 given by Daubree. The microscopic sections exhibit numberless 
 spherules of remarkable structure : some have a perfect circular 
 section, are colourless and translucent, and consist either of a con- 
 geries of crystals lying apparently in no order, or a few crystals 
 symmetrically arranged about a point ; one is made up of a compact 
 group of potygons, which, when magnified, presents the appearance 
 of the facetted eye of a fly. They probably consist of olivine, and 
 are the white granules observed on the freshly fractured face of 
 many meteorites. 
 
 One spherule presents a very unusual appearance : it is colourless 
 and exhibits no change with crossed Nieols ; from a point lying 
 excentrically within the circle eight fine bands radiate at angles of 
 
 1 The great stone of Timochin (1807, March 13th) bore on its black crust mark- 
 ings which resemble iron wires. 
 
58 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 45 towards the boundary of the spherule, and from each of these 
 again proceed other and shorter bands at about the same angle. 
 With a power of 240 these bands are seen to be hollows filled with a 
 dark-green flocculent substance. The homogeneous ground-mass of 
 the spherule is fractured in many places, the cracks traversing these 
 bands as well. Another spherule, of which also only one was met with, 
 and which was sufficiently large to be recognized with the naked 
 eye, consists of a nucleus surrounded by a ring of material, about one- 
 third the radius of the section in breadth. The central portion is 
 filled with a dark-brown opaque mass ; the envelope is traversed by 
 a number of lines or veins which break it up into sectors and is an 
 aggregation of small colourless crystals enclosed in a fine network 
 of a brown fibrous mineral, probably the same substance which 
 occurs in the nucleus. While the above ingredients of the Lance 
 meteorite consist probably of olivine, another class of spherule, 
 readily distinguished from them, appears to be formed of bronzite. 
 These bodies, which are made up of a finely fibrous mineral, arranged 
 excentrically within the spherule, are of the kind described and 
 figured by Gr. Rose, which have since been shown by Tschermak to 
 occur in the stone of Gopalpur (which see). Certain of these 
 spherules, as met with in the Lance stone, are so compactly fibrous 
 that little light can penetrate even a thin section of them ; in one 
 where the radiating crystals diverge from a point on the circumfer- 
 ence of the spherule, they are seen with a high power to merge 
 towards the margin into a flocculent material. 
 
 Other spherules are a tangle of bronzite crystals, some being very 
 thin and of great length. Individual crystals of olivine, some 
 1 mm. in length, were often met with ; but only one large isolated 
 crystal of bronzite was observed. Von Drasche is of opinion that 
 the iron sulphide is present in the form of magnetic pyrites, 
 and that the insoluble portion of the stone will be found to con- 
 tain a felspathic mineral of the kind occurring in the meteorite of 
 Gopalpur. 
 
 1872, August 31st, 5-15 a.m. (Rome mean time), Orvinio (formerly 
 Canemorto), near Rome. [Lat. 42 8' N. ; Long. 12 26' E.] l 
 
 A meteor was seen at daybreak by many observers in the pro- 
 vinces of Borne, Umbria, Abruzzo, and Terra di Lavoro. At first it 
 appeared like a large star of a red colour. It increased in brilliance 
 
 1 A. Secchi. Compt. rend., Ixxv. 655. G. S. Ferrari. Eicherche fisico-astrono- 
 miche intorno all' Uranolito caduto nell' agro Romano il 31 di Agosto, 1872. Roma : 
 Tip. Bell. Arti. 1873. P. Keller. Pogg. Ann., cl. 171. Mineralog. Mitt., 1874, 
 258. M. le Chevalier Michel-Etienne de Rossi and G. Bellucci. Atti delV Ace. 
 pontif. di nuovi Lincei, 1873. Les Mondes, 25th December, 1873. L. Sipocz. 
 Mineralog. Mitt., 1874, 244. G. Tschermak. Sitz. Ak. Wiss. Wien,\s^. November 
 Heft, 1874. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 59 
 
 as it traversed the sky, in a northerly direction, leaving a white 
 train. At a certain point it became brilliantly white, and then 
 vanished, a luminous cloud remaining, which was visible for a quarter 
 of an hour. The meteor appears to have crossed the coast-line at a 
 point near Terracina, to have passed over Piperno in a direction 7 
 W. of N., and, moving N.N.E. over Cori and Gennazzano, to have 
 exploded over the latter town. After the lapse of two to three 
 minutes, two reports were heard, the first like that of a cannon, the 
 second like a series of from three to six guns fired in rapid succession. 
 The greater part of the stone fell at Orvinio, over which place the 
 second explosion appears to have taken place, and some fragments 
 were carried further northward. 
 
 Six fragments of the meteorite, weighing collectively 3-396 kilog., 
 have been found : No. 1, weighing 4J grammes, fell with a hissing 
 noise near a peasant at Gerano ; No. 2, weighing 92 grammes, fell at 
 La Soarpa, within ten metres of a farmer, who picked it up while 
 hot ; No. 3, weighing 622 grammes, was found two or three days 
 after the fall a few centimetres below the surface, in a stubbled field 
 at Pezza del Meleto, between Orvinio and Pozzaglia ; No. 4, 1242*5 
 grammes in weight, was found a week after the fall, close to Orvinio : 
 the grass around it had been somewhat singed ; No. 5, weighing 432 
 grammes, was picked up a week after the fall at Pezza del Meleto ; 
 No. 6, weiging 1003 kilog., was found on the 8th May, 200 metres 
 distant from No. 4, at a very trifling depth, while turning up the soil 
 of a field. At the time of the fall a man was passing the spot where 
 fragments numbered 4 and 6 were found. Immediately after the 
 explosion, he heard the sound of a heavy body striking the earth, 
 and he fell on the ground with fear. At the same time, or a little 
 later, a fire broke out in a barn filled with hay in the village of 
 Anile, and the occurrence was, with general consent, ascribed to the 
 meteorite. 
 
 In September, 1873, Keller learnt that two more small fragments 
 had fallen near the village of Anticoli Corradi ; one fell near two boys 
 who were tending cattle. The boys became alarmed at the hissing 
 noise, and believing this projectile to be aimed by the Devil, they 
 picked it up, and threw it far away from them. The other stone was 
 observed to fall on the bare rock, and to break in pieces. The frag- 
 ments were collected, but as they were held to be of no value, they 
 were subsequently lost. In the case of this aerolite, as in that of 
 others, the smaller fragments appear to have fallen before the larger. 
 
 The velocity of this fall must have been very slow. The authors 
 do not state whether any of the fragments could be fitted together ; 
 their specific gravity ranged between 3-58 and 3*73 in one, richer 
 in metallic constituents, it amounted to 4-598. Two of the fragments 
 bear portions of the crust lying in pits and hollows. It is only J mm. 
 thick, has a pitch-black colour, and exhibits in some places a waxy 
 lustre. The mass of the stone is of a lead grey colour, being darker 
 than that of the aerolites of Pultusk and Monte Milone. A polished 
 surface exhibits metallic grains, some 2 mm. in diameter, and a green 
 silicate, probably olivine. The ground-mass appears to be made up 
 
60 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 of two minerals, one clear and uniform, the other dull and less 
 homogeneous. The stone acts powerfully on the magnet. 
 
 In Ferrari's memoir is given a plan of the country near Eome, on 
 which is indicated the track of the meteor and the positions where 
 the stones fell. The line of flight, a singularly devious one, is seen 
 to pass immediately over the summits of M. Leano, M. Sempreviso, 
 M. Lapone, and quite near to that of M. Gennaro, the chief moun- 
 tains of the district, and suggests the gravitating action of these 
 more elevated masses of the earth's surface on the path of the 
 meteor. A sketch of the latter, the trajectory of which is computed 
 to have been inclined 27 to the plane of the horizon, accompanies 
 the map. 
 
 The paper of M. Le Chevalier Michel-Etienne de Eossi gives the 
 analysis and observations of Prof. Bellucci, of Perugia. When 
 heated to 120 the powdered mineral lost 1-875 per cent, and by 
 treatment with water a little potassium and sodium chloride were 
 dissolved. (Compare with Daubree's examination of the Lance stone, 
 page 56.) The magnet removed 29-04 per cent, and acid 45-04 
 per cent. The analysis of a portion of the stone gave the following 
 numbers : silicic acid = 46-72 ; alumina = 16-84 ; magnesia = 1-97 ; 
 iron = 25 -59; iron oxide (fer oxyde) = 4-82 ; sulphur = 2-24; nickel 
 with trace of cobalt = 1-37 ; with traces of calcium, chromium, 
 manganese, arsenic, and phosphorus. Two points are worthy of re- 
 mark in this analysis : first, the astonishingly large amount of alumina 
 present, far in excess of that found in any other meteorite. In the 
 absence of a second and confirmatory analysis, it may be assumed 
 that insufficient ammonium chloride was employed, and the greater 
 portion of the 16-84 per cent, is magnesia, which precipitated with 
 the alumina. The second point is the occurrence of arsenic, which 
 is of extreme rarity in a meteorite ; it is stated to be present in 
 the iron of Braunau and the olivine of the Atacama and Krasnojarsk 
 siderolites. 
 
 Tschermak's report of his examination of this stone appeared in 
 the winter of 1874. The structure developed on cutting the stone is 
 unusual and remarkable, consisting of light- coloured fragments (I.), 
 surrounded by a compact dark cementing material (II.) . The former 
 are yellowish-grey, enclose spherules and particles of iron and 
 magnetic pyrites ; are, in fact, normal chondrite, and resemble the 
 mass of the stone which fell at Seres in Macedonia (1818, June). 
 The latter encloses numerous particles of iron and magnetic pyrites, 
 for the most part uniformly distributed ; the portion nearest the 
 enclosed fragments bears very distinct indications of having been at 
 one time fluid, and conveys the impression that this cementing 
 material was at one time in a plastic condition while in motion. 
 Along the boundary of these two very dissimilar portions flaws are 
 seen, in which nickel -iron has crystallized in delicate plate-like 
 forms; and here, moreover, the fragments are darker, harder, and 
 more brittle than those of the centre, which argues the exposure of 
 the cementing material to a very high temperature while in a plastic 
 condition. Both portions have nearly the same density and appar- 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 61 
 
 ently the same chemical composition and mineral characteristics. 
 The Orvinio stone resembles, in fact, certain brecciated volcanic 
 rocks which consist of a ground mass through which granular frag- 
 ments of the same rock are distributed, as when older crystalline 
 lavas are interpenetrated by others more compact and of a more re- 
 cent period. The light-coloured fragments are, as stated, chondritic ; 
 the spherules are usually of one kind, lying in a splintery matrix of 
 the same mineral, containing some nickel-iron and magnetic pyrites. 
 Among the transparent constituents, olivine is recognized by its im- 
 perfect cleavage ; a second mineral, with a distinct cleavage along 
 a prism of nearly quadratic section, is evidently bronzite; while 
 a third, which occurs in fine foliated or fibrous particles, may be 
 either identical with the above or be a felspathic ingredient. 
 
 The meteoric rocks possessing chondritic structure are regarded 
 by Tschermak as tufas, which have undergone detrition ; and their 
 spherules to be such particles c,s, by their superior toughness, have, 
 during the trituration of the rock, instead of breaking up into 
 splinters, acquired a rounded form. A black material is observed 
 to coat the fragments of the rock and to fill the finer flaws existing 
 between them, whereby their transparent character is considerably 
 impaired; this has also been noticed in the meteorite of Tadjera 
 (1867, June 9th). 
 
 The dark-coloured cementing material contains two ingredients : 
 an opaque semi-vitreous constituent, and particles in every way 
 similar to the dark crust of the fragments from which they may 
 probably have been detached ; many of them can still be recognized 
 as olivine and bronzite. The nickel-iron and magnetic pyrites of 
 this portion of the stone are more finely divided than in the frag- 
 ments, and have often a rounded form. The metal of this portion, 
 as well as in the other, exhibits no Widmannstattian figures ; but in 
 both, by treatment with acid, lines are developed like those of the 
 Brauuau iron. 
 
 The two species of rock : the chondritic fragments (I.) and the 
 darker cementing material (II.) : have the following composition : 
 
 I. 
 
 Silicic acid 38-01 
 
 Alumina 2-22 
 
 Chromium oxide trace 
 
 Iron protoxide... 6'55 
 
 Magnesia 24-11 
 
 Lime 2-33 
 
 Soda 1-46 
 
 Potash 0-31 
 
 Iron 22-34 
 
 Nickel, with trace of cobalt 2-15 
 
 Sulphur 1-94 
 
 II. 
 
 36-82 
 2-31 
 
 trace 
 9-41 
 
 21-69 
 2-31 
 0-96 
 0-26 
 
 22-11 
 3-04 
 2-04 
 
 101-42 100-95 
 
 Specific gravity 3-675 3-600 
 
 These results establish the similarity in composition of the two 
 portions, and, as Tschermak points out, the erroneous character of 
 Belucci's analysis, to which attention has already been directed. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Tschermak's paper is illustrated with a plate, giving a figure of 
 the meteorite lie examined; a drawing, actual size, of the section, 
 showing very distinctly the appearances of fusion ; and three micro- 
 scopic sections, magnified 20 diameters, of the two rock varieties 
 composing the greater part of the stone. 
 
 1872, November 3rd, 5-30 p.m. Nairn, Scotland. 1 
 
 A meteor of unusual brilliancy was observed to take a direction 
 from E.S.E. about 20 from the horizon. The sky was so lighted up 
 for two or three seconds that the observer could have seen to pick a 
 pin from the ground. Darkness followed, and again the light burst 
 forth stronger than before, and shortly afterwards a sound was heard 
 as if three or four cannon had been discharged at the distance of a 
 quarter of a mile. The meteor appeared to move from the southern 
 part of Banffshire, towards the centre of Inverness-shire, and to 
 burst somewhere near the source of the river Nairn. It was also 
 observed at Glasgow. A second very bright meteor was seen about 
 9-15 (G-. M. T.) at Bristol and Portsmouth, 2 passing from the zenith 
 down towards 10 E. of the Pleiades in Taurus. A sound as of an 
 explosion was heard three seconds after its disappearance. 
 
 1872, November 13th, 2 a.m. " Sevenstones " Light-ship, The 
 Scilly Islands. 3 
 
 A letter, addressed by the Secretary of the Corporation of the Trinity 
 House to the President of the Royal Society, states that at the above 
 hour a meteor burst over the "Sevenstones " light- vessel, moored about 
 9| miles E. by N. of the Scilly Islands. The watch were struck sense- 
 less for a short period, and on recovery they observed " balls of fire 
 falling in the water like splendid fireworks," while the deck was 
 covered with cinders, " which crushed under the sailors' feet as they 
 walked." The writer states that the "cinders " were, there is reason 
 to fear, all washed off the decks by the rain and sea before daylight. 
 Miss Carne, of Penzance, and Mr. Tailing, of Lostwithiel, to whom 
 I applied for information, did not succeed in obtaining any further 
 details respecting this remarkable occurrence. 
 
 1 H. D. Penny. Brit. Assoc. Report, 1873, Obs. Luminous Meteors, 369. 
 
 2 E. B. Gardiner. Brit. Assoc. Report, 1873, Obs. Luminous Meteors, 365. 
 
 3 R. Allen. Proc. Royal Soc., xxi. 122. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 63 
 
 1872, November 30th, 2-8 p.m. Slough, England. 1 
 
 The descent of this ' meteor ' was witnessed by Sir J. 0. Cowell, 
 who states that it fell one mile east of Slough, and about 150 yards 
 south of the Great Western Kailway. He writes that the phenomenon 
 occurred during a short and sharp thunderstorm which passed over 
 North Hants and East Berks. It is a question whether this was not 
 a form of ball-lightning. " The explosion was similar to that of a 
 heavy gun when fired." A sketch accompanying the notice repre- 
 sents the fire-ball striking a ploughed field, between the observer 
 and some trees. It is not stated whether any search was made at 
 the time for a meteorite. 
 
 1872, December 12th, 4-53, p.m. Lexington, Kentucky. 2 
 
 The meteor took a direction S. 45 E., and exploded with a loud 
 noise at an altitude of about 20 miles, the cloud remaining 
 several minutes. The inclination to the horizon was probably not 
 less than 30 or more than 60. The fragments of the meteorite, 
 which have not yet been found, probably fell 20 or 30 miles N.W. of 
 Lebanon. 
 
 A number of meteorites have fallen about this date, and they are 
 separated in a group by an interval of some days from the aerolites 
 of the earlier and later days of December. The members of this 
 group are : 
 
 1858. December 9th. Aussun and Clarac, Haute Garonne, France. 
 
 1870. December 9th. Tjabe, Bodgo Negoro, Rembang, Java. 
 
 1871. December 10th. Gcemorceh, near Bandong, Java. 
 1836. December llth.(f) Macao, Brazil. 
 
 1872. December 12th. Lexington, Kentucky. 
 
 1795. December 13th. Wold Cottage, Thwing, Yorkshire. 
 
 1798. December 13th.(?) Krakhut, Benares, India. 
 
 1803. December 13th. Massing, Eggenf eld, Bavaria. 
 
 1813. December 13th. Luotolax, Wiburg, Finland. 
 
 1807. December 14th. Weston, Connecticut. 
 
 Found 1872. Los Angeles, California. 3 
 
 A very brief account is given of a mass of iron weighing SOlbs., 
 which was found at Los Angeles. It is stated that its specific gravity 
 is 7-905, and that, when acted on with dilute nitric acid, the smooth 
 surface exhibits innumerable scales of schreibersite, but that the 
 usual figures are not developed. 
 
 1 Sir J. C. Cowell. Nature, 26th December, 1872. 
 
 2 D. Kirkwood. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1873, v. 318. 
 8 C. T. Jackson. Amer Jour. Sc., 1872, iv. 495. 
 
64 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Found December, 1872. Neuntmannsdorf, Saxony. 1 
 
 A block of iron, weighing 251bs., now preserved in the Dresden 
 Museum, was found in 1872, at Neuntmannsdorf, two feet below the 
 surface of the ground. As I could meet with no announcement of 
 the constitution of this meteorite, I conceived it possible that it 
 might form a new member of the interesting little group of sidero- 
 lites to which the Breitenbach, Steinbach and Eittersgriin meteorites 
 belong. I learn, however, from Professor Geinitz, that it is a metallic 
 mass, and that it has been analyzed by Lichtenberger with the 
 following results : 
 
 Iron = 94-59 ; Nickel = 5-31 = 99-90 
 
 It contains no cobalt, carbon, manganese, or uranium. The author 
 states that although it is carefully preserved under a glass shade, a 
 liquid (ferrous chloride) exudes from it, and it shows a tendency to 
 scale off, as the Greenland (Disko) irons do. A more complete inves- 
 tigation of this meteorite will shortly be undertaken. 
 
 1873, February 3rd, 9-58 p.m. Liverpool and Chester. 3 
 
 This meteor, which is described as one of the largest class of deto- 
 nating meteors, illuminated the whole district which it traversed 
 with one or two prolonged flashes of light at least as powerful as 
 that of the full moon. Owing to the clouded state of the sky, which 
 nearly concealed the moon in many places, the descriptions of its 
 apparent path are nowhere sufficiently determinate to indicate with 
 much precision its real course ; the meteor, however, appears to have 
 moved at a lower elevation than is usual with shooting-stars over the 
 north of Staffordshire and Cheshire, passing at a height of less than 
 40 miles over Crewe, and to have vanished at an altitude of less than 
 30 miles over a point between Liverpool and Chester ; a sound like 
 the loud boom of a distant gun or a loud roll of thunder was heard 
 about three or four minutes after the disappearance of the meteor. 
 The observations of its apparent path show considerable discordance, 
 and it seems that its course may have been more directly from E. to 
 W. The light of the meteor was of a bluish hue, leaving a train of 
 brilliant sparks along its track. It appears to have been visible as 
 far south as Bristol. On the same date, and at the same local time, 
 a very brilliant fireball was seen in Australia. 
 
 1 Amer. Jour. Sc., vi. 237. Sitzungs-Ber. der Isis zu Dresden, 1873, 4. 
 
 2 Brit. Assoc. Rep., 1873, Obs. Luminous Meteors, 353 and 364. Brit. Assoc. 
 Sep., 1873, Obs. Luminous Meteors, 376. English Mechanic, 1873, 171. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 65 
 
 1873, June 17th, 846 p.m. (Breslan mean time). Proschwitz, 
 near Reichenberg, Bohemia [Lat. 50 4<X N. ; Long. 14 31' R] l 
 
 A brilliant meteor was seen about half an hour after sunset, and in 
 bright twilight, over the whole of the Eastern area of Germany and 
 in Austria; the train remained visible for a quarter of an hour, 
 which enabled the astronomer of the Breslau Observatory to measure 
 the position of two points along its course. It was observed in 
 Saxony, Thuringia, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg. Pomerania, West 
 Prussia, and in many parts of Austria as far as Hungary ; and the 
 report of the explosion was heard in the Hirschberger Thai and 
 along the Riesengebirge range. The explosion appears to have 
 taken place near the Bohemian frontier, at a height of about 4J 
 geographical miles, nearly over Grosschonau in Saxony and 
 Warnsdorf in Bohemia, the altitude being nearly the same as that 
 at which the cosmical path of the meteorites of Pultusk (1868, 
 January 30th) is believed by Galle to have terminated. 2 According 
 to Niessl, it was seen nearly vertical over the village of Herrnhut in 
 Saxony at the time of its dissolution. The general course of the 
 meteor was from S.S.E. to N.N.W. 
 
 Although it does not appear that any fragments of a meteorite are 
 known to have descended in the neighbourhood of Herrnhut, some 
 information was gathered by Prof. Hornstein, of Prague, respecting 
 a very remarkable form of matter which is stated to have fallen 
 at the time of the flight of the meteor. According to an account 
 communicated to the Reichenlerger Zeitung by the Head Master of the 
 School at Proschwitz, the meteor was seen to explode in the zenith 
 at the time stated, and some of the burning fragments of the 
 meteor fell in that village, one of them on the high road not far 
 from him. It was of about the size of a fist, and continued to burn, 
 emitting a blue light and an odour like that of sulphur, until the 
 flame was extinguished by the villagers stamping it out with their 
 feet. This rough treatment reduced the mass to small pieces, which, 
 mixed with sand and dust, had the appearance of a slag, and were 
 not larger in size than a pea. A stone, a fragment of porphyry, 
 which happened to be selected by one of the bystanders to extinguish 
 the flame, together with some of the above-mentioned fragments, was 
 examined by Websky and Poleck, by whom the substance was 
 pronounced to be pure sulphur. 
 
 If this burning mass actually traversed our atmosphere, the oc- 
 currence is of peculiar interest, as being one of the very few 
 instances where sulphur in the separate elementary condition has 
 been found as a meteoric substance. Chladni, in his Feuer- Meteore* 
 refers to a statement in the Theatrum Europaum, vol. iv. p. 399, 
 
 1 G. von Niessl. Astronom. Nachrichten, ITTYJJ. 161. (Xo. 1955) and 
 
 321. (Xos. 1989-90). J. G. Galle. Sitz. Meteorolog. Section der Schles. GeselL 
 fur vaterlandische Cultur, 1873, December 17th. 
 
 2 J. G. Galle. Naturw. Abh. zu den Schriften der Schles. Gesell., 1868, 79. 
 
 3 E. F. F. Chladni. Ueber Feuer-Meteore. Vienna, 1819. Page 367. 
 
 5 
 
66 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 that in June, 1642 (?), sulphur fell at Magdeburg, and at Lohburg 
 four miles distant ; one mass, the size of a fist, striking the roof 
 of the castle. Galle, in his memoir Ueber den gegenwdrtigen 
 Stand der Untersuchungen ueber die gelatinosen sogenannten Stern- 
 schnuppen-Substanzen, published in the year 1869, cites a paper by 
 von Hoff, 1 describing a substance which was found on the 6th 
 September, 1835, between Friemar and Gotha during a star- 
 shower. It smelt like liver of sulphur, and when held in the 
 hand melted to a thick liquid, which evaporated, diffusing a strong 
 odour like that of burning sulphur and phosphorus. Another sub- 
 stance resembling liver of sulphur is stated by Chladni in his paper 
 Ueber den Ursprung der von Pallas gefundenen und anderer ihr 
 ahnlicher Eisenmassen, page 26, to have been found at Coblence. 2 
 Wohler 3 detected the presence of a little free sulphur in the carbon- 
 aceous meteorite of Cold Bokkeveldt (1838, October 13th) ; and 
 Roscoe 4 found 1'24 per cent, of sulphur in the remarkable carbon- 
 aceous aerolite which fell at Alais (1806, March 15th). 
 
 Galle's paper contains a detailed examination of the observations 
 of the path of this meteor, made over a wide area. The English 
 reader will find a very complete analysis of these measurements and 
 the conclusions deduced from them in the "Keport on Luminous 
 Meteors" in the Report of the British Association for 1874. The 
 most remarkable circumstance connected with the real course of this 
 meteor, says Prof. Herschel, is that, according to the calculations of 
 von Niessl and Galle, the rate of the motion of this meteor and the 
 calculated direction of its flight belongs to an orbit which is decidedly 
 hyperbolic. As already stated, it was observed along the unusually 
 long path, one of nearly 300 miles, which it traversed with very con- 
 siderable meteoric speed. According to the three most truthworthy 
 measurements of its time of flight, made at Breslau, Kybnik and 
 Katibor, which accord in making it very nearly ten seconds, the velo- 
 city appears to have been 28J miles per second. Other observations 
 reduce the velocity to 18-4 miles per second. The hyperbolic 
 elements of the two orbits found by Galle are given in his paper, 
 side by side, for the purpose of comparison, with the hyperbolic 
 elements of the aerolitic fireball of Pultusk. Both these large fire- 
 balls were well seen and recorded at the Observatory in Breslau ; 
 and the concurrent testimony of two such well-investigated cases is, 
 as observed by Galle, strongly indicative of a tendency of aerolitic 
 and detonating fireballs to belong to a class of astronomical bodies 
 which differ from comets or annual periodic star-showers by moving 
 in hyperbolas instead of parabolas or long ellipses, so as to have 
 motions of their own beyond the sphere of the sun's attraction, 
 carrying them apparently from star-system to star-system instead of 
 
 in constant revolutions about a single solar centre. It is pointed out 
 
 i 
 
 1 K. E. A. von Hoff. Pogg. Ann., xxxvi. 315 ; Handw. der Chem., \. 224. 
 
 2 Comment, de rebus in Scientia Naturali et Medicina gestis, xxvi. 179. 
 
 3 F. Wohler. Sitzber. Wien. Akad. Wiss., 1863, February 24th. Phil. Mag., 
 xxv. 319. 
 
 * H. E. Eoscoe. Proc. lit. Phil. Soc. Manchester, 1863, February 24th. Phil. 
 Mag., xxv. 319. 
 
HISTORY OF^ METEORITES. 67 
 
 by Galle that observations of the duration, length of path, and 
 points of first appearance of meteors of the August and November 
 star-showers may show some of the shooting-stars of those well- 
 known streams to possess velocities which cannot belong to other 
 than hyperbolic orbits ; in such cases it must be assumed that the 
 excessive velocities are due to some physical cause to which special 
 and most accurate investigation will have to be directed. 
 
 Found July, 1873. Ssyromolotowo, on the Angara, Wolost Keshma, 
 Gouv. Jenisseisk, Siberia. 1 
 
 Lopatin, the mining engineer, who at the direction of the Aca- 
 demy of Sciences of St. Petersburgh recently visited the locality at 
 Krasnojarsk where the "Pallas" iron was found (see Part II.) 
 reports on the discovery of a block of meteoric iron weighing 12 
 puds (nearly 4 cwt.) on the sandy plain on the left bank of the 
 Angara. It is a pear-shaped mass exhibiting a number of pits and 
 hollows which are shown in the two woodcuts, from photographs 
 taken at Krasnojarsk, which illustrate Goebel's paper ; a portion of 
 the surface is covered with a very thin blackish-brown layer of 
 magnetite. The metal is very malleable, and so soft that it may 
 be cut with a knife. A polished surface viewed by daylight exhibits 
 in some directions and over certain areas a brilliant bluish hue ; 
 when etched the Widmannstattian figures are developed in great 
 beauty. The beam-iron (kamacite), occurring in stripes 1-0 to 1*5 
 mm. in breadth and extending across the plate, is enclosed on either 
 side by thin shining plates of ta'nite, 2 and beyond these again lie 
 dark grey patches, from 3'0 to 5-0 mm. in width, of plessite or 
 interstitial iron. The kamacite bands, at first sight apparently finely 
 granular, display on closer inspection a brilliant cross-hatching re- 
 calling the moire metallique of tin and the appearances which 
 Tschermak noticed on the Braunau iron (see Part II.), (G. Eose 
 ascribed this phenomenon to the lines of etching taking certain 
 predominating directions in different portions of the mass ; von 
 Keichenbach referred it to the embedded ta'nite prisms ; while 
 Volger considered it due to the scattering action on light of fine 
 crystals of rhabdite). In addition to these ingredients there occur, 
 occasionally and irregularly distributed through the mass, small 
 very white and brilliant particles of what is believed to be lamprite 
 (glanzeisen). 
 
 The iron has the following composition : 
 Iron =92-635; Nickel (cobalt) =7' 104; Magnesium = 0-056 ; Silicinm = 0-042 ; 
 
 and Phosphorus = 0-1 63. Total = 100-000. 
 as well as traces of carbon and calcium, and of an insoluble crystal- 
 
 1 A. Goebel. Bull. Ac. Imp. Sc. St. Petersburg, 1874, xix. 544. 
 
 2 This is what has been termed fillet-iron on page 20. Schreibersite, the other 
 name which the author gives this alloy, is reserved for the meteoric phosphide of iron 
 and nickel. 
 
68 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 line residue. The magnesium and silicium are probably derived 
 from a silicate the presence of which, in very small amount, can be 
 recognised under the microscope. Many of the so-called ' irons ' 
 are not metallic throughout, and enclose a few, sometimes as in the 
 case of the Tucson iron five, per cent, of siliceous ingredients. 
 
 Found August, 1873. Duel Hill, Madison Co., N. Carolina. 1 
 
 A mass of meteoric iron was found in August, 1873, on the land of 
 Mr. Eobert Farnesworth, lying on a hill-side, where it had been used 
 probably by the first settlers to support a corner of a rail fence 
 since rotted away. (A similar block, weighing about 40 lb., was 
 discovered about a mile further west, " before the war, perhaps about 
 1857," but has since been covered over and lost.) The mass above 
 referred to originally weighed some 25 Ib. ; but specimens have been 
 hammered off it, and it now weighs 21 Ib. and measures 9 X 6J 
 X 3J inches. It has the usual coating of magnetite, and from 
 various points of the surface bead-like drops of iron chloride exude. 
 When polished and etched, "the usual markings appeared, though 
 rather indistinct," and when the action of acid was prolonged distinct 
 particles of Schreibersite were seen to protrude from the face of the 
 metal. The meteorite has a specific gravity =7 '46 and the following 
 composition : 
 
 Iron 94-24 
 
 Nickel 5-17 
 
 Cobalt 0-37 
 
 Copper Trace 
 
 Phosphorus 0-14 
 
 Eesidue... 0-15 
 
 100-07 
 
 1873, August 24th. Marysville, California, 2 
 
 All the facts that I have yet been able to gather respecting this fall 
 are that an aerolite, weighing 121bs., crashed through the tree-tops 
 with a bright flash, and was buried to the unusual depth of eight 
 feet in the ground. "When dug out it was so hot that it could not 
 be handled. If the mass be metallic, this is one of the very few 
 instances on record where the fall of a meteoric iron has been wit- 
 
 Found 1873, August 27th. Eisenberg, Saxe-Altenburg, Germany. 3 
 
 A block of metal, weighing 1-579 kilog., was left exposed on the 
 surface of the ground at the foot of the Schneckenberg, north of 
 Eisenberg, by a heavy thunder shower washing away the surrounding 
 soil. It is a finely granular iron, through which are disseminated 
 
 1 B. S. Burton, Amer. Journ. Se. 1876, xii. 439. 
 
 2 Nature, 1st January, 1874. (From Iron.} 
 
 3 H. B. Geinitz. Sitzungs-Ber. der Isis zu Dresden, 1874, 5. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 69 
 
 here and there yellow particles of magnetic pyrites or troilite. 
 Unlike metallic masses of undoubted meteoric origin, it contains 
 neither nickel nor cobalt ; when etched with nitric acid it exhibits, 
 in place of figures, minute star-like forms. It has the composi- 
 tion : 
 
 Iron 97-27 
 
 Phosphorus 0*21 
 
 Carbon 0-44 
 
 Silicic acid 1'50 
 
 Graphite 0-90 
 
 100-32 
 
 The presence of silica was confirmed by submitting the white 
 amorphous, somewhat rounded particles, which remained undis- 
 solved, to the action of hydrofluoric acid. 
 
 1873, September 23rd, 5-10 a.m. Khairpnr, 12 miles south of 
 Multan, 36 miles E.N.E. of Bhawalpur, Punjab, India. [Lat. 
 29 56' N.; Long. 72 12' E.] 1 
 
 The morning is described as having been remarkably clear, and the 
 sky unclouded, with a faint glow in the east, the sun still being 
 45 minutes below the horizon, when a meteor, or rather a cluster of 
 meteors, appeared to the west of an observer at Khairpur. Each 
 of them exceeded in brightness a star of the first magnitude, and the 
 breadth of the train left behind them is estimated to have been from 
 3 to 5. The first thought of the eye-witness was that he was gazing 
 at a rocket ; this, however, was soon dispelled, as the phenomenon, 
 instead of fading out, rapidly increased in brightness, and continued 
 to move towards him, leaving a train behind. According to the 
 report of the Eev. G. Yeates, " its motion was not very rapid but 
 steady, and by the time it had reached about 10 of the meridian, 
 which it passed south of the zenith, it assumed an exceedingly bril- 
 liant appearance, the larger fragments, glowing with intense white 
 light with perhaps a shade of green, taking the lead in a cluster, 
 surrounded and followed by a great number of smaller ones, each 
 drawing a train after it, which, blending together, formed a broad 
 belt of a brilliant fiery red." It lit up the whole country, and pro- 
 duced an effect similar to that of the electric light. It proceeded in 
 this way till it reached a point nearly due east, paling again as it 
 drew near the horizon, and at about 20 above it appeared to go 
 out rather than to fall. The train, which continued very bright for 
 some time, was distinctly traceable three-quarters of an hour after- 
 wards. At first it changed to a dull red ; then, as the morning broke, 
 to a line of silvery-grey clouds that divided into several portions, and 
 floated away on the wind. The track of the meteor was unusually 
 long, extending through nearly 180. It first appeared near the star 
 Algenib, at the time about 15 above the horizon on the west, passed 
 
 1 H. B. Medlicott. Jour. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1874, pt. ii. no. ii. 33. The Pioneer, 
 Sept. 30th, 1873. Brit. Assoc. Report, 1874, Obs. Luminous Meteors, 300. G. 
 Yeates. Astronom. Register^ March, 1874. 
 
70 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 close under Orion, the lowest star of which (Eigel) was very near 
 the meridian, and disappeared as already stated. After this had 
 taken place, and while the train still attracted attention, there was 
 perfect silence, which was at length broken by a loud report, followed 
 by a long reverberation, that gradually died away like the roll of dis- 
 tant thunder. This interval is estimated to have been four minutes. 
 
 At Bhawalpur the explosion was sufficiently violent to shake the 
 houses and slam the doors. At Bhawalgur, 80 miles from Khairpur, 
 the meteor was seen, but no explosion was heard. It was also 
 observed at Jodhpur and Moradabad, and was probably visible within 
 a radius of 300 miles of Khairpur. 
 
 A correspondent of The Pioneer of the 30th September records 
 his observations made on the Shujabad road, 13 miles south of 
 Multan. He states that the different fragments into which the 
 meteor broke up were distinctly visible, " more than twenty of them, 
 I should say, moving in parallel courses, two or three of the larger 
 ones taking the lead in the centre, and each of them leaving a tail 
 of red light behind," which blended together, forming one huge band 
 of light. The report, which was very terrific, followed after the 
 lapse of about three minutes and a half, which would make the point 
 where the disruption of the aerolite took place about 42 or 45 miles 
 distant. The train remained very bright for some time, and the 
 clouds into which it was transformed were visible upwards of an 
 hour afterwards, till they faded away in the bright sunlight. 
 
 Another correspondent, " Shikaree," states that on the left bank 
 of the Chenab, some 60 miles S.W. of Bhawalpur, the meteor dis- 
 played great brilliancy, and that a double detonation followed after 
 an interval of six or seven minutes. 
 
 One of the meteorites fell close to a man who had gone out into 
 the jungle for the purpose of nature, and frightened him so much 
 that he hardly knew what occurred, and was under the impression 
 that the stone pursued him for two hours. He showed the spot 
 where it fell, however, and this was the first fragment unearthed and 
 forwarded by the Tuhsildar of Khairpur to Major Minchin, Political 
 Agent for Bhawalpur. 
 
 The stones fell partly in the State of Bhawalpur and partly in the 
 Multan district, on either bank of the Sutlej, over an area extending 
 16 miles in a direction bearing 35 S. of E., with a breadth of about 
 three miles. The largest and perhaps the greater number fell to the 
 eastward of Khairpur, and penetrated the earth to the depth of about 
 1 \ feet. They are preserved in the following collections in India, 
 and weigh respectively : 
 
 Lbs. Oz. Grs. 
 Lahore Museum .. , 10 12 126 
 
 Indian Museum 
 Geological Museum 
 
 9 11 219 
 7 14 236 
 
 1 2 412 
 3 79 
 
 Of those stones or fragments that fell on the Multan side seven 
 have been heard of: four at different spots near Gogewala well, 
 E.S.E. of Mahomed Moorut; two at Khurampur, on the right bank of 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 71 
 
 the Sutlej ; and one at Araoli, two miles N.W. of Khurampur. Of 
 these one only is in known hands, that from Mylsi Pergunnah, which 
 weighs 6 oz. 70 grs. 
 
 The account of the physical characters of the stones is very meagre. 
 They are all very irregular in form, and are more or less broken. 
 While some of the fractures have evidently been accomplished by 
 hand, and others probably took place at the moment of falling, 
 several appear to have occurred during the fall, as the glazed surface 
 has been partially renewed. The stones are of the usual steel-grey 
 colour, and exhibit compact crypto-crystalline texture. One specimen 
 has the specific gravity = 3*66. 
 
 1873, December. Coomassie, Kingdom of Ashantee, Africa. 1 
 
 In a letter from the War Correspondent of The Standard it is 
 stated that among the portents of evil which were observed at 
 Coomassie while the British Army halted on the banks of the Prah, 
 an aerolite fell in the market-place of Coomassie. In reply to an 
 application for further details respecting this event, Mr. Henty 
 writes that he obtained his information from one of the clergymen 
 of the Basle Mission. He says : " They mentioned these ' prodigies ' 
 as matters of common rumour and belief at Coomassie, but they do 
 not appear to have even made any inquiries whatever as to their 
 truth. Coomassie was deserted when we got there, so there was no 
 opportunity of gaining further information." 
 
 1873. Chulafinee, Cleborne Co., Alabama. 2 
 
 The writer refers to a mass of iron which was found in 1873, and 
 supposed at the time to be a specimen of bog iron-ore. It was taken 
 to a blacksmith, who managed to remove a piece weighing 3 Jibs., 
 which was wrought into horseshoe nails and a point for a plough. 
 It remained where it was found till last year, when it was sent to 
 Menlo Park. It weighs 32Jlbs., and its form, as well as the 
 character of an etched surface, are shown in woodcuts accompanying 
 the paper. An analysis shows it to contain iron and nickel, with 
 a little copper, phosphorus, and carbon: it is being made in 
 duplicate, and will be published later on. The Wiedmannstattian 
 figures are well developed. 
 
 1874, April 10th, 7'57 p.m. (Prague mean time). Bohemia. 3 
 
 A detonating meteor; conforms in radiant-point with that of 
 1876, April 9th. 
 
 1 G. A. Henty. March to Coomassie. London : Tinsley Bros. 1874, page 320. 
 
 3 W. E. Hidden, Amer. Journ. Sc. 1880, xix. 370. 
 
 8 G. von Niessl, Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien> Ixxv. April 19th, 1877. 
 
72 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 1874, May 14th, 2-30 p.m. Castalia, Nash Co., N. Carolina. 
 [Lat.36 11'; Long. 77 50.] l 
 
 A short notice in Silliman's Journal states that the descent of these 
 meteorites, numbering a dozen or more, was accompanied with a 
 series of explosions and rumbling noises which lasted about four 
 minutes, and were " not unlike the discharge of firearms in a battle 
 a few miles off." Although the fall took place by day, a luminous 
 body was observed. The area over which the fragments fell was 
 ten miles long and three wide. Three stones, weighing 5 '5, 1-0, and 
 0*8 kilog., have been found. The dull-coloured crust does not 
 entirely cover the stones, the fused matter forming it being scattered 
 over some small parts of the surface in the form of pear-shaped 
 beads; in one or two crevices the fused material has penetrated 
 5 mm. below the surface, and here it is more brilliant than on the 
 exterior. 
 
 The colour of the interior is in many parts of a dark grey, owing 
 to the presence of a large amount of nickel-iron ; in the lighter por- 
 tions are seen some white spots of a mineral which is doubtless ensta- 
 tite. The specific gravity of the stone is 2-601, and its proximate 
 composition : 
 
 Mckel-iron 15-21 
 
 Soluble silicate 44-92 
 
 Insoluble silicate 39-87 
 
 100-00 
 The metallic part consists of : 
 
 Iron=92-12; Mckel=6'20 ; Cobalt=0-41; Total=98'73. 
 and the siliceous portion of : 
 
 Si0 2 AL>0 3 FeO MgO Na 2 S 
 
 A. Soluble 38-01 0-46 17'51 41-27 1-01 = 98-26 
 
 B. Insoluble 52-61 4-80 13-21 27'31 1-38 = 99-31 
 
 The soluble silicate is an olivine, in which the ratio of Mg to Fe 
 is about 5 : 2, and is almost identical in composition with the olivine 
 of the Nashville meteorite (1827, May 9th); the insoluble part is a 
 bronzite. In addition to these minerals, the presence in the Castalia 
 stones of small amounts of iron sulphide and anorthite was recognised. 
 
 1874, May 19th, 0-50 a.m. Holyhead, Wales. 2 
 
 A very brilliant meteor, oval in form and with the major diameter 
 equal to the apparent diameter of the moon, was seen off Holyhead. 
 It appeared stationary for the first two or three seconds, and then 
 moved slowly northwards, spreading a soft green light on objects 
 along its course. It ' formed ' near Antares and before it disap- 
 peared in Ursa Major six sparks of the same apparent size as Jupiter 
 were thrown off from the hinder portion. The disappearance of the 
 meteor is stated to have been followed by a crackling sound. 
 
 1 J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1875, x. 147. Compt. rend., 1875, Ixxx. 1453. 
 
 2 W. W. Kiddle. Brit. Assoc. Report, 1874, Obs Luminous Meteors, 307. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 73 
 
 1874, May 20th. Virba, near Vidin, Turkey. 1 
 
 This meteorite fell with a loud noise, and entered the ground to the 
 depth of one metre ; it weighed 3*60 kilog. A fragment presented 
 to the Paris Collection by His Excellency Safvet Pacha is covered 
 with the usual dull black crust : a fractured surface shows the 
 meteorite to have a light-grey colour and a very finely grained 
 texture, with grains of metal distributed through the mass ; in 
 certain parts spherular structure is apparent. In a microscopic section 
 it was found that the transparent and almost entirely colourless 
 stony particles act on polarized light. The metallic portion is 
 nickel-iron, the presence of an iron sulphide is recognized by the 
 action of acid, and numerous small black grains of chroinite are dis- 
 tributed throughout the stone. A part of the siliceous constituents 
 gelatinize with acid, indicating the presence of olivine; and a 
 residue, which resists the action and constitutes less than one-half 
 of the weight of the stone, is believed to be enstatite. 
 
 The Virba stone belongs to the large class of which the meteorite 
 of Luc, Sarthe, France (1768, September 13th), may be taken as a 
 type ; and is most closely allied to the aerolites of Bachmut, Island 
 of Oesel, St. Denis- Westrem, Buschof, Dolgaja Wolja, and those of 
 other localities mentioned in Daubree's paper. 
 
 1874, July 8th, 10 p.m. Louisville, Kentucky. [Lat. 38 20' N. ; 
 Long. 85 25' W.] 2 
 
 A meteor, described as a brilliant pear-shaped body, one-third the 
 apparent diameter of the moon, moved over Louisville from N.N.W. 
 to S.S.E., leaving a stream of light in its rear. When about 20 
 above the horizon it burst into three or four parts, flashing forth red 
 and blue lights, and instantly disappeared, without detonation. At 
 Franklin, 150 miles S.W. of Louisville, this meteor was observed 
 to take a course from N. to S.W. It had a light bluish colour and 
 cast off sparks as it proceeded. About three minutes after it burst 
 a noise was heard as of distant thunder. No fragments resulting 
 from the explosion have been found. 
 
 1874, August 1st, 11 p.m. Hexham, Northumberland. 8 
 
 In The English Mechanic is a letter from a person signing himself 
 " Kalph Lowdon," of Gateshead, stating that at the above time 
 and place "a massive ball of intense light," accompanied by 
 other pear-shaped balls of fire, was seen to drop towards the earth. 
 The aerolite, which is alleged to have fallen in an orchard on 
 
 1 A. Daubree. Compt. rend., Ixxix. 276. 
 
 2 J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. Sc. 1875, x. 203. 
 
 3 The English Mechanic, August 21st, 1874. 
 
74 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 the bank of the North Tyne, at no great distance from Hexham, 
 is stated to have been found the following day at 9 A.M. at a depth 
 of 14 inches in the soil, still quite warm, and to have weighed 
 301|lbs. Letters directed to the above are returned by the 
 Post-office authorities, while an obliging reply which I received 
 from the Rev. H. C. Barker, of Hexham, states that the 
 editor of The English Mechanic must have been misinformed. The 
 rev. gentleman writes : " To make assurance doubly sure, I have 
 made inquiry in several quarters, and cannot find even the slightest 
 foundation for the statement." 
 
 1874, November 26, 10-30 a.m. Kerilis, Commune de Mael- 
 Pestivien, Canton de Callac (C6tes-du-Nord). 1 
 
 A great noise, lasting two minutes, and resembling a peal of 
 thunder, was heard at this date at Mael-Pestivien, and for ten 
 kilometres around. At the same instant a workman near the village 
 of Kerilis saw the earth struck, at a spot 12 metres distant, by what 
 he believed to be thunder. He visited the spot the next day, and 
 found a meteorite at a depth of O78 metre. The stone weighed 
 5 '000 kilogrammes, and is covered with a remarkably thick black 
 crust : a number of fragments were detached from the stone till its 
 weight was reduced to 4'200 kilogrammes ; it then passed into the 
 hands of a clergyman, who bought it and presented it to the 
 Natural History Museum of Paris. 
 
 A freshly broken surface of the stone shows a mottled and striated 
 surface, with metallic grains of nickel iron ; the surface is of a deep 
 grey colour with ochre-coloured spots, due doubtless to traces of iron 
 chloride. The individual grains vary in size ; some, the largest, are 
 chalk- white, the most numerous are of an ashy-grey ; here and there 
 rounded grains (the chondra of Gustav Rose) are apparent, as well 
 as yellow or bronzy grains of pyrrhotine. The grains of nickel iron 
 are very small. The density of the meteorite is 3 - 51. By the action 
 of hydrogen chloride 60 per cent, of the stone dissolves : this consists 
 of olivine, nickel iron, and pyrrhotine ; the residue under the micro- 
 scope is found to consist of a great number ofcrystalline grains, 
 much acted upon by polarised light, and some of which show the 
 forms of the prism ; others show the cleavage which indicates 
 enstatite. Besides these are black grains of chromite with an 
 octahedral contour. 
 
 This stone most closely resembles those of Limerick (Adare) which 
 fell 1813, September 10th, and Ohaba, Siebenbourg, 1867, October 
 10th, and belongs to the group of Sporadosideres and the sub-group 
 Oligosideres. 
 
 1 A. Daubree, Compt. rend. 1880, xci. 28. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 75 
 
 Found 1874. Waconda, Mitchel Co., Kansas. 1 [Lat. 39 2(X, 
 Long. 98 ia.] 
 
 This meteorite was found in 1874, lying above ground upon the 
 slope of a ravine about two miles from the village of Waconda. 
 Fragments amounting to about one-half of the stone were removed 
 at the time ; the remainder, weighing about 58 lb., is partially 
 covered with a black crust. The freshness of the original fracture, 
 at the time when the stone was submitted to examination, points to 
 the fall being one of recent date. 
 
 It closely resembles the stone of Searsmont (21st May, 1871) in 
 colour, but is less chondritic, and only exhibits this characteristic of 
 certain meteorites in a very imperfect manner. Crystals of what 
 appear to be augite are observed imbedded in an amorphous whitish 
 ground-mass ; nickel-iron is present thickly scattered throughout 
 the stone in minute rounded lustrous grains ; while troilite is now 
 and then met with in grains of considerable size or aggregations of 
 imperfect crystals. A fragment partially covered with crust was 
 found to have a specific gravity = 3 '81 ; that of another fragment 
 without crust was = 3 '58. 
 
 Mechanical separation of the ingredients was attempted, and 5-66 
 per cent, of nickel-iron and 1'34 per cent, of troilite were isolated. 
 Of the remaining siliceous portion rather more than one-half gela- 
 tinized with acid, and was, presumably, olivine ; the remainder, 
 according to Prof. Shepard, consists of "augite, some felspathic 
 species, and chladnite," by which last mineral enstatite presumably 
 is meant. There exists a rumour that a second meteorite has been 
 met with twelve miles distant from the above. 
 
 Dr. Lawrence Smith found the density of this stone to vary from 
 3-4: to 3-6 and its composition to be : 
 
 Stony matter = 90-81 ; Nickel-iron = 5-34 ; and Troilite = 3-85. 
 
 The nickel-iron contained : 
 
 Iron = 86-18 ; Nickel = 12-02; Cobalt = 91 ; Copper = 0'04. 
 and the stony part consisted of : 
 
 Soluble part = 59-00 ; Insoluble part = 41-00. 
 
 which are made up of 
 
 Soluble. Insoluble. 
 
 Silicic acid 34-52 54-02 
 
 Iron protoxide 30-01 
 
 Alumina 0'43 
 
 Magnesia 32-50 
 
 Manganese .*. 0'61 
 
 Soda, with trace of potasb and lithia ... 0-89 
 Lime 
 
 18-10 
 2-30 
 
 23-45 
 0-36 
 1-58 
 
 Trace. 
 
 The analysis clearly shows that the stony part of this meteorite 
 consists of the usual mixture of olivine and pyroxene ; the hydro- 
 siderite predominating in the former and bronzite in the latter. 
 
 Two minerals were detached in small quantities and analyzed 
 
 1 C. U. Shepard, Ainer. Journ. Sc. 1876, xi. 473. See also J. L. Smith, Amer. 
 Journ. Sc. 1877, March, xiii. ...... _ 
 
76 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 separately. The first was a dark-coloured mineral readily seen in 
 small parcels or veins ; it was almost entirely decomposed by 
 hydrogen chloride ; its composition was : 
 
 Silicic acid 41-10 
 
 Iron protoxide 27'20 
 
 Alumina 0-80 
 
 Magnesia 28'31 
 
 Manganese 0-32 
 
 Soda ... 1-35 
 
 It clearly belongs to the olivine type. The other mineral was found 
 only in one part of the specimen which reached Dr. L. Smith ; it 
 formed a white crystalline mass, and weighed about 20 mille- 
 grammes. It resembled enstatite, but was completely decomposed 
 by hydrochloric acid, and as far as he could judge consisted only of 
 silicic acid and magnesia. It appears to occupy the same place 
 among the unisilicates as enstatite does among the bisilicates, but 
 requires further examination. 
 
 1875, February 12th, 10-30 p.m. (Chicago time). Iowa Co., 
 State of Iowa, 1 
 
 A very large and brilliant fireball passed over Iowa City at the 
 above date, in a direction slightly N. of W. ; the apparent size of the 
 meteor was about half that of the full moon, and it was accompanied 
 by a broad train of light of a slightly green hue. Three separate 
 explosions of the fireball were noticed while it was still in view, 
 and about two or three minutes after it disappeared, three reports, 
 resembling the discharge of the blast of a quarry, were heard. 
 
 The phenomenon attracted general attention throughout several 
 counties in the central part of the State of Iowa, and although the 
 visible path of the meteor does not appear to have exceeded 50 to 60 
 miles, the occurrence attracted attention and was heard over an area 
 measuring about 125 miles from E. to W., and half that distance 
 from N. to S. An observer at Brooklyn was aroused from his bed 
 by the report, and another, who was riding in a sleigh near West 
 Liberty, 40 miles E. of the spot where the stones fell, states that 
 objects were rendered about as visible as if it were day ; the explosions 
 being loud, and followed by a rumbling sound that lasted some 60 or 
 90 seconds. According to the Grinnell Herald, the interval, as 
 observed at that town, between the light of the meteor being seen 
 and the report being heard was three minutes. The Des Moines 
 
 1 A. W. Wright. Amer. Jour. Sc. ix. 459, and x. 44. G. Hinrichs. Preliminary 
 Note on the Iowa Co. Meteorites, n. d. N". R. Leonard, Amer. Jour. Sc. x. Cuttings 
 from American newspapers, kindly sent to me by Prof. Herschel. J. W. Mallet, Amer, 
 Journ. Sc. 1875, x. 206; N. E. Leonard, ib. x. 357 ; A. W. Wright, Amer. Journ. 
 Sc. 1876, xi. 253 ; An Account of the Detonating Meteor of February 12, 1875, by C. 
 W. Irish, Iowa City, 1875, Daily Press Job Printing Office, Dubuque Street; 
 M. Delafontaine, Bibliotheque ITniverselle, October, 1875, 188; G. A. Daubree, 
 L'lnstitut, 1875 (Nos. 105-122), 138 ; C. W. Giimbel, Sitzungsber. Ak. Wiss. 
 Miinchen, 1875, v. 313. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 77 
 
 Register states that between Eed Eock and Newton some of the 
 meteorites passed so near the earth's surface that they clipped off 
 branches from the trees. 
 
 Prof. N. E. Leonard, of the Iowa State University, states that the 
 meteorites weighed altogether about 250 Ibs., whereof 141 Ibs. came 
 into his possession; Prof. Hinrichs makes the total weight about 
 300 Ibs. The largest mass, which was broken in falling, weighed 
 43 J Ibs. ; the chief fragments, found together, being 20 Ibs. and 
 16 Ibs. in weight. 
 
 According to a description, of a very sensational character, which 
 is given in the Dubuque Times, one of the meteorites was found in a 
 field about three miles S. of the village of West Liberty, having 
 penetrated, so it is stated, to a depth of fifteen feet into the ground. 
 
 The Davenport Gazette states that another stone fell at Homestead, 
 near Iowa City (Lat. 41 46' N. ; Long. 92 O 7 W.) in a field covered 
 with ice and snow, and rebounded in a N.E. direction for a distance 
 of more than thirty feet up a slight declivity, where it came to rest 
 in the sand which was fused and adhering to it. It weighed 
 originally about 7 Ibs. 6 oz., but had been reduced by eager curiosity, 
 hunters to 3 Ibs. 8 oz. ; the fractured surface of this meteorite had a 
 dark and less distinct coating than that belonging to the larger blocks 
 from which it had been detached by the explosion. 
 
 The stones are covered with the usual black crust, and there is 
 evidence on some of the pieces of the meteorites of the fused material 
 of the outer portion having run partially over the freshly fractured 
 surfaces. Some fragments show distinct evidence of a sort of 
 lamination or imperfect stratification, the parts where the surfaces 
 cleaved being smoothed down, as if by pressure or friction. About 
 100 were found, varying in size from 9500 to 50 grammes : Hinrichs 
 obtained 60'5 kilog. in all, which have been distributed among minera- 
 logical collections, 25 kilog. having been sent to Paris. A preliminary 
 chemical examination of this meteorite has already been made by L. 
 Smith and by Hinrichs. Smith finds the specific gravity to be 3*57 
 and the composition : 
 
 Nickel-iron = 12-54; troilite = 5-82; silicates = 81-64 = 100-00 
 The nickel-iron consists of : 
 
 Iron = 89-04 ; nickel = 10-35 ; cobalt = 0'54 = 99-93 
 with traces of copper, phosphorus and sulphur. The silicate con- 
 tains iron protoxide, alumina, magnesia, soda with traces of lithia 
 and potash ; and has, according to L. Smith, very similar compositions 
 to the meteorite of New Concord, Guernsey Co., Ohio (I860, 1st May). 
 Daubree remarks on its chondritic structure, and considers it to belong 
 to a large class of meteorites, notably represented by the stones 
 which fell at Vouille (1831. May 31st) and Aumale, Algeria (1865, 
 August 25th). Hinrichs, in his "Preliminary Note," classes them 
 with the Oligo-sporado Sideres of Daubree, with the dark chondrites 
 of Eose. He finds the nickel-iron, amounting to 7'0 per cent., to 
 consist of : 
 
 Iron = 88-0; nickel = 12-0; manganese = trace = 100-0 
 
78 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 while the entire meteorite has the following composition : 
 Nickel-iron = 7 '00 
 
 Troilite = 1*68 
 
 Soluble silicate = 49-40 
 Insoluble silicate = 41-92 
 
 100-00 
 the last two constituents being : 
 
 Si0 2 Mg0 3 FeO MgO CaO Na 2 Li 2 
 
 Hyalosiderite 37'0 trace 28*7 33-1 1-2 trace trace = 100-0 
 
 Eypersthene 53-9 19-6 21'6 4'9 = 100-0 
 
 The ratio of FeO to MgO is much the same in both soluble and 
 insoluble portions, as the following oxygen ratios indicate : 
 
 Soluble Portion. Insoluble Portion. 
 
 Silicic acid 19-76 28'74 
 
 Iron protoxide 6-38) 4-35 \ 
 
 Magnesia ... 13-28V 19-93 8-64} 14-38 
 
 Lime 0-32) 1-39 ) 
 
 This meteorite, being of the stony kind, and having so recently 
 fallen, it occurred to Wright to examine the gases contained in 
 the particles of iron distributed throughout its mass with a view 
 to learning whether they present the same characters as the gases 
 occluded by the iron forming larger and independent masses. 
 
 He extracted from this picked iron at a moderately elevated tem- 
 perature several times its volume of gas, consisting of 35 per cent, 
 of carbonic acid, 14 per cent, of carbonic oxide, the remaining 49 per 
 cent, being chiefly hydrogen. These results were obtained from 
 metallic portions removed with the magnet ; the pulverised rocky 
 residue, however, retained a considerable amount of iron in too finely 
 divided particles to enable them to lift the stony fragments adhering 
 to them ; accordingly a piece of the solid meteorite, about four cubic 
 centimetres in amount, was reduced to powder and placed in the tube 
 attached to the pump. The warmth of the hand sufficed to disengage 
 some little gas, which, when tested, was found to contain carbonic 
 acid and hydrogen. The pump was then set in action, and heat 
 applied to the tube in the following manner. I. The temperature 
 of boiling water continued for several hours. II. The moderate 
 heat (200 250) of a small Bunsen flame applied for a short time. 
 III. A stronger heat, kept below visible redness, applied for nearly 
 an hour. IV. Low red heat maintained about half an hour. V. 
 Full red heat. The total amount of gas evolved was about two and 
 a half times the volume of the material operated upon, and twenty 
 times that of the iron. Below are given the relative proportions of 
 the gases obtained at different temperatures : 
 
 
 I. 
 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 IV. 
 
 V. 
 
 
 
 
 Below 
 
 At low 
 
 At full 
 
 
 At 100 
 
 At 250 
 
 red heat. 
 
 red heat. 
 
 red heat. 
 
 Carbonic acid 
 
 95-46 ... 
 
 92-32 
 
 ... 42-27 
 
 ... 35-82 
 
 5-56 
 
 Carbonic oxide 
 
 o-oo? ... 
 
 1-82 
 
 ... 5-11 
 
 ... 0-49 
 
 ... o-oo 
 
 Hydrogen 
 
 4-54 ... 
 
 5-86 
 
 ... 48-06 
 
 ... 58-51 
 
 ... 87-53 
 
 Nitrogen (calculated) 
 
 o-oo .. 
 
 o-oo 
 
 ... 456 
 
 ... 5-18 
 
 ... 6-91 
 
 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 79 
 
 As regards the gas they occlude, iron and stony meteorites show a 
 marked distinction. While the gases of the Lenarto iron contained 
 85-68 per cent, of hydrogen, those obtained from cosmical masses of 
 the stony kind, if the Iowa meteorite may be regarded as a type, are 
 characterised by the presence of carbonic acid, which constitutes nine- 
 tenths of the gas evolved at the temperature of boiling water, and 
 about one-half of that given off at a low red heat. 
 
 The spectrum of the gas of the Iowa meteorite, when the pressure 
 of the pump was high, gave very brilliant carbon bands, the hydro- 
 gen lines being weak and comparatively inconspicuous, although at a 
 very low pressure they became relatively stronger. The brightest 
 carbon bands were the three in the green and blue, the red one being 
 much feebler. These are precisely the ones most conspicuous in the 
 spectra of some of the comets, and this fact is a remarkable confirm- 
 ation of the received theory as to the meteoric character of those 
 bodies. 
 
 This, moreover, is a very significant fact in showing that it is quite 
 unnecessary to assume the existence of volatile hydrocarbons to 
 explain cometary spectra, as some writers have done ; and that the 
 presence of the two oxides of carbon in such quantity is quite sufficient 
 to account for all that has been observed when we consider the circum- 
 stance that the tension of the gases of the cometary appendage must 
 be extremely small. Were a large comet to approach near enough 
 to the sun to have its nucleus intensely heated, it is highly probable 
 that, over and above the bands already observed, the hydrogen lines 
 would be found in its spectrum. 
 
 Wright expresses regret that such a comet as Donati's should have 
 departed into space just early enough to escape observation with the 
 spectroscope. While the most probable cause of the emission of light 
 under these conditions is electricity, another may be found in the 
 property of gaseous bodies of emitting light of the same character as 
 that which they absorb. It is not altogether improbable, Wright 
 suggests, that the solar radiations absorbed by the gaseous matter, 
 although for the most part converted into heat, would also in part be 
 emitted again as light, and that in the case of volumes of gas filling 
 many cubic inches, the intensity might be sufficient to give a distinct 
 spectrum of broad bands or lines, even though, on the scale of any 
 possible experiment, no trace of such an action can be detected. 
 These researches have led the author to accept the following 
 conclusions : 
 
 1. The stony meteorites are distinguished from those which are 
 metallic by occluding the oxides of carbon, chiefly carbonic acid, as 
 their characteristic gases, in place of hydrogen. 
 
 2. The proportion of carbonic acid evolved is much greater at 
 low than at high temperatures, and is sufficient to mask the hydrogen 
 in the spectrum. 
 
 3. The amount of gas contained in a large meteorite, or a cluster 
 of such bodies, serving as a cometary nucleus, is sufficient to form 
 the train, as ordinarily observed. 
 
80 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 4. The spectrum of these gases closely resembles that of several 
 of the comets. 
 
 The emission of gaseous constituents by the action of solar heat 
 may explain the loss of tail and the diminution of brilliancy observed 
 in the case of several comets in their successive revolutions, and their 
 final disappearance from sight will follow as an inevitable conse- 
 quence, the number of revolutions necessary to discharge the gases 
 depending chiefly on their size and the nearness of their approach to 
 the sun at their perihelia. When a meteorite enters our atmosphere, 
 the gases which are evolved from it by the heat, which is liberated, 
 must greatly contribute to increase the intensity of that heat, while 
 the sudden expansion which these gases experience must constitute 
 the leading cause of the violent disruption of these masses. 
 
 The conclusions arrived at by Wright, on examining the gases 
 occluded by the iron of these meteorites, have been referred to. He 
 considered that the stony meteorites were distinguished from the 
 iron ones by having the oxides of carbon, chiefly the dioxide, as 
 their characteristic gases instead of hydrogen. This theory has 
 been called in question by Mallet, who refers to his examination of 
 the gases of the iron of Augusta Co., Virginia, where the ratio of 
 the oxides of carbon to hydrogen is 4 : 3, and to his having pointed 
 out in 1872 that hydrogen could no longer be regarded as the 
 characteristic gaseous ingredient of meteoric iron. In his paper of 
 that date he stated that although it might be assumed that carbonic 
 oxide would be the original form in which the gaseous carbon - 
 compounds existed in the iron, and that it broke up at the temperature 
 of the experiment into carbon retained by the iron and into carbonic 
 acid, yet in view of the steady decrease of the quantity of the latter 
 gas which was evolved as the experiment proceeded, it seems more 
 likely that a larger amount of carbon originally existed in the 
 higher state of oxidation. Mallet considers that, when all the cir- 
 cumstances of the experiment are considered in each case, Wright's 
 conclusion cannot be sustained, 
 
 In a paper dated some months later, Wright replies to Mallet's 
 criticism. He states that he only meant this expression of opinion 
 to be tentative, but that the res alts of further work completely 
 justify the conclusion at which he had arrived. He has re-examined 
 the gases of the iron of this meteorite, and examined those of the 
 iron of some other stony meteorites, such as Ohio, Pultusk, Parnallee, 
 and Weston, and finds that not only do the stony meteorites give off 
 a much larger volume of gas at low temperatures, but the composi- 
 tion of the gas in all the cases studied is quite different from that 
 evolved from meteoric iron. In no case among the results obtained 
 with the alloy is the amount of carbonic acid greater than 20 per 
 cent, at 500, nor than 15 per cent, of the whole quantity evolved, 
 while in every case but one the volume of carbonic oxide is con- 
 siderably larger. In the chondritic meteorites, on the other hand, 
 the per-centage of the latter gas is conspicuously small, while the 
 carbonic acid constitutes more than half the total gas evolved below 
 a red heat, except in the case of the meteorite under consideration 
 
HISTORY PF METEORITES. 80* 
 
 which fell at Iowa, and here the per-centage is not much less, espe- 
 cially if we reject the numbers representing the amount obtained by 
 a second and long-continued application of a red heat. At a tem- 
 perature of about 350 it constitutes from 80 to 90 per cent, of the 
 gaseous products, and at 100 it forms more than 95 per cent, of 
 the gas evolved. The hydrogen, on the other hand, progressively 
 increases in quantity with the rise of temperature, and is the most 
 important constituent of the first portions removed at a red heat. 
 The form in which the carbonic acid is occluded is a problem which 
 he cannot at present solve. That it is actually absorbed appears to 
 be certain. That it has been taken up from the atmosphere has been 
 proposed. He finds, however, that the iron of the Iowa meteorite 
 contains no more carbonic acid now than it did at the time of its 
 fall. 
 
 Leonard gives a detailed account of the appearance presented by 
 the meteor, which is stated to have been seen throughout a region 
 400 miles from S.W. to N.E., and 250 miles in breadth. The stones 
 vary in weight from a few ounces to 74 Ibs., and the aggregate 
 weight is 500 Ibs. ; the area over which they were scattered appears 
 to be seven miles in length, and four miles at its greatest breadth. 
 A plan of the townships included in this area is given in Leonard's 
 paper, and it shows where the chief stones fell. By reason of the 
 frozen condition of the ground at the time of the fall, and the low 
 angle of descent, it appears probable that almost all the fragments 
 which fell have been secured. The velocity of the meteor has not 
 been satisfactorily determined ; it appears probable that during the 
 last 60 or 70 miles of its course it travelled at the rate of from six to 
 seven miles per second. 
 
 An interesting pamphlet by Mr. Irish, C.E., deals with the appear- 
 ance presented by the meteor. He has incorporated in his paper a 
 number of letters received from observers stationed over a wide area, 
 describing their impressions as to its altitude, velocity and appear- 
 ance ; and he has given a drawing of the meteor, and prepared a 
 map of the district, showing the projection of its path through the 
 air. I learn by a recent letter from Mr. Irish that two blocks, one 
 weighing 72 Ibs., the other 48 Ibs., which evidently formed one and 
 the same mass which was disrupted during the descent, have since 
 been found ; and the aggregate weight of the stones now collected 
 cannot be less than 700 Ibs. I am also indebted to Mr. Irish for six 
 excellent photographs of the Iowa stones, sixty-seven in number, 
 which form the collections of Prof. Hinrichs, Mr. J. P. Irish, and 
 himself. They were taken by Mr. Thomas James, of Iowa city, and 
 are in the very best style of photographic art. 
 
 Prof. G umbel, of Munich, has recently published an interesting 
 paper on the characters of this meteorite. He finds the crust to 
 possess a deep bottle-green or brownish-red colour, and to possess 
 in polarized light all the characters of an amorphous glass-like mass. 
 When a fragment is heated, it turns of a dark-brown colour, like that 
 noticed by him in the eruptive rocks of the Fichtelgebirg, and he 
 regards this change as a safe indication of the presence of olivine. 
 
80** HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 The composition of the stone is found to be : 
 
 Meteoric iron 12-32 
 
 Troilite 5-25 
 
 Silicate, decomposed by acid 48-11 
 
 Silicate, not acted upon by acid 34*32 
 
 100-00 
 
 The silicate decomposed by acid is an olivine, having the formula 
 2 (-| MgO, -J FeO), Si0 2 ; and the insoluble silicate, which has been 
 regarded by Dr. Lawrence Smith as pyroxene, gave the oxygen 
 ratios silicic acid = 29-68 ; bases = 10-29. It appears not impro- 
 bable that in this case the silicate was not completely decomposed 
 during analysis. 
 
 The paper is illustrated with an interesting plate of a microscopic 
 section, showing olivine, augite, meteoric iron, chrornite, troilite, 
 particles of a reddish hue which resemble garnet but which doubly 
 refract light and exhibit optical characters which will not allow of 
 their being identified with nosean, and chondra showing fibrous, 
 radiate, and granular structure, as well as others which evidently 
 consist of olivine, and some which are opaque and finely granular. 
 The meteoric iron has a hackly angular structure, and has the ap- 
 pearance which it would present if reduced to the metallic state in 
 the position which it at present occupies. 
 
 OF PART I. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 81 
 
 PART II. 
 
 In this Part it is proposed to present a digest, similar to that given 
 in Part L, of the memoirs and notices published during the years 
 1869 1875 in reference to meteorites, which either have been seen 
 to fall or have been found at a date earlier than the beginning of 1869, 
 including a description of their history, or of any investigations of 
 the physical and chemical characters of these meteorites, together 
 with such results as tend to correct earlier analyses. 
 
 The Pre-Homeric Meteoric Irons. 1 
 
 Von Haidinger, in April, 1870, in a letter addressed to Fr. von 
 Hauer, directed attention to a communication which he had received 
 from Sir John Herschel, supplementing a short notice on the above 
 subject, 2 which was sent to von Haidinger six years previously by 
 Prof. Miller, of Cambridge. 
 
 1 TV. von Haidinger. Mitt. Anthrop. Gesell. Wien, i. no. 3, 63. 
 
 2 W. von Haidinger. Sitzungsber. Acad. Wiss. Wien, L, Pt. II. 288. In this 
 paper, Ein vorhomerischer Fall von zwei Meteoreisenmassen bei Troja, Miller called 
 attention to Iliad, xv. 19-32 : 
 
 19. "AKfiovas %Ka 5uw ...... 
 
 31 ...... fivSpovs 8'evl Tpoiy 
 
 32. Kdp0a\ov 6<ppa ireAotro Kal 4<r<rofJ.evoi<ri irvdevdai. 
 
 Miller remarking that these lines were enclosed in brackets, and given as doubtful, 
 applied to Babington, who wrote : Iliad, xv. 30. Memorat Eustathius post hunc 
 versum nonnullos adscripsisse hos versos : 
 
 Tlplv ore 877 /rcbreAt/0'a TroSoav p-vSpovs 8'evl Tpoip 
 KajSjSaAoi/' ucppa treXono Kal eo'eroyuevoto't irvQeffQar 
 
 Adding as a commentary : Kal SfiKvvvrai, <pa<riv, uirb ruiv Trepnry-rjTuv ol roiovroi /j.vSpot. 
 [" lumps of this kind they say are pointed out by the Periegetae "]. Eustathius was 
 Archbishop of Thessalonica, and died in 1 198. Moreover, he says that the Periegetae 
 called them " anvils from above (fallen from heaven)." Von Haidinger points to 
 the incomplete character of the passage without lines 31 and 32 : 
 
 Dann dir erst lost' ich die Fiisse, die Klumpen aber nach Troja 
 "Warf ich hinab, noch spatern Geschlechtern die That zu verkiinden. 
 He also alludes to the fact that two iron masses fell at Braunau, Bohemia, and two 
 at Cranbourne, near Melbourne, Australia. It is not a little curious, in its bearing 
 on this question, to find that the Egyptian word for iron, baa-en-pe, of which two 
 forms are given below, also signifies * stone, or metal of heaven': 
 
 ((I 
 
 (19th Dynasty.) Lepsius' The Harris Papyrus. 
 
 Denkm. iii, 194, 1. 10. PI. xl. b, 1. 11. 
 
82 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Herschel points out that the Trojan irons do not constitute the only 
 instance in the writings of Homer where that metal is mentioned in 
 a manner to provoke the assumption that all the iron used at that 
 time by the Greeks was of meteoric origin. The mass of iron which 
 Achilles offered as a prize at the funeral games of Patroclus, 
 and which had been carried off as treasure from the palace of 
 Eetion, is described as ao\ov avro^ocovov (crude, self-fused) ; while 
 to show the scarcity of iron in those times, it is stated that this 
 block of metal, though of such a size that a strong man could hurl 
 it some distance, would prove a sufficient supply of iron for five 
 years to the winner, and render unnecessary a journey to the city 
 for the purchase of that metal. Again, among the prizes for the 
 archers we find, in addition to ten two-edged axes and ten hatchets 
 of bronze, loevra crl^rjpov as material for arrow-heads. This is not 
 " crude, self-molten " (meteoric ?) iron, but forged metal, converted 
 probably on the surface by cementation into steel. It is far from 
 improbable that in early times, before the art of forging iron was 
 known, many metallic masses of meteoric origin lay strewn over the 
 then known surface of our planet, which, as their adaptation to the 
 useful arts became known, were collected and turned to use, as was 
 the case with gold. Von Haidinger further called attention to the 
 statement in Sir John Herschel's letter that the latter had noticed 
 these references to the early use of iron before he perused the former's 
 first report published in 1864. Herschel remarks, moreover, that 
 in south-east Africa considerable masses of nickel-iron have been 
 met with, 1 which were collected and worked into implements by the 
 aborigines, when they learned their value by intercourse with Euro- 
 peans. Further instances where iron is mentioned are to be found 
 in Iliad, iv. 485, and Odyssey, i. 184. 2 We know of other cases 
 where meteoric iron has been worked into implements ; among 
 which may be mentioned the iron of Arva, Szlanicza, Hungary, and 
 that composing the blades of the Esquimaux knives discovered in 
 1819 by General Sir Edward Sabine, 3 which are in the British 
 Museum Collection of Meteorites. (See also page 40.) 
 
 Reference to a Meteorite in the Time of Buddha. 
 
 In the pages of ancient history the fall of stones from heaven has 
 not unfrequently been placed on record. The reader who may desire 
 to know where these notices are to be met with is referred to 
 
 1 0. Buchner. Die Feuermeteore. Giessen : 1859. Page 128. 
 
 2 For the early history of iron see F. X. M. Zippe. Gold, Kupfer, Eisen. Al- 
 manack Akad. Wiss. Wien, 1856, Anhang. 135. F. X. M. Zippe. Geschichle der 
 Metalle. Vienna, 1857. E. Buchholz. Die Homerischen Realien. Leipzig : 1871. 
 (chapter on Mineralogy), 289-349. On Some Evidences as to the Very Early Use of 
 Iron. By St. J. V. Day. Two communications of the Phil. Soc. Glasgow. Edn- 
 burgh: 1871 and 1873. On the High Antiquity of Iron and Steel. By the same 
 author. Communicated to the Phil. Soc. Glasgow. London: 1875. 
 
 3 E. Sabine. Quart. Jour. Sc., vii. 79. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 83 
 
 the article " Meteorolite " in the last edition of the Encyclopedia 
 Britannica. Our present purpose is merely to direct attention to an 
 allusion to a meteorite in Mr. Beal's interesting volume entitled 
 " The Romantic Legend of Sakya Buddha," l which has recently 
 appeared ; it takes us back to the sixth century B.C., to a more recent 
 date than that of the shower of stones, stated by Livy to have fallen 
 on the Alban Mount, but previous to the descent of the great stone 
 near .ZEgospotamos, described by Pliny, and mentioned in The Parian 
 Chronicle. Although in the present instance the fall of a stone 
 is merely foretold, every allusion to occurrences of this kind in 
 early writings is of interest. 
 
 Mr. Beal's work is a translation of the Chinese version of the 
 " Abhinishkramana Sutra," which was written in that language by a 
 Buddhist priest from North India, who resided in China during the 
 Tsui dynasty (the end of the sixth century A.D.). The story of 
 " The offering of Food by Two Merchants " (chap, xxxii.) tells how 
 " the world-honoured one " sat in the Ktchirnika grove forty-nine 
 days, and that he took no food. Two merchants of North India, 
 who were carrying valuable goods to Middle India, came that way, 
 and as they passed the Guardian Spirit of the grove assumed a 
 bodily form, and stood in front of the oxen, which were afraid to 
 go on. The merchants being filled with terror, the Guardian Deva 
 again assumed a bodily form, and told them not to fear, and to offer 
 food to the Buddha. Then Buddha having accepted their offering, 
 " delivered their caravan from its difficulties, and presented them 
 (in consequence of their request for some memorial of him) with a 
 hair and fragments of his nails, telling them that hereafter a stone 
 should fall from heaven near the place where they lived, and that 
 they should erect a pagoda and worship the relics as though they 
 were Buddha himself." 
 
 1325. Birki, near Arzerrum (Erzroum), Anatolia, Turkey. 8 
 
 My attention has been directed by Mr. William Simpson to an ac- 
 count of a meteorite, probably a block of meteoric iron, which is 
 given in the translation from the Arabic of "The Travels of Ibn 
 Batuta." It appears that a Mahommedan, who had started on his 
 travels from Tanjiers, came in the year 1325 to Birki, near Erzroum, 
 and had audience with the king. " The king one day said to me, 
 Have you ever seen a stone that came down from heaven? I 
 answered, No. He continued, Such a stone has fallen in the 
 environs of our city. He then called some men, and ordered them 
 
 1 The Romantic Legend of Sakya Buddha: from the Chinese- Sanscrit. By 
 S. Beal. 1875. London: Triibner. Page 239. 
 
 2 The Travels of Ibn Batuta. Translated from the abridged Arabic Manuscript 
 Copies preserved in the University 'of Cambridge. By the Bev. S. Lee. Printed for 
 the Oriental Translation Committee. 1829. London : J. Murray. Page 72. 
 
84 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 to bring the stone, which they did. It was a black, solid, exceedingly 
 hard, and shining substance. If weighed, it would probably exceed 
 a talent (according to some 112, to others 120 Ibs. weight). He 
 then ordered some stone-cutters to come in, when four came forward. 
 He commanded them to strike upon it. They all struck together 
 upon it accordingly with an iron hammer four successive strokes, 
 which however made not the least impression upon it. I was much 
 astonished at this. The king then ordered the stone to be taken to 
 its place." 
 
 1628, April 9th, about 6 p.m. Chalows and Barking, near 
 Wantage, Berkshire. 1 
 
 Mr. Webb directs attention to a letter, preserved in Wallington's 
 Historical Notices, i. 13, which was written in 1628 "by Mr. John 
 Hoskins, dwelling at Wantage, to his son-in-law, Mr. Dawson, a gun- 
 smith, dwelling in the Minories without Aldgate," relating to the fall 
 of meteorites. Describing the explosion, Hoskins says : "It began as 
 followeth : First, as it were, one piece of ordnance went off alone. 
 Then, after that, a little distance, two more ; and then they went as 
 thick as ever I heard a volley of shot in all my life ; and after that, 
 
 as if it were the sound of a drum Yet this was not all ; 
 
 but, as it is reported, there fell divers stones, but two is certain in 
 our knowledge. The one fell at Chalows, half a mile off (from 
 Wantage), and the other at Barking, five miles off. Your mother 
 was at the place where one of them fell knee deep, till it came to 
 the very rock, and when it came at the hard rock it broke, and being 
 weighed, all the pieces together, they weighed six-and-twenty pound. 
 The other that was taken up at the other place (Barking) weighed 
 half a tod, 14 pound." 
 
 1640, May 24th (N.S.) about Noon, Antony, near Plymouth. 2 
 
 Among the tracts and broadsheets incorporated in the valuable 
 catalogue of the writings of Cornishmen, Bibliotheca Cornubiensis, 
 is one by the Eev. Arthur Bache bearing the title, "The Yoyce 
 of the Lord in the Temple ; or a most strange and wonderfull Bela- 
 tion of God's great Power, Providence, and Mercy, in sending very 
 strange sounds, fires, and a Fiery Ball into the Church of Anthony, 
 neere Plimmouth, in Cornwall, on Whit Sunday last, 1640. To the 
 scorching and astonishment of fourteen severall persons who were 
 
 1 T. W. Webb. Nature, July 14th, 1870. 
 
 2 G. C. Boase and W. P. Courtney. Bibliotheca Cornubiemis. London : Long- 
 mans, 1874. 
 
HISTORY -OF METEORITES. 85 
 
 smitten, and likewise to the great Terrour of all the other people 
 then present, being about 200," etc. This little pamphlet is chiefly 
 devoted to harrowing descriptions of "divers hurts" received by 
 the congregation. One man, in recording his experiences, stated 
 that he heard " as it were the hissing of a great shot." It is not 
 improbable that this phenomenon was caused by lightning. 
 
 Found 1751. Steinbach, Saxony. 
 
 For a short description of the probable composition of this sider- 
 olite see the Breitenbach meteorite. 
 
 1776. Krasnojarsk, Siberia. (The Pallas Iron.) 1 
 
 This celebrated siderolite has recently been sawn into two nearly 
 equal parts, and the occasion presented a fitting opportunity for an 
 exhaustive examination of its constituent minerals, more especially 
 of the olivine forming the chief ingredient. It was accordingly 
 undertaken by von Kokscharow, at the desire of the Imperial 
 Academy of Sciences, and his memoir is mainly devoted to a de- 
 scription of the crystallographic characters of the silicate enclosed 
 in the nickel-iron. 
 
 He finds that the interior presents no new leading features. The 
 olivine, which has a greater number of crystal-faces than Pallas ob- 
 served on it, occurs not only in spherular or drop -like masses bearing 
 numerous faces, but in tolerably well-developed crystals, which, 
 though rounded here and there, exhibit sharp edges, and a consider- 
 able number of forms, some of which have not been observed on 
 terrestrial olivine. The individual crystal has generally a rounded 
 surface, on which the planes lie ; and although these are separated 
 from each other by curved areas, their mutual inclination enables 
 the observer to identify them. They are in most instances smooth 
 and lustrous, and allow of the most accurate goniometrical measure- 
 ment being performed. The best developed faces are : c = o P ; 
 d = P oo ; and o = J P. Biot 2 showed half a century since that 
 these rounded masses of olivine exhibit crystalline structure, and 
 possess two optic axes. The first minute investigation of them 
 was conducted by G. Kose. 3 
 
 Eose observed eleven crystal-forms on the Pallas olivine ; von 
 
 1 N. von Kokscharow. Bull. VAcad. Imp. Sc. St.-Petersbourg, 1870, xx., No. 3.. 
 Memoires V Acad. Imp. Sc. St.-Petersbourg, xv., No. 6, Jahrb. Mineralogie, 1870, 
 778. E. H. von Baumhauer. Archives Neerlandaises, 1871, vi. G. von Helmer- 
 sen. Zeitsch. Deutsch. Geol. Gesett. xxv., 347. A Goebel. Butt. Ac. Imp. Sv. St.. 
 Petersbourg, 1874, xx. 100. 
 
 2 J. B. Biot. Bull, de la Roc. Philomatique, 1820, 89. 
 
 3 G. Rose. Pogg. Ann., 1825, iv., 186. 
 
86 
 
 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Kokscharow has added eight more, making nineteen altogether, 
 which are as follow : 
 
 Rhombic Pyramids. 
 
 
 
 Macrodomes. 
 
 
 
 Weiss. 
 
 
 Naumann. 
 
 
 
 ... (a 
 
 : oob : 6c) ... 
 
 |P 
 
 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 ... (a 
 
 : oob : 2c) ... 
 
 P oo 
 
 g 
 
 ... (a 6 b : 
 
 6c) .. 
 
 ' 6 P 
 
 y 
 
 ... (a 
 
 : oob: Lc) ... 
 
 mPoo 
 
 
 
 ... (a 2 b : 
 
 2c) .. 
 
 ' I? 
 
 d 
 
 ... (a 
 
 m 
 : oob : c ) ... 
 
 Poo 
 
 e 
 
 .fa b 
 
 c ) 
 
 P 
 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 . ^ 
 ... (a n b : 
 
 I c ) , 
 
 . mPn 
 
 
 
 Brachydomes. 
 
 
 f 
 
 V m 
 
 m ' 
 C ) .. 
 
 . 2 P2 
 
 w 
 
 ... (a: 
 
 2 b : oo c) ... 
 
 Pco 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 h 
 
 ... (a: 
 
 b : ooc ) ... 
 
 Poo 
 
 I 
 
 (a b : 
 
 C ) , 
 
 . 3 P 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 k 
 
 ... (a: 
 
 ^ b : ooc) ... 
 
 2P 00 
 
 
 Rhombic 
 
 Prisms. 
 
 
 i 
 
 ... (a: 
 
 1 b : oo c) ... 
 
 4Poo 
 
 n 
 
 ... (ooa : b 
 
 : c) .. 
 
 . OOP 
 
 
 
 Pinacoids. 
 
 
 9 
 
 ... (ooa: $1 
 
 3 : c) .. 
 
 . ooP2 
 
 a 
 
 ... (ooa : b : ooc) ... 
 
 00 P 00 
 
 r 
 
 ... (oo a: 3-1 
 
 b: c) .. 
 
 . oo]P 3 
 
 c 
 
 ... (a 
 
 oo b : oo c) ... 
 
 P 
 
 The forms e, f t I, n, s, r, d, h, i, c, and a, are those described by 
 Rose ; the remainder were not only previously unknown on Pallas 
 olivine, but, with the exception of h and w, have not been met with 
 on chrysolite from any locality. The brachydome w has recently 
 been noticed by vom Rath 1 on the olivine of the Laachersee sanidine. 
 Althoughjhe crystal-faces of the Pallas olivine are somewhat nu- 
 merous, P 2, noticed by Descloizeaux, 2 and ooP4r. as well as the 
 
 macropinacoid b = oo P cc of other observers, have not been noticed. 
 In two of the plates accompanying the memoir the author gives eight 
 projections of the more important combinations of the above forms, 
 while in a third plate they are all graphically represented according 
 to Neumann and Quenstedt's method. 
 
 On comparing his measurements of the faces of the Pallas olivine 
 with the numbers obtained by Mohs, von Haidinger, Scacchi, 3 and 
 himself, when examining crystals of olivine from other sources, the 
 author finds almost complete accordance between them, and deduces 
 the following numbers for the axes of the olivine crystal : 
 
 a = 1-25928 
 b = 2-14706 
 c = 1-00000 
 
 He then proceeds to establish their correctness by comparing in 
 detail the calculated values with those obtained by measuring the 
 meteoric olivine, and that from Egypt and Vesuvius, as well as speci- 
 mens of the mineral from other localities, investigated by Mohs and 
 von Haidinger. 
 
 Rose 4 was the first to observe under the microscope the remarkable 
 
 1 G. vom Rath. Fogg. Ann., 1868, cxxxv., 580. 
 
 2 A. Descloizeaux. Manuel de Mineralogie, i., 30. 
 
 3 A. Scacchi. Pogg. Ann., Erganzungsband iii., 184. 
 
 4 G. Rose. Beschreibung und Eintheilung der Meteoriten, Berlin, 1864, 75. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 87 
 
 structure of this olivine. On examining a section, 2 J mm. in thick- 
 ness, he noticed, even with very low powers, that it was traversed 
 by a number of straight black lines lying parallel to each other ; so 
 sharp and regular were they, that they resembled lines described on 
 paper with a drawing pen. When magnified 200 to 300 diameters, 
 they appeared to be tubes, sometimes empty, sometimes filled 
 more or less with a black or light grey substance, or both substances. 
 In one crystal with two small faces k, and between them the face a, 
 it was noticed that the faces a and the tubes reflect light at the same 
 instant, and that they lie at right angles to the axis of the zone k a. 
 
 Von Kokscharow found these canals in every granule of the Pallas 
 olivine which he examined ; one crystal, 6 mm. in diameter, through 
 which a section was cut, exhibited 17 of them under a pocket lens, 
 and many more in the microscope ; they were all parallel to the 
 edge s r, that is to say, parallel to the vertical crystallographic axis. 
 A mean of nine measurements of the angle which these canals form 
 with the edge ea (which were made with a very good goniometer, 
 designed by von Auerbach and constructed by Hartnack) was found 
 to be 38 28', the calculated angle being 38 27' 12". The plane of 
 the optic axes lies at right angles to the canals, and therefore to the 
 crystallographic vertical axis ; in short, this plane in Pallas olivine, 
 as in the terrestrial specimens, is parallel to the basal pinacoid c = 
 oP. 
 
 The canals were studied in seven sections of crystals, and drawings 
 of them are given in a plate. By altering the focus of the micro- 
 scope, canals lying at various depths are brought into view ; when 
 a certain thickness of the olivine has been traversed, the doubly- 
 refractive power of the intervening layer of the mineral causes the 
 canals to appear double. Another effect of this property of the 
 crystal is that the magnifying power of the microscope is also 
 apparently somewhat increased. The partial overlapping of the two 
 images of a canal gives it the appearance of a tube filled throughout 
 the entire length with black material ; others, again, viewed through 
 greater thicknesses of the mineral, appear as two distinct tubes. 
 Examination with a Nicol or a tourmaline plate at once convinces the 
 observer that these effects are due to double refraction. 
 
 The enclosed black and grey matter is found sometimes at one end 
 only of a tube, sometimes in the middle, or again at different points 
 in its length, in which case it presents the appearance of a ther- 
 mometer, the mercurial column of which has been broken. Other 
 sections are described which were prepared so that the tubes were 
 cut obliquely, or at right angles. The results of an examination of 
 these sections in polarized light supports the assumption that these 
 appearances are caused by hollows traversing the olivine, and not by 
 transparent crystals enclosed in it. 1 
 
 1 It should be mentioned that Eose (Beschr. und Einth. Met. y 76) found these 
 canals in great perfection and abundance in the olivine of the meteorite found at 
 Brahin, Minsk, Russia (1810), a siderolite bearing the closest resemblance to the 
 Pallas iron. The mineral occurring in the siderolites of Rittersgriin and Steinbach, 
 which Rose termed olivine, and some of the angles of which he found to accord with 
 those of the olivine of the Pallas and Brahin siderolites, is probably not olivine, but. 
 bronzite. 
 
88 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 This olivine was investigated chemically by Howard, Klap- 
 roth, Stromeyer, Walmstedt, and Berzelius. It has recently been 
 examined by H.I.H. the Grand-Duke Nikolai Maximilianovitsch 
 von Leuchtenberg ; the mean numbers resulting from his analyses 
 are given under I. Von Baumhauer, to whose paper we shall im- 
 mediately turn our consideration, also publishes a new analysis of 
 this silicate (II.), and gives in juxtaposition the theoretical numbers 
 (III.) corresponding to an olivine with the formula : 
 2 FeO, Si0 2 + 7 (2 MgO, Si0 2 ). 
 
 I. II. III. 
 
 Silicic acid 40-24 40-87 40-70 
 
 Magnesia 47'41 46-93 47'17 
 
 Iron protoxide 11-80 12-11 12-13 
 
 Nickel protoxide trace ... 
 
 Manganese protoxide 0*29 trace 
 
 Alumina 0-06 
 
 Tin oxide 0-08 , 
 
 99-88 99-91 100*00 
 
 Eumler found arsenic in this silicate, and Howard half a per cent, 
 of oxide of nickel. The Duke of Leuchtenberg discovered none of 
 this oxide in the specimens which he examined. It is not improbable 
 that Howard may have fallen into error through the presence of 
 organic matter in the ammonia, employed in his analysis, having 
 rendered the precipitation of the iron oxide incomplete. 
 
 Yon Kokscharow finds the specific gravity of some very pure 
 crystals of the olivine to be 3-3372 ; of some brown fractured granules, 
 3-3415 ; the mean being 3-3393. 
 
 Many terrestrial olivines contain nickel protoxide. Rarnmelsberg 
 found 2-35 per cent, in the variety of this mineral occurring in the 
 basalt of Petschau, in Bohemia ; Genth determined its presence in 
 that from Thjorsalava, of Hekla ; and Sartorius von Waltershausen 
 in the olivine of the Fiumara di Mascali, near Etna. It has also 
 been detected in the olivine of Langeac, Haute-Loire ; it forms a 
 constituent of that mineral as met with in the Iherzolite of the 
 Pyrenees, in the lava of the Isle of Bourbon, in the basalt of 
 Sneefels-Jockul, Iceland, in the melaphyre of Oberstein, and in the 
 dunite of Mt. Dun, New Zealand. A knowledge of these facts in- 
 duced von Baumhauer to examine with great care the Pallas olivine 
 for nickel. 
 
 That portion of a meteorite which, after the nickel-iron has been 
 removed with a magnet, dissolves in acid, is usually regarded as 
 olivine, 2 RO, Si0 2 . Small quantities of alumina, lime, manga- 
 nese, and nickel protoxide, and occasionally of alkalies, are, it is true, 
 also found in the solution ; but with the exception of the nickel oxide, 
 the occurrence of which is ascribed to the incomplete removal of the 
 nickel-iron by the magnet, the presence of these ingredients is attri- 
 buted to the incipient decomposition, even in the cold, of the other 
 silicates of the meteorite. 1 Mercury chloride, a reagent the use of which 
 
 1 It has been found that the enstatite of the Busti meteorite (which see) is slowly 
 decomposed by hydrochloric acid. 
 
HISTORY. OF METEORITES. 89 
 
 was proposed by Rammelsberg, enables us to separate by solution the 
 nickel-iron from all the silicates. The sublimate, however, does not 
 dissolve any portion of the nickel-iron which by oxidation may 
 have been converted into hydrated oxide of iron and oxide of nickel. 
 To remove them von Baumhauer heats the powder, which has pre- 
 viously been treated with the chloride, in a current of hydrogen, 
 and, after reducing the oxides to the state of metal, subjects the 
 powder once or twice more to the action of the sublimate in an 
 atmosphere of hydrogen. By careful selection and treatment in the 
 above manner, he proceeded to operate on some apparently pure 
 olivine from the Pallas meteorite ; it was of a clear yellow colour, 
 and, when heated for half an hour in hydrogen, lost no weight. It 
 was then broken up with acid, and analysed by the usual method ; 
 the iron oxide retaining any nickel oxide that may be present was 
 twice dissolved in acid and thrown down with ammonia. The three 
 filtrates, containing all the magnesia, were treated with ammonium 
 sulphide, which produced a black precipitate, so small in quantity 
 that it could not be weighed. Before the blowpipe it displayed the 
 characteristic reactions of a compound of nickel. 
 
 Yon Baumhauer expresses a doubt whether the nickel may not have 
 been a constituent of a trace of the metallic alloy which, in spite of 
 all precautions, had adhered to the silicate. It is, moreover, a 
 question whether the repeated precipitation of the iron oxide with 
 ammonia, even in the presence of a large excess of ammonium 
 chloride, would effect the removal of a very small proportion of 
 nickel oxide in so complete a manner as Field's method with lead 
 oxide. 1 
 
 In May, 1873, von Helmersen addressed a letter to G. Eose, 
 stating that several members of the Academy of Sciences of St. 
 Petersburg, Schmidt, Schrenck, von Kokscharow, himself and others, 
 had advised the Academy to institute an inquiry into the nature of 
 the ground of the locality where the Pallas siderolite was found, 
 they being of opinion that such an investigation might throw 
 light on its history, just as an examination of the rocks of Disko 
 had proved of great value in facilitating the study of the Ovifak 
 meteorites. Lopatin, a mining engineer stationed in Eastern Siberia, 
 was directed to proceed to Krasnojarsk for that purpose, and the 
 result of his explorations has appeared in a very elaborate 
 memoir recently published by Goebel. In this paper the author 
 discusses in the fullest details the arguments advanced, especially by 
 Chancourtois, 2 to show that the Pallas iron is not of meteoric origin. 
 It had been stated by Mettich that a very rich iron ore abounds on 
 the hill, close to the spot where the Pallas siderolite was discovered, 
 an ore described as magnetic, and as containing about 70 per cent, of 
 metal. It will be remembered (see page 33) that Daubree found 
 only 71 per cent, of iron in the Ovifak masses, 41 per cent, thereof 
 being in the metallic state. 
 
 1 F. Field. Chem. News, i. 4. 
 
 2 fr de Chancourtois. Bull. Soc. Ge'ol. France, xxix. 177 and 210. 
 
90 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Lopatin's account of the features of the locality leave little doubt 
 respecting his having hit upon the spot described by Pallas and 
 Mettich. He finds the ridge to consist of a coarsely granular granite, 
 closely resembling the Kappa-kiwi of Finnland; the magnetite 
 contained no metallic iron. 
 
 With a view of securing further fragments of this siderolite, a 
 reward was offered by Lopatin to those few persons who frequent 
 this region for squirrel-hunting ; none, however, were found. But 
 large fragments 'of a meteoric fall are, as Goebel points out, 
 usually scattered over a wide area of country, and it is in the 
 highest degree improbable that two large masses would be found in 
 proximity to each other : the fall of siderolites in Bohemia and 
 Saxony (Breitenbach, Eittersgriin, and Steinbach), probably in the 
 latter part of the twelfth century, affords a case in point. It 
 appears, moreover, that even only a short time after their descent 
 meteorites are by no means easy to discover. In 1833 von Eeichen- 
 bach 1 prosecuted a thorough search of the district near Blansko, 
 Briinn, Moravia, eleven days after a shower of what appeared to 
 have been as many as 400 stones had taken place ; 120 men were 
 employed, and time equivalent to 600 working days was devoted to 
 the search, but only eight small stones, weighing in all 20 loth 
 (about 12 oz.) were found. 
 
 The Mexican Meteorites. 8 
 
 In continuation of his earlier papers on the meteorites of the 
 Mexican Kepublic, which appeared in 1856, 1857, and 1858, the late 
 Dr. Burkart has brought the history of these remarkable masses 
 down to the date 1874. He first directs attention to the masses 
 found near Santa Eosa, a small town in the N. part of the State 
 of Cohahuila, in lat. 27 55' N. and long. 2 16' W. of Mexico, and 
 near the boundary of the Bolson of Mapimi. 
 
 According to the report of Major E. W. Hamilton, published by 
 Shepard, the spot where he discovered a number of masses of 
 meteoric iron is called Bonanza, 30 to 40 miles north, and much 
 further west of Sta. Eosa. Here Hamilton found scattered over an 
 area, one to two miles in diameter, thirteen blocks of iron, twelve 
 of which had never been shifted ; the other, weighing 75 Ibs., was 
 about to be sent to Sta. Eosa. The largest, a more or less rounded 
 block, is three feet wide and two to two and a half feet high; others 
 were estimated to weigh from two to three thousand pounds. 
 
 Meteoric masses found in the neighbourhood of Sta. Eosa are 
 
 1 C. von Reichenbach. Pogg. Ann., cxxiv. 213. 
 
 2 C. Rammelsberg. Zeitsch. Deutsch. Geol. GeselL, 1869, xxi., 83. J. L. Smith. 
 Amer. Jour. Sc., 1869, xlvii., 383; Amer. Jour.- Sc., 1871, i. 335. S. Meunier. 
 These presentee a la Faculte des Sciences de Paris, 1869. Rccherches sur la com- 
 position et la structure des Meteorites, 42 et seq. H, J. Burkart. Jahrb. Mineralogie, 
 1870, 673 ; 1871, 851 ; and 1874, 22. 
 
HISTORY .OF METEORITES. 91 
 
 mentioned by J. L. Smith, and a fragment of one of them was 
 exhibited at the meeting of the American Association for the Advance- 
 ment of Science held at Chicago in 1868. It appears that Dr. Butcher 
 obtained from the son of Dr. Long, who had resided many years 
 in Sta. Kosa, an interesting account of a very brilliant meteor which 
 in the fall of the year 1837 passed over the town in a N.W. direction; 
 shortly after its disappearance over the mountains a rumbling sound 
 was heard, followed by a tremendous explosion. The next day Mr. 
 Long endeavoured to find traces of the meteorite, but after two days' 
 severe and rough riding the search was abandoned. Shortly after- 
 wards an Indian brought into Sta. Rosa a piece of what he believed 
 to be silver, weighing ten to twelve pounds, stating that it had been 
 found ninety miles N.W. of the town ; this proved to be meteoric iron. 
 Dr. Butcher, after this long lapse of time, determined to renew the 
 search, and, hiring eight Mexicans and two Indians as guides, suc- 
 ceeded in finding the irons about ninety miles from Sta. Eosa. They 
 consist of six masses, weighing 290, 430, 438. 550, 580, and 654 Ibs., 
 which have been sent to the museums of the United States, and 
 two other blocks, weighing 353 and 450 Ibs., which have since been 
 hit upon. 
 
 This interesting group of meteoric irons consists of compact 
 metal containing no silicate ; it is not difficult to cut with the saw, 
 has the specific gravity 7'692, and the composition : 
 
 Iron = 92-95; Nickel = 6-62; Cobalt = 0-48; Phosphorus = 0-02; 
 Copper = trace. Total = 100-07. 
 
 Although these irons differ as regards the amount of nickel they 
 contain from the meteoric iron of Santa Eosa described in 1855, 1 
 J. L. Smith believes that the disparity arises from an error in the 
 earlier analysis, and that it will be found that the Santa Eosa iron 
 belongs to the above group. 
 
 The question which next arises is, Are the two finds, described 
 by Hamilton and Butcher, one and the same ? Burkart, after care- 
 fully weighing the evidence of both accounts, allowed that there is 
 much to favour the assumption, and suggested that Shepard and 
 J. L. Smith would do good service to science by referring the subject 
 to the consideration of the two observers. 
 
 J. Guillemin Tarayre 2 in his Notes archeologiques et ethno- 
 graphiques, while describing the Casas grandes de Chihuahua or 
 Malintzin, mentions the discovery by Muller, the Director of the 
 Mint at Chihuahua, of a meteorite in the great temple north of 
 Galeana (lat. 30 22' N.; long. 110 W. of Paris). While ex- 
 cavating these labyrinthine ruins a lenticular piece of iron, 50 cm. 
 in diameter, was discovered carefully enveloped in cloth similar to 
 that in which the dead of the surrounding graves were wrapped. 3 
 
 1 0. Buchner. Die Meteoriten. Leipzig, 1863. Page 192. 
 
 2 Archives de la Commission scientifiqw du Mexique. Paris, 1869. iii. 348. 
 
 3 In the Annual Report (1873) of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian 
 Institution (Washington, 1874, p. 419), is published a letter from Mr. "W. M. 
 Pierson, U.S. Vice-Consul at El Paso del Norte, describing the discovery of a large 
 meteorite in the ruins of Montezuma Casas Grandes, on the Gila River, in Arizona. 
 
92 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Among new meteoric stones found in Mexico must be mentioned 
 the chondritic meteorite described by Wohler ; it is stated that it fell 
 in 1855 or 1856 at the Hacienda Avilez, not far from the mining 
 town of Cuencarne, twenty leagues N.E. of Durango in lat. 24 47' N. 
 and long. 4 8' W. of Mexico. 
 
 The large meteoric iron, computed to weigh 19,000 kilog., which 
 lay in the neighbourhood of Durango in Hurnboldt's time, and of 
 which he brought fragments to Europe that were analyzed by 
 Vauquelin and Klaproth, appears since then to have been lost. 
 Burkart, however, considered some statements made by Guillemin 
 Tarayre in the Archives de la Commission scientifique du Mexique to 
 indicate that within the last few years it had again been found 
 near the Cerro Mercado. According to more recent accounts, the 
 locality of this colossal mass is known, but is kept secret, as the 
 owner intends to endeavour to transport it to Mexico. 
 
 Burkart briefly notices : the meteoric iron from San Francisco 
 del Mezquital, in the State of Durango, weighing seven kilog., which 
 was described by Daubree ; a piece of meteoric iron x "from Mexico," 
 the locality not being more definitely given, which J. L. Smith found 
 to exhibit very distinct figures when etched, and to be composed thus : 
 
 Iron = 9M03; Nickel = 7 ! 557; Cobalt = 0*763; Phosphorus = 0-020; with 
 traces of Copper and Sulphur. Total = 99-443. 
 
 a meteoric iron at Los Zapotes, four leagues from Cuquio, which 
 is reported to have been brought from Zacatecas ; and the meteoric 
 iron of Yanhuitlan (lat. 17 35' N. ; long. 1 45' W. of Mexico), 
 which was in the possession of the Emperor Maximilian, and possibly 
 comes from the same locality as the Misteca Alta iron preserved in 
 some collections. The last two masses contain : 
 
 Yanhuitlan. Misteca Alta. 
 
 I. II. 
 
 Nickel 6-21 4-39 9-919 
 
 Cobalt 0-27 0-18 0-075 
 
 Insoluble residue ... trace 0-20 
 
 The first two analyses are by Kammelsberg, the last by Bergernann. 2 
 
 It was found in a large room of the ruins, in the centre of what appeared to be a 
 tomb of adobe-brick, and was carefully wrappped in coarse linen similar to the cere- 
 cloth in which the Egyptians enveloped their mummies. " Twenty-six yoke of oxen 
 were mustered, and as many or more strong log-chains, and with this force and 
 tackle the monster meteorite was hauled to the modern town of Casas Grandes. 
 When struck it emitted a loud and hollow sound much resembling that of a church 
 bell. It is stated to measure 2 feet 6 inches square, and is supposed to weigh over 
 5000 Ibs. The date of this occurrence is not mentioned, and although the form and 
 dimensions of the mass given in this report differ considerably from those of the 
 metallic block above mentioned, it appears not improbable that Tarayre and Pierson 
 describe the discovery of the same block of metal. A specimen of this iron was 
 sent to Washington with the Vice-Consul's report. 
 
 1 This was probably a fragment of the Charcas meteoric iron which General 
 Bazaine sent to Paris. 
 
 2 Burkart gives the following list of localities of meteorites found in the Mexican 
 Republic: Meteoric Stones. 1). Hacienda de Bocas, N. of San Louis Potosi, fell 
 1804, November 24th. 2). Cerro Cosina, near Dolores Hidalgo, District of San 
 Miguel in the State Guanajuato, fell 1844, January , 11 A.M. 3). Hacienda 
 Avilez, near Cuencame in the State Durango, fell 1855 or 1856. Meteoric Irons 
 (each locality lies to the north of those following it in the list). 1). The Casas 
 

 METEORIC IRON, FROM TOLUCA, MEXICO. 
 PolisLed Surface etched with Bromine. 
 
HISTORY -OF METEORITES. 93 
 
 The last paper written by the late Dr. Burkart gives the history 
 of the meteoric iron from Descubridora, Poblazon, near Catorze, State 
 San Louis Potosi, to which we have already alluded (see page 53). 
 It was found between 1780 and 1783 ; in 1856 it was conveyed to 
 the Amalgamation Works near Catorze to be used in the morteros or 
 stamping mills; and in 1871 was removed to Mexico, where it came 
 into the possession of the Geographical and Statistical Society. In 
 1872 this learned body came to a determination that the meteorite, 
 which weighs 575 kilog., should be broken up for examination, 
 which drew from the Mexican Natural History Society an indignant 
 protest. Those who take an interest in the correspondence which 
 passed between the two Societies will find below references to the 
 journals in which it appeared. 1 A portion of this iron is one of the 
 most recent additions to the University Collection at Gottingen. 
 
 The iron, of which the author gives three drawings, is in the form 
 of a prism with rounded ends, and has a length of 90 cm. It has 
 a steel-grey colour, takes a high polish, and is remarkably malleable : 
 nails, knife-blades, wire, and a watch spring have been made of it. 
 When etched it developes good figures, of which a sketch is given in 
 Burkart's paper ; they resemble those of the iron of Xiquipilco ; the 
 angle 109 corresponding to an octahedron is frequently noticed. 
 Eounded masses of troilite occur here and there ; the hardness is 
 = 8 ; the specific gravity = 7-38. It has been analyzed by Patricio 
 Murphy with the following results : 
 
 Iron = 89-51; Nickel = 8-05; Cobalt = 1-94; Sulphur = 0-45; Chromium 
 and Phosphorus Traces. Total = 99-95. 
 
 A very careful investigation has been made of the physical pro- 
 perties of the wire forged from this iron ; it possesses an unusually 
 high elasticity, the modulus being = 7436*17 kilog. ; the resistance of 
 the iron to rupture by compression = 38 kilog., to rupture by exten- 
 sion = 40 kilog. In each case the sectional area of the metal operated 
 on was 1 mm. square. The coefficient of the linear expansion of the 
 iron when heated between and 100 C. = 0-00002336783. 
 
 Meunier has investigated two of the Mexican irons, those from 
 Charcas and the Toluca Valley. A perfectly clear surface of the 
 
 grandes de Malintzin, between Galeana and Corralites, District Bravos, State of 
 Chihuahua. 2). Bonanza, State of Cohahuila. 3). Sierra Blanca, near Huaju- 
 quillo (or Jimenez), State of Chihuahua. 4). San Gregorio, State of Chihuahua. 
 5). Hacienda Concepcion, on the Rio Florido, State of Chihuahua. 6). Hacienda 
 Venagas, probably in the State of Chihuahua. 7). Plain near el Mercado mountain, 
 N. of Durango, State of Durango. 8). Durango (block used as an anvil; this mass 
 has recently been removed to Mexico). 9). San Francisco del Mezquital, State of 
 Durango. 10). Descubridora, at Poblazon, near Catorze, State of San Louis Potosi. 
 11). Charcas, State of San Louis Potosi. 12). Zacatecas. 13). A Hacienda south 
 (?) of Zacatecas. 14). Xiquipilco, Hocotitlan, Istlahuaca, etc., in the Toluca or 
 Lerma Valley, State of Mexico. 15). Chalco, Valley of Mexico. 16). Misteca Alta, 
 State of Oaxaca. 17). Yanhuitlan, State of Oaxaca. 18). (?) Rincon de Caparosa, 
 near Chilpancingo, on the road to Acapulco. 
 
 1 Boletin de la Sociedad de Geografia y Estadistica de la Republica mexicana. 
 Seg. Ep. Mexico, 1872. Tomo IV. Pages 5 and 317. La Naturaleza Periodico 
 cientifico de la Sociedad mexicana de Historia natural. Mexico, 1873. Tome II. Pages 
 277 and 286. 
 
94 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Chareas iron appears to be naturally passive. A drop of copper sul- 
 phate, if allowed to evaporate at ordinary temperatiires on its surface, 
 yields unchanged blue crystals of the salt. The alloy is of the kind 
 to which von Keichenbach gave the name of kamacite, consisting of : 
 Iron = 92-0 ; Nickel = 7'5 ; Total = 99-5. 
 
 which corresponds with the formula Fe u Ni. 
 
 The compounds of iron with sulphur which occur in meteorites 
 appear to be sometimes magnetic pyrites, sometimes troilite (iron 
 monosulphide). Meunier finds the sulphides of these two irons to 
 have the composition given below. Side by side with the numbers 
 resulting from his analyses are placed the theoretical percentages of 
 the two sulphides alluded to : 
 
 Toluca. Chareas. Troilite (FeS). Pyrrhotite (Fe 7 S 8 ). 
 
 Iron '59-01 ... 56-29 
 
 Nickel 0-14 ... 3'10 
 
 Copper trace 
 
 40-03 39-21 
 
 Jopper 
 
 >ulphur ... 
 
 63-64 60-5 
 
 36-36 
 
 39-5 
 
 99-18 98-60 100-00 100-00 
 
 Sp.gr 4-799 ... 4-780 ... 4-784 1 ... 4-5S3 2 
 
 From these results Meunier concludes that the meteoric sulphide has 
 the formula of pyrrhotite in short that it is not a monosulphide. 
 It will be seen, however, in the foregoing table, that though the analy- 
 tical numbers point to this conclusion, the specific gravity of the 
 sulphides accords more closely with that of troilite. Analyses of the 
 sulphide in the meteoric irons of Knoxville, Seelasgen, Sevier Co., 
 and Ovifak (see page 35) show that sulphide in each case to have 
 the composition FeS. The author states that both sulphides are 
 feebly attracted by the magnet. Though magnetic pyrites in fine 
 powder is attracted, troilite (FeS), neither in coarse fragments nor 
 in powder, shows, according to my experience, the least tendency to 
 adhere to the magnet. 
 
 The crust of the Toluca iron has the following composition : 
 
 Iron sesquioxide = 68-93; Iron protoxide = 28-12; Nickel protoxide = 2'00 ; 
 Cobalt protoxide = trace. Total = 99-05. 
 
 which numbers correspond to the formula Fe 2 3 , (Fe Ni) 0. 
 
 By treating the Chareas iron with mercury chloride a very small 
 quantity of silicate (?) was obtained, which was not further exam- 
 ined. The particles resembled those obtained from the Caille iron 
 in their action on polarized light. It will be remembered that in the 
 Toluca iron Gr. Eose found a few grains of what he held to be quartz. 
 
 Meunier gives the results of an analysis of the meteoric iron found 
 at Xiquipilco in 1784 : 
 
 Nickel iron 96-301 
 
 Troilite 1-482 
 
 Schreibersite 1-232 
 
 Graphite 1-176100-191 
 
 1 Mean of three determinations of the specific gravity of the meteoric sulphide. 
 
 2 Mean of five determinations of the specific gravity of pyrrhotite. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 95 
 
 The development of figures on polished surfaces of meteoric iron 
 by exposing them to heat and the action of acids, fused alkalies, or 
 saline solutions, has been studied by Meunier. When the Charcas 
 iron is heated, there are simultaneously developed on different parts 
 of the surface the varied colours exhibited successively on a plate of 
 steel by raising it to different temperatures. On examining the 
 altered iron, the author was enabled to detect the presence of a 
 small amount of the alloy termed plessite. The figures are in their 
 general characters identical with those developed by acid. When a 
 polished plate of the Charcas iron is plunged into a hot solution 
 of copper sulphate, the figures are developed with greater distinctness 
 than when acid is used, the lamella of tanite appearing red on a 
 white ground. By employing mercury chloride and varying the 
 degree of concentration and temperature of the solution, a metallic 
 surface may be made to present as many as three different phases of 
 crystalline development. With a hot concentrated solution of this 
 salt the Charcas iron exhibits the most beautiful figures. Gold and 
 platinum chloride have also been used by the author, and the former 
 salt is recommended in cases where it is desired to arrive at an im- 
 mediate knowledge of the crystalline structure of an iron. 
 
 To etch a fine section of Toluca iron, recently acquired by the 
 British Museum, water saturated with bromine was used. The 
 edge of the slab was surrounded with modelling wax ; the bro- 
 mine water was then poured on, and in a few seconds removed with 
 blotting paper. The surface was next flooded with distilled water, 
 which was removed as before. Absolute alcohol was then poured 
 over the etched surface, and this again was quickly taken away with 
 bibulous paper. The iron was then preserved face downwards for 
 some days in a dry box filled with burnt lime. The accompanying 
 plate gives a representation of a part of the surface of this beautiful 
 slab of metal. The figures will be considered when we come to 
 describe those of the Braunau iron and the crystals which occur 
 in the Cranbourne meteorite. 1 
 
 1790, July 24th. Barbotan and Roquefort, Landes, France. 8 
 
 A correspondent communicates to Nature a reference to a descrip- 
 tion of this celebrated fall of meteorites, which is to be found in 
 Gruithuisen's Naturgeschichte des gestirnten Himmels, 407. As it does 
 not appear to have been known to Buchner, it may be placed on 
 record here. 
 
 1 Kick (Pol. Notizbl. xxix. 105 ; Pol. Journ. ccxii. 40) employs for the etching of 
 artificial iron and steel a mixture of one part of hydrochloric acid and one part of 
 water, to which a little antimony chloride has heen added. Surfaces etched with 
 this liquid are less liahle to rust. Kick states that some irons and steels are quite 
 passive, but that this property may he destroyed by raising them to a red heat, 
 
 * Nature. February 1st, 1872. 
 
96 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 1803, April 26th, L'Aigle, Orne, France. 1 
 
 While at the end of the last century reports from time to time 
 obtained circulation, to the effect that stones had been seen to fall 
 from the sky, and while these reports were generally discredited as 
 fabulous, a desire had arisen among the curious to collect and preserve 
 them, and even to submit to careful study these strange mineral 
 masses, to which an atmospheric origin was attributed. It was at 
 this time that Howard and De Bournon made a careful examination 
 of the stones reputed to have fallen from the sky, which were con- 
 tained in the mineral collection of Greville ; and, after observing 
 them to possess certain characters in common, as well as others which 
 distinguished them from terrestrial matter, they were led, in the Philo- 
 sophical Transactions of 1802, to give their support to the views, then 
 regarded as purely fantastic, which Chladni had propounded in 1794 
 in his remarkable memoir Ueber den Ur sprung der von Pallas und 
 anderer ihr dhnlicher Eisenmassen. The new view had in fact found 
 little favour among scientific men, especially in France, and De Bour- 
 non and the French savant Patrin were engaged in a controversy 
 on the subject at the beginning of 1803, when the celebrated fall at 
 L'Aigle, of from two to three thousand stones, took place. The first 
 news which reached Paris was received with a smile of incredulity ; 
 the illustrious Biot, however, was deputed by the Ministre de Vln- 
 terieur to proceed to L'Aigle and institute a full inquiry, which 
 lasted many days ; and his exhaustive report, which appeared in the 
 Memoir es de la classe des Sciences math, et pJiys. de VInstitut national 
 de France, finally set the question at rest, and established the fact 
 that the stones were of cosmical origin as Chladni had supposed. 
 
 These meteorites were analysed by Thenard, who found in them 
 silica, iron oxide, magnesia, nickel, and sulphur, amounting in all to 
 108 per cent. ; and afterwards by Fourcroy and Vauquelin, who de- 
 tected the presence of the same ingredients and lime in addition, the 
 total amounting to 104 per cent. The excess of course was due to 
 the fact of the metal present as such in the meteorite being accounted 
 oxide in their calculations. 
 
 In consideration of the historical importance of this fall, it oc- 
 curred to von Baumhauer to submit the L'Aigle meteorite to analysis 
 by the new and elegant methods which he devised and employed 
 with so much success on other meteorites. His results are given 
 below. The specific gravity of the stone is 3-607, and the total 
 composition is as follows : 
 
 Nickel-iron 8-0 
 
 Iron sulphide 1-8 
 
 Chromite 0-6 
 
 Olivine 45'3 
 
 Silicate unacted upon by acid 44-3 
 
 Lime sulphate trace 
 
 100-00 
 1 E. H. yon Baumhauer. Archives Neerlandaises, 1872, vii. 154. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 97 
 
 After the removal of the nickel-iron, the treatment with acid and 
 sodium carbonate brought about a separation of the silicates, which 
 had the following composition : 
 
 Si0 2 FeO MnO A1 2 3 CaO MgO K 2 Na-jO 
 
 A. Soluble 35-16 30-39 trace 0-18 6-16 26-51 0-85 075 = 100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble ... 57'16 12 56 trace 5-19 4-08 17'91 2-02 1-07 = 99-99 
 
 The oxygen ratios of acid and bases in the soluble part 18'63 : 19'53 
 show the silicate which gelatinised with acid to be an olivine, re- 
 markable, it will be observed, for the amount of lime it contains. 
 
 Yon Baumhauer gives the formula (^ e "^ V SiO 4 as an expression 
 
 \ M o 9" ^ a T / 
 
 of its composition. In the insoluble part the oxygen ratio of acid 
 and bases is 30-28 : 14*15, and here the presence of more than five 
 per cent, of alumina points to the probable occurrence of a felspar 
 in this portion of the stone. If we assume that the iron oxide, magnesia, 
 and lime 1 are present as a bronzite, the oxygen ratios of the alumina, 
 alkalies, and residual silica, differ very little from 3:1:9, or those 
 of oligoclase, soda-lime felspar, in some varieties of which a con- 
 siderable proportion of the soda is replaced by potash. 
 
 1805, June . Constantinople. 2 
 
 Chladni relates the story, given in an Armenian work " Eghang 
 Buzankian," how stones fell with great violence on the shambles in 
 Constantinople. The descent, which took place in daytime, caused 
 great alarm ; and as the occurrence was at first attributed to the evil 
 designs of the Greeks, janizaries were posted for three days and 
 nights about the city. The sulphureous odour, however, which pre- 
 vailed at the time of the fall, as well as the black and apparently 
 burnt crust of the exhumed fragments, pointed, on further considera- 
 tion, to a meteor as their source, and all doubt respecting their 
 origin was at an end. Chladni adds, "The Turks, it seems, were 
 more open to conviction respecting the truth of the occurrence than 
 many a physicist would have been, since he would not have believed 
 it even if he had seen it with his own eyes." Evidently he had 
 not forgotten how in the hard fight at the beginning of the century 
 (see page 96) he had to encounter opposition where he looked for 
 support. 
 
 What became of these meteorites is not known. In 1832 a frag- 
 ment of what was alleged to be one of the Constantinople stones was 
 acquired by the Vienna Museum. It bore a description to that 
 effect on the authority of von Schreibers ; Partsch subsequently 
 added a note to it declaring the statement to be incorrect, and the 
 stone in question to be one of the Stannern meteorites. Still more 
 recently he appended to the above description a note asserting that 
 
 1 The bronzite of Harzburg, analysed by Streng, contains lime. 
 
 2 G. Tschermak. Mineralogische Mitthtilungen, 1872, heft ii. 85. See also 
 E. F. F. Chladni. Ueber Feuer-Meteore. Vienna: 1819. Page 278. 
 
 7 
 
98 
 
 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 the stone was genuine, and that it had been obtained many years 
 before, between 1818 and 1820, from a son of the then Austrian 
 internuncio at Constantinople. 
 
 As regards mineralogical constitution it certainly bears the closest 
 resemblance to the stones of Stannern ; it belongs to the small group 
 of eukritic meteorites consisting of anorthite, pyroxene, magnetite 
 and chromite ; the minute structure also is identical with that of the 
 Stannern stone, and the chemical composition, arrived at by Ludwig 
 as the result of two analyses, is given below side by side with that 
 of the stone which it so completely resembles. 
 
 Constantinople. Stannern. 
 
 48-30 
 12-65 
 19-32 
 0-81 
 6-87 
 11-27 
 0-62 
 0-23 
 0-54 
 trace 
 
 Silicic acid 
 
 
 
 48-59 
 
 Alumina 
 
 
 
 12-63 
 
 Iron protoxide .. 
 
 
 
 20-99 
 
 Manganese protox 
 
 de 
 
 
 , trace 
 
 Magnesia 
 
 
 
 6-16 
 
 Lime 
 
 
 
 10-39 
 
 Soda 
 
 
 
 0-46 
 
 Potash 
 
 
 
 0-16 
 
 Chromite 
 
 
 
 0-44 
 
 Troilite . 
 
 trace 
 
 99-82 ... 100-61 
 
 The accordance could not be more complete in analyses of two 
 specimens of the same meteorite. Although this fact makes the 
 identity of the two stones highly probable, it must not be forgotten 
 that the meteorite of Juvinas has the same composition as the 
 Stannem stone. Hitherto two meteorites have not been met with 
 possessing identically the same composition, structure and fine 
 texture ; and Tschermak is of opinion that it will be safer to assume 
 for the present that no fragments of the stone of Constantinople have 
 been preserved than that that fall yielded stones absolutely similar 
 in all respects to the meteorites of Stannern. 
 
 1807, December 14th, Weston, Connecticut. 1 
 
 The report drawn up by Silliman and Kingsley on the fall of 
 these large meteorites has been reproduced from the Memoirs of tlie 
 Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. All the important details 
 of this paper are to be found in Buchner's Die Meteoriten, 22. 
 
 1808, May 22nd. Stannern, Iglau, Moravia. 2 
 
 While considering the question of the possible identity of the stones 
 of Constantinople (page 97) with the above meteorites, Tschermak 
 records a few observations which he has recently made respecting 
 
 1 Amer. Jour. Sc., 1869, xlvii. 1. 
 
 2 G. Tschermak. Mineralogische Mittheilungen, 1872, heft ii. 83. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 99' 
 
 the mineralogical characters of the thirty-six specimens of the above 
 abundant aerolitic shower, preserved in the Vienna Collection. 
 
 This meteorite consists of rocky fragments of three kinds 
 cemented by granular matter. The larger portions are chiefly 
 composed of lamellse of anorthite and elongated fragments of 
 augite ; the greater part of the anorthite occurs in very broad twin- 
 Iamella3 ; the augite, which is of a brown colour, has very rarely 
 well-defined boundaries ; in some sections the augite form is recog- 
 nisable, while a cleavage parallel to the terminal face 001 is not 
 uncommon. The dark coloured, often black, parallel streaks 
 observed in the augite of the meteorites of Juvinas and Jonzac are 
 here less numerous. 
 
 The third ingredient is a sparsely disseminated colourless mineral 
 evidently crystalline, and, from the fact of its refracting light simply, 
 a mineral belonging to the isometric system ; Tschermak believes it 
 to be the colourless cubic silicate occurring in the meteorite of Sher- 
 ghotty. Magnetic pyrites, nickel-iron (the presence of which in 
 this meteorite had not been previously observed), and chromite also 
 occur in very small granules among the other minerals. The 
 cementing material, which is made up of particles of anorthite, 
 augite, and another black substance, has a looser structure than the 
 fragments, and is probably the once solid crystalline rock reduced 
 to a fine state of division. 
 
 Found 1808. Red River, Texas. 1 
 
 As Graham 2 has shown that the Lenarto meteoric iron contains 
 2'85 times its volume of occluded hydrogen, carbonic oxide and 
 nitrogen, and Mallet (see page 15) has found 3*17 times its volume of 
 hydrogen, carbonic oxide, carbonic acid and nitrogen occluded in the 
 meteoric iron of Augusta Co., Virginia, it occurred to Wright that 
 it might be possible to detect in the gas of these irons the unknown 
 gaseous elements assumed to be present in the solar corona and 
 chromosphere. The investigation was undertaken with the hope 
 that the spectroscope would reveal them, if present, although their 
 small amount or peculiar characters might render their detection by 
 ordinary chemical methods difficult or impossible. 
 
 A vacuum tube of the form ordinarily employed in spectroscopic 
 work was attached to a branch of the exhaust tube of a Sprengel 
 pump, and a preliminary examination was made of the lines exhibited 
 by this tube after simple withdrawal of the air. As PI ticker and 
 Hittorf 3 have already shown, lines of hydrogen and bands due to 
 carbon make their appearance as soon as the limit of exhaustion has 
 been attained ; the author noticed the red hydrogen line when the 
 
 1 A. W. Wright. Amer. Jour. 8c. t 1875, ix. 294. 
 
 2 T. Graham. Proc. Royal Soc., xv. 502. 
 
 3 J. Pliicker and W. Hittorf. Phil. Transactions, civ. 1. 
 
100 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 tension fell to 4 or 5 mm., and other hydrogen lines when a higher 
 degree of rarefaction was attained. Mercury lines, varying in bright- 
 ness with the temperature of the room, are also to be seen. His in- 
 vestigations were directed to an examination of the gases of the great 
 Texas meteorite, preserved in the Mineral Collection of Yale Col- 
 lege, and the meteoric irons of Tazewell Co. and Arva, Hungary 
 (which see). The iron was in very small particles chips produced 
 by the borer, and the exhaustion was proceeded with without the 
 application of heat. He noticed that the iron gave off a portion of 
 its gas at ordinary temperatures ; and when the tension was reduced to 
 4 mm., Ho and H# were bright and distinct, and Hy visible, while 
 the carbon bands were also distinctly seen. When a gentle heat was 
 applied, the tube, which had hitherto presented the appearance of an 
 ordinary hydrogen tube, underwent a change ; the light in the broad 
 portion became a straight, hazy stream, of a dull greenish-white 
 colour, similar to that observed in a tube containing either of the 
 oxides of carbon. When the tube containing the metal was raised 
 to low redness, only a small quantity of gas was given off. Wright 
 did not measure the amount of gas removed by the pump, but has 
 calculated this quantity from an observation of the degree to which 
 1 cc. of the gas lowered the guage of the instrument. He finds in 
 this way the mixed gases extracted to have occupied 4-75 times the 
 volume of the metal. While this exceeds the quantity which Graham 
 and Mallet noticed in their investigations, the author believes that 
 the whole amount was by no means exhausted, and ascribes the excess 
 to the fact of the metal which he used having been in a fine state of 
 division. 
 
 Found 1810. BraMn, Minsk, Russia. 1 
 
 Two large meteoric masses were found at Brahin in the early part 
 of this century ; the dates of their discovery are variously given as 
 1810 and 1820, and they were first described in 1822. They bear 
 the closest analogy to "the Pallas iron " in structure, and with it 
 belong to the small class of siderolites. The Brahin iron was very 
 imperfectly examined by Laugier in 1823, who confined his analysis 
 to that of the iron. Since that time it has not been investigated 
 except in one respect by Eose, who a few years ago noticed that the 
 olivine was traversed by canals, as the Krasnoyarsk olivine is (see 
 page 87, note). Rammelsberg, who has recently examined this 
 siderolite, finds the metallic portion to consist of : 
 
 Iron = 88-96; Nickel and Cobalt = 11-04. Total = 100. 
 
 During half a century which has elapsed since Laugier's time, 
 new and refined methods of analysis have been devised, and Ram- 
 melsberg now finds a per-centage of nickel and cobalt more than four 
 times as great as that given by the original observer. The per-centage 
 
 1 C. Rammelsberg. Monatsber. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, 1870, Ixx. 440. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 101 
 
 is close to that found by Berzelius in the metallic portion of the 
 Krasnojarsk siderolite (11 '19 per cent.) ; so that they have a compo- 
 sition closely according with the formula Ni Fe 8 . 
 
 The olivine, now analysed for the first time, has the composition : 
 
 Silicic acid 37*58 
 
 Iron (manganese) protoxide 18-85 
 
 Magnesia 43-32 
 
 99-75 
 
 These numbers, contrary to expectation, do not agree with those 
 resulting from the analysis of the Pallas olivine ; above we have Fe 
 and Mg in the ratio 1:4; in the Pallas olivine about 1:8. It is not a 
 little remarkable, however, that the Brahin olivine has the same com- 
 position as that of the Atacama siderolite analysed by Schmid, the 
 iron whereof has been shown by Bunsen to contain nickel= 10*25, 
 and cobalt = 0*70 (see page 23, note). 
 
 1812, August 5th. Chantonnay, Dep. de la Vendee, France. 1 
 
 This stone, which is included in the class of chondritic meteorites, 
 was originally examined by Berzelius. Von Eeichenbach some 
 few years since, after inspection of the stone, arrived at the conclusion 
 that the meteorite which reached the hands of the great Swedish 
 chemist was not that of Chantonnay, but a specimen of another fall. 
 To clear this point of doubt Eammelsberg determined to examine 
 some fragments obtained from Shepard, and answering in all physical 
 respects to the description given in Partsch's Catalogue ; and he 
 obtained results which agree in every way with the original numbers 
 given in Berzelius' paper. Kammelsberg finds the Chantonnay stone 
 to consist of: 
 
 Nickel-iron ............... 7-89 
 
 Iron sulphide ............ 6-16 
 
 Olivine .................. 42-13 ' 
 
 Bronzite ............... 40*64 
 
 Chromite ............ ,.. 0-97 
 
 97-79 
 The nickel-iron contains : 
 
 Iron = 85-3; Nickel = 14-7. Total = 100. 
 
 and the portions separated with acid and alkaline carbonates con- 
 sist of: 
 
 Si0 3 A1 2 3 FeO MnO MgO CaO K 2 OandNa 2 
 
 A. Soluble ...... 37-33 23-74 38-93 100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble ...... 53-27 6-22 11-50 0-66 22-08 3-47 2-80 = 100-00 
 
 The olivine of the soluble portion has the formula j 3 ^ 2 S g^ J, while 
 
 1 C. Rammelsberg. Zeit. Deut. Geol. GeselL, 1870, ixii. 889. G. Tschermak 
 Sitzber. Ak. Wisa. Wien, 1874, lix. 459. 
 
102 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 for the constitution of tlie bronzite of the insoluble portion, where 
 Fe : Mg(Ca) =1:4, Rammelsberg gives the expression [ 15 A ^ ^ 3 |. 
 
 If the oxygen ratios of the ingredients found by Berzelius be 
 examined/ it will be found that the oxygen of the silica in the in- 
 soluble portion is in excess, while in the soluble portion it is insuf- 
 ficient to satisfy that of the bases, a result probably arising from 
 an imperfect removal of the gelatinised silicic acid with alkaline 
 carbonate. On subtracting from the former amount that which is 
 wanting in the latter, there remains in the insoluble part, over and 
 above that required by the oxides of iron, manganese, nickel, and 
 magnesium to form bronzite, the quantity written below side by 
 side with the oxygen of the remaining bases : 
 
 Silicic acid = 5- 62; alumina = 2- 81 ; lime = 0'88 ) 
 
 soda =0-26 [ =M2 
 potash = 0-08 ) 
 
 These numbers agree even more closely than might have been 
 expected with the oxygen ratios of labradorite. 
 
 In the winter of 1874 Tschermak published a paper on the structure 
 of the meteorites of Orvinio (see page 60) and Chantonnay, which 
 appear to have many characters in common. Sections of the latter 
 stone, three drawings of which are given in his paper, show it to be 
 made up of chondritic fragments, covered with a dark-coloured crust, 
 and cemented together with a black and in places semi-vitreous 
 material. The fragments are not very abundantly provided with 
 spherules, although large ones are here and there met with. It 
 differs from the chondrite of the Orvinio meteorite in containing less 
 iron ; a section shows olivine, bronzite, a finely fibrous translucent 
 mineral, as well as nickel-iron and magnetic pyrites ; the presence 
 of chrornite was not recognized. Fine black veins of a mineral 
 traverse the fragments here and there, and are connected with the 
 cementing material. Similar veins are noticed in the meteorites of 
 Lissa, Kakowa, Chateau Eenard, Alessandria, and Pultusk ; and in 
 the Lissa and Kakowa stones they present the appearance as if the 
 meteorite had originally come in contact with a molten material 
 which had been injected into the clefts on its surface. Eeichenbach 
 was of opinion that the black veins were directly and intimately con- 
 nected with the fused surface; his view, however, is open to 
 question, from the fact that the interior of a meteorite has usually a 
 low temperature when it reaches the earth's surface. Moreover, in 
 the case of the Chantonnay stone, clefts are to be met with into 
 which the black matter of the crust has penetrated to a depth of 6 
 mm. only, although the cleft remains partly open. The black semi- 
 vitreous magma consists of an entirely opaque mass, enclosing flakes 
 of the silicate, which forms the fragments, as well as occasional 
 spherules. 
 
 Although Eammelsberg, in his paper, does not minutely describe 
 the physical characters of the material he operated on, and did not 
 
 1 J. J. Berzelius. Pogg. Ann., xxxiii. 28. 
 
HISTORY Of METEORITES. 103 
 
 separately examine the fragments and the cementing material, as 
 Tschermak has done in his examination of the Orvinio meteorite, to 
 find that the two constituents have much the same composition, 
 Tschermak points out that the two meteorites have a very similar 
 constitution, differing mainly in the proportion of iron. The 
 characters observed in these two meteorites point to the conclusion 
 that they did not originally possess their present constitution, but 
 that to the disintegration of a solid rock-mass and its subsequent 
 cementation with a semi- vitreous magma their present appearance 
 is due. Although they resemble somewhat the eruptive breccias, 
 they differ from them in that the meteoric cementing material is less 
 homogeneous, and encloses fine flakes of the rock itself. The Chan- 
 tonnay stone possesses the fine texture observed in some metamor- 
 phosed breccias. The two stones convey to us evidence of changes 
 which must have occurred on the solid surface of some planet that 
 was subsequently reduced to fragments. 
 
 1813, September 10th. Adare, etc., Co. Limerick, Ireland. 1 
 
 This meteorite, originally investigated by J. Apjohn, 2 has been ex- 
 amined by K. Apjohn, who finds that it contains a trace of vana- 
 dium. The date which he assigns to the fall of this stone, 1810, 
 appears to be that of another Irish meteorite, which fell at Moores- 
 fort, Tipperary in that year. 
 
 The mineralogical composition of the stone is stated to be : 
 
 Nickel-iron 19-07 
 
 Chromite 1-75 
 
 Magnetic pyrites 6-54 
 
 Soluble silicate 35*44 
 
 Insoluble silicate 37*07 
 
 99-87 
 The nickel-iron has the composition : 
 
 Iron = 85-120 ; Nickel = 14-275 ; Cobalt = 0'602 ; Phosphorus = Trace ; =99-997 
 and the result of the treatment with acid : 
 
 Si0 2 ALjOa FeO MnO CaO MgO Na 2 K 2 P 3 5 
 
 A. Soluble 42-91 2-35 16-93 6'26 5'34 24-32 0-29 0-02 = 98-42 
 
 B. Insoluble ... 59-48 3-24 7'94 8 '84 4-62 13-17 1'86 0-30 trace = 99-45 
 
 The oxygen ratios of the constituents of both soluble and insoluble 
 portions are : 
 
 Si0 2 Total bases. Si0 2 Total bases. 
 
 Soluble 22-88 ... 17'58 Insoluble 3172 ... 12-38 
 
 The silica, it will be seen, is in excess of that required to form 
 olivine in the former portion, and bronzite or augite, or a mixture of 
 those minerals, in the latter. The presence of alumina in each 
 part points to the presence of a felspar which, as a consequence of the 
 
 1 R. Apjohn. Jour. Chem. Soc. [2], xii. 104. 
 
 2 J. Apjohn. Trans. Irish Acad., xviii. 17. 
 
104 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 very small amount of alkalies found in the soluble part, we must 
 assume to be present as anorthite. The lime being in excess of that 
 required to form with the alumina this variety of felspar, we are 
 compelled to assume that a portion of the lime is present as an 
 ingredient of the olivine. The large portion of manganese oxide 
 found by Apjohn in each portion is noteworthy, it being in consider- 
 able excess of that hitherto found in any meteoric silicate : one 
 variety of terrestrial olivine, fayalite, contains as much as five per 
 cent, of manganese oxide. As regards the insoluble portion the 
 oxygen ratios of the alumina and the total alkalies is very nearly that 
 of labradorite. After deducting from the oxygen of the silica of 
 this portion that of the acid required to form this felspar, there still 
 remains a large excess beyond what is requisite for the bases to form 
 bronzite and augite. While it is not impossible, although scarcely 
 probable, that the insoluble part contains free silica in the form of 
 asmanite, the fact of an excess occurring in each case leads to the 
 assumption that through the unusually large amount of material 
 employed for analysis (10 grammes) the removal of the gelatinised 
 silica in the first case and the decomposition of the silicate in the 
 second were incomplete. 
 
 The chromium oxide present as chromite is not given in any of 
 the special analyses. The iron sulphide is probably present as 
 troilite (iron monosulphide), since, according to the earlier analysis, 
 the greater part of the sulphur is in the part which is not attracted 
 by the magnet. There the ratio is given as Fe = 3*92, S = 2-04 ; 
 the per-centages of troilite, making the sulphur the basis for the 
 calculation, would be Fe = 3-57, S = 2-04; and for magnetic 
 pyrites Fe = 3-12, S = 2-04. 
 
 In an obliging letter received from the author he informs me that 
 the amount of vanadium present was too small to allow of a quanti- 
 tative estimation being made. He believes it to be about one-half of 
 that which is met with in the trap-rocks of Ireland and Italy, which 
 were recently examined by him. He is inclined to the belief that 
 the vanadium is present as an oxide associated with the chromite, 
 "for we know vanadium occurs in terrestrial chrome iron in com- 
 paratively large quantities." 1 
 
 Found 1814. Lenarto, near Bartfeld, Saros, Hungary. 2 
 
 Boussingault, who some time since found nitrogen in this iron, has 
 recently examined it with the view of determining whether it con- 
 tains carbon in a state of combination with the metal. His analysis, 
 
 1 A. A. Hayes, in a paper read before a meeting of the Amer. Acad. Sc., held at 
 Boston in January, 1875, states that he has detected vanadium in many rocks usually 
 associated with compounds containing phosphorus and manganese. A tabulated list 
 of the rocks is to be given in a later paper. He also found vanadium in the water 
 of a well at Brookline, near Boston. 
 
 2 J. Boussingault. Compt. rend. Ixxiv. 1287. Ann. Chim. et Phys. xxviii. 124. 
 Chemical News, No. 688, 59. M. Salet, Revue Scientifique, 1872, March 9th. The 
 Academy, iii. 113. 
 
HISTORY -OF METEORITES. 105 
 
 given below, did not detect the presence of that element in any form. 
 Iron = 91-50; Nickel=8-58; Insol. Residue = 0-30 ; Copper=trace. Total = 100-38. 
 It was in this meteoric iron, it will be remembered, that Graham 
 made the interesting discovery of the presence of hydrogen condensed 
 (occluded) in the substance of the metal. The gas obtained from this 
 iron has been examined spectroscopically by Salet, who communi- 
 cated his results to the Societe chimique de Paris on the 1st March, 
 1872. His researches on the polar aurorae had led him to seek for 
 the yellowish-green ray (X=557), but he found only those due to 
 the presence of hydrogen and an oxide of carbon. It must be as- 
 sumed then that the carbon present in the iron, and which must be 
 very small in quantity, exists there not as carbide of iron, but as oc- 
 cluded carbonic oxide. 
 
 Found 1818. Cambria, near Lockport, Niagara Co., State of 
 New York. 1 
 
 This iron has been examined by Eammelsberg, who dissolved the 
 metal in bromine ; he found it to have the following composition : 
 
 Iron = 88-76; Nickel = 10-65 ; Cobalt = 0'08; Copper = 0'04; Iron Sulphide = 0-4 7. 
 Total = 100-00. 
 
 The per-centage of nickel (and cobalt) is nearly double that given 
 in the earlier analysis of Silliman and Hunt. 
 
 Found 1826. Groslee, Tep. de 1' Isere, France. 8 
 
 De Beaumont has recently described a ' tubercule ' of native iron 
 which was found, as far back as 1826, in the white Jurassic chalk of 
 the stone quarries of Groslee, on the banks of the Khone, between 
 Cordon and Quirieu. It was submitted to Moissenet for examina- 
 tion, and he failed to determine in it the presence of either nickel or 
 cobalt. 
 
 Found 1828. La Caille, near Grasse, Alpes-Maritimes (formerly 
 Dep. du Var), France. 8 
 
 Meunier has submitted the Caille iron to an exhaustive examination. 
 He finds, when etched, that it presents much the same appearances 
 
 1 C. Eammelsberg. Monatsber. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, 1870, Ixx. 440. 
 
 2 E'. de Beaumont. Compt. rend. 1871, Ixxii. 187. L. Moissenet. Compt. rend. 
 1871, Ixxiii. 761. 
 
 3 S. Meunier. These presentee a la Faculte des Sciences de Paris, 1869. Recherches 
 tur la composition et la structure des Meteorites, 29, et seg. La Nature, i. 292. 
 J. Boussingault. Compt. rend. kxiv. 1287. Ann. Chim. et Phys. xxviii. 124. 
 
106 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 as he noticed in the Charcas iron (see page 95) ; it consists of kama- 
 cite (chamasite; E. S.Dana's " Second Appendix to Dana's System of 
 Mineralogy," 11) and tiinite in much the same proportions. The 
 tanite has a specific gravity of 7-380 (von Eeichenbach in another 
 meteoric iron found the number 7428) and the composition : 
 
 Iron = 85-0; Nickel (cobalt) = 14-0. Total = 99-0. 
 Iron = 85-0; Nickel (cobalt) = 15-0. Total = 100-0. 
 
 numbers which indicate the formula Fe 6 Ni. 
 
 The kamacite has the specific gravity 7-652, and consists of : 
 
 Iron = 91-9 ; Nickel = 7'0. Total = 98-9. 
 
 which is an alloy of the formula Fe 14 Ni. The entire iron appears to 
 contain about 80 per cent, of the latter alloy, and Meunier's numbers 
 correspond very closely with those obtained by Bivot, who analysed 
 the metal in the bulk. 
 
 The graphite of this iron, found in the residue after treating the 
 metal with hydrochloric acid, has a density of 1'715, and the compo- 
 sition : 
 
 Carbon = 97'3; Iron = 2-4; Nickel = trace. Total = 997. 
 
 The troilite of the Caille iron, after treatment with acid, left a small 
 amount of siliceous residue, which was precisely similar in its physical 
 characters to that found in the Charcas meteorite (see page 94). By 
 the action of heat and oxidizing agents figures were developed which 
 likewise bore the closest resemblance to those developed on the 
 Charcas iron. The accompanying woodcut gives a representation of 
 a block of this iron (actual size) which is in the Paris Collection. 
 It shows the Widmannstattian figures, developed by etching with 
 hydrochloric acid, and the reniform hollows which have been filled 
 with troilite. 
 
 In an examination of this iron, undertaken with the view of deter- 
 mining the presence of combined carbon, Boussingault found it to be 
 composed of: I. II. 
 
 Iron 89-53 89*73 
 
 Nickel 9-76 9-90 
 
 Carbon combined 0-12 0-12 
 
 Insoluble portion 0'59 0-25 
 
 Sulphur trace trace 
 
 100-00 100-00 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 107 
 
 1828, June 4th. Eichmond, Chesterfield Co., Virginia. 1 
 
 This meteorite, the chemical characters of which were studied by 
 Shepard, the physical by G. Kose, has recently been found by 
 Rainrnelsberg to have the following composition : 
 
 Nickel-iron 8-22 
 
 Iron Sulphide 4*37 
 
 Olivine 4573 
 
 Undecomposed silicate 41-68 
 
 100-00 
 
 The silicates having been separated by treatment with acid and 
 sodium carbonate were found on analysis to have the composition 
 given below : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO MgO CaO 
 
 A. Soluble. 39-40 18-21 41-69 0-80 = lOO'OO 
 
 B. Insoluble. 53'74 5-32 13-17 22-23 5'54 = 100-00 
 
 In the soluble portion the ratio of Fe to Mg is 1 : 4, which shows 
 it to be an olivine identical in composition with that variety of this 
 mineral which has been met with in the siderolites of Brahin and 
 Atacama. The insoluble portion, according to Rammelsberg, is either 
 a bronzite containing lime, or a mixture of that mineral with diopside. 
 
 Shepard had found this meteorite to be composed of 6 per cent, of 
 nickel-iron, with some magnetic pyrites, and 90 per cent, of olivine, 
 the residue being howardite and lime phosphate. 
 
 1835, July 31st, or August 1st. Charlotte, Dickson Co., Tennessee. 2 
 
 The iron, which is found disseminated in small particles through- 
 out the mass of many meteoric stones, represents in miniature the 
 huge blocks of meteoric iron that from time to time have been met 
 with on many parts of the earth's surface, the record of the fall of 
 which is unknown, their descent having probably taken place at an 
 epoch long anterior to that of their discovery. While the stones 
 enclosing iron have not unfrequently been seen to fall, the descent of 
 purely metallic masses has been rarely witnessed. At present we 
 know of only the following few authentic cases : Agram (1751) ; 
 Braunau (1847) ; Victoria West, S. Africa (1862) ; and Nidigullam, 
 Madras (1870). To these few instances is to be added the one head- 
 ing this notice, of which a brief account was published by Troost, 
 of Nashville, in 1845. 3 The Tennessee iron fell from a cloudless 
 sky, near several persons who were working in the fields. A horse 
 which was harnessed to a plough close by took fright, and ran 
 round the field, dragging the plough with it. 
 
 The iron has remained in the Troost Collection up to the present 
 
 1 C. Rammelsberg. Monatsber. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, 1870, Ixx. 440. 
 
 2 J. L. Smith. Compt. rend., 1875, kxxi. 84. 
 
 3 G. Troost. Amer. Jour. Sc., xlix. 336. 
 
108 
 
 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 time, when it passed into the hands of Dr. Lawrence Smith. It is 
 a reniforrn mass, and has a bright surface like that of soft cast- 
 iron. When etched it exhibits Widmannstattian figures in great 
 perfection, and the author states that in this respect he is acquainted 
 with only three or four irons which rival it. An illustration ac- 
 companying his paper, closely resembling the one given by Troost, 
 is a representation of the outer surface, magnified ; this is elaborately 
 reticulated, edges of thin laminae of metal, inclined at angles of 60, 
 traversing the surface, the edges being separated from each other by 
 an apparently semi-fused slag-like material. The specific gravity of 
 the iron is 7*717, and its composition : 
 
 Iron = 9M5; Nickel = 8-0 1 ; Cobalt = 0'72; Copper=0'06. Total = 99-94. 
 
 Sulphur is not present, and of phosphorus only a trace was 
 recognized ; and the author states that he has never before met with 
 so small a proportion of this element in a meteoric iron. The gas, 
 extracted from this iron by A. W. Wright, who has recently examined 
 the occluded gases of the irons of Texas, Arva, and Tazewell Co., 
 as well as that of the meteorite of West Liberty, Iowa (which see), 
 has nearly twice the volume of the metal operated upon, although 
 this is probably a portion only of that actually present. It is com- 
 posed of : 
 Hydrogen = 71-04; Carbonic oxide = 15-03 ; Carbonic acid = 13'03. Total = 100-00. 
 
 A question of no slight interest in regard to the changes which 
 meteoric irons undergo during their passage through the atmosphere 
 is whether their surface becomes fused. From his study of the 
 Tennessee meteorite, Dr. Smith has decided it in the negative. The 
 fact of the delicate reticulated surface having been preserved is a 
 proof that the heat, instead of having been raised to a high tempera- 
 ture on the surface, has quickly been conducted away into the mass 
 of the metal. Had fusion of the superficial layer taken place, the 
 meteorite would have been coated with molten oxide. 
 
 The author finds in this fact a confirmation of his theory that the 
 Ovifak masses are not of meteoric origin. 
 
 1838, July 22nd. Montlivault, Dep. Loir-et-Cher, France. 1 
 
 Daubree gives a brief description of this meteorite, which has 
 recently been acquired for the Paris Collection. It has been pre- 
 served almost entire, and is roughly shaped like a three-sided 
 pyramid. It is finely granular, has a white colour, and weighs 510 
 grammes. The ground-mass of the stone, consisting apparently of 
 an intimate mixture of olivine with an augitic mineral, encloses small 
 grains of nickel-iron and magnetic pyrites. The meteorite belongs to 
 the group, now a large one, of meteorites to which the name luceite 
 has been given. 
 
 i G. A. Daubree. Oompt. rend. 1873, Ixxvi. 314. Der Naturforscher, 1873, 26th 
 April. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 109 
 
 1840. Szlanicza, Arva, Hungary. 1 
 
 For his investigation by means of the spectroscope of the gases 
 occluded by meteoric iron, Wright examined those from the Red River, 
 Texas, and Tazewell Co., Tennessee (which see). 
 
 The amount of carbon present in the former iron was found on 
 chemical examination to be very small ; in the latter none was 
 detected. A series of experiments were therefore made with the 
 above iron, which according to Lowe 2 contains a larger amount of 
 carbon. While it was an easy task to remove fragments of the above- 
 mentioned irons, great difficulties were experienced in the present case, 
 the metal having nearly the hardness of steel. When the tube contain- 
 ing fragments of this iron was exhausted, and before heat was applied 
 to it, the spectroscope indicated the presence in the " vacuum-tube " 
 of both hydrogen and carbon gases ; the lines of the former element 
 were very brilliant, and the first, second, and third bands of the latter, 
 counting from the red end, were visible. The application of a heat 
 hardly sufficient to pain the hand caused an entire change in the ap- 
 pearance of the vacuum-tube ; the broad part took a greenish hue, while 
 in the spectroscope the carbon bands shone quite brightly. When 
 the heat was raised to a temperature considerably short of redness, 
 the only change noticed in the spectrum was a greater intensity of 
 the carbon bands ; the gas collected at this stage of the operation was 
 found on analysis to consist of hydrogen, carbonic oxide, and carbonic 
 acid, the latter amounting to three or four per cent. 
 
 In some experiments on artificial soft iron the author obtained a 
 spectrum in every way similar to that of the meteoric metals ; the 
 hydrogen lines, however, did not appear so early, nor were they so 
 bright as in the latter instances. 
 
 The iron of this meteorite, which by its great hardness was 
 separated in the state of fine powder, yielded, when heated at dif- 
 ferent temperatures up to low redness, 44 times its volume of gas. 
 While it seems not improbable that some portion of what has been 
 regarded as occluded gas may have been air, the yield is so unusually 
 large that it suggests the question, May not the more perfect removal 
 of the gas from the iron be due to the fine state of division of the metal 
 operated upon ? In the case of the Texas and Tazewell Co. irons, 
 where the yield of gas exceeded that obtained from the Lenarto and 
 Augusta Co. irons, the metal was in very small pieces, which would 
 favour a more rapid and complete evolution of the gas ; in the last- 
 mentioned instances they were en bloc. That iron may under certain 
 conditions, as when deposited by electrolysis, take up nearly two 
 hundred and fifty times its volume, has been shown by the recent re- 
 searches of Cailletet. 3 An observation recently made has a bearing 
 on this question. While analysing a specimen of silver amalgam, I 
 endeavoured to remove the mercury from a weighed fragment of the 
 mineral by heating the specimen in a hard glass tube, during more than 
 
 1 A. W. Wright. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1875, ix. 294. 
 8 A. Lowe. Amer. Jour. Sc., [2], viii. 439. 
 3 L. Cailletet. L'lnstitut, Nouv. Set. iii. 44. 
 
110 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 five minutes in the flame of the table blowpipe. The silver imme- 
 diately fused and remained during that time in a molten state. When 
 cold, the globule of metal was flattened into a plate, and having cut 
 it into strips, and subjected it to a second heating, I succeeded in re- 
 moving a considerable part of a per cent, of mercury from it. 
 
 Wright's researches on the gases of meteoric irons have shown a 
 varying character in the oxygen and nitrogen lines when in the 
 presence of hydrogen, and the near coincidence of two of them with 
 prominent lines in the corona, with the possible coincidence of a 
 third line, which appears to indicate that the characteristic lines in 
 the coronal spectrum are due, not so much to the presence of otherwise 
 unknown elements, as to hydrogen, and the atmospheric gases oxygen 
 and nitrogen. 
 
 The observations were made with a spectroscope of six prisms 
 with a repeating prism, giving a dispersion of twelve in all. 
 
 Found 1840. Hemalga, Desert of Tarapaca, Chili. 1 
 
 Greg, 2 and Heddle as well, found cavities in certain portions of 
 this iron, some of the size of a pea, which are filled with metallic 
 lead ; this is the only instance where that element has been met with 
 in a meteorite. Dr. Lawrence Smith has recently examined several 
 specimens cut from the original mass, and is of opinion that the lead 
 is altogether foreign to the iron, being doubtless derived from 
 material with which the block was treated by the original discoverers 
 for the purpose of extracting some noble metal from it. The lead, 
 he finds, occurs only in cavities near the surface of the mass, which 
 have channels of more or less size leading to the surface. In pieces 
 of the iron detached from the interior of the block and free from 
 fissures no lead could be discovered. 
 
 1842, June 4th. Aumieres, Dep. de la Lozere, France. 3 
 
 In an interesting series of papers on the study of rocks, especially 
 as regards the analogies in point of structure and mineral composition 
 which are to be traced between the terrestrial rocks and those met 
 with in meteorites, Meunier has adopted the following classification 
 for the latter series : 1. Normal ; 2. Brecciated ; 3. Metamorphic ; 
 4. Eruptive; 5. Kocks traversed with veins (filonniennes concre- 
 tionnees) ; and 6. Volcanic. 4 The iron of Deesa (which see) he 
 regards as an example of an eruptive meteorite, the stone of Chanton- 
 nay represents the class with veins entirely rocky. The veins of cosmi- 
 cal rocks show as many varieties as terrestrial rocks. The upheaval of 
 
 1 J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. 8c., 1870, xlix. 331. 
 
 2 E. P. Greg. Phil. Mag. [4], x. 12. Amer. Jour. Sc. y xxiii. 118. 
 
 3 S. Meunier. Les Pierres qui tombent du Ciel. La Nature, 1873, i. 403. 
 * This classification is, it is to be presumed, merely tentative. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 rocks on our globe presupposes the existence of faults, that is to say, 
 of vents which establish a communication between the earth's interior 
 and the atmosphere. Faults are recognized by the throws which the 
 rocks constituting their two sides have undergone ; these rocks, 
 although preserving their continuity, are shifted vertically in masses 
 that may be very considerable. The more the surface of these faults 
 shows traces of violent friction, the more they become polished, 
 channelled, or striated. In the same way meteorites in a number of 
 cases exhibit true faults, with throws and polished surfaces. In the 
 meteorite of Aumieres, of which a representation is given below, 
 one fault is seen to cut another again to which it gives a downthrow 
 of several centimetres. 1 
 
 The stone of Aumieres consists of a grey rock, like that forming 
 the meteorite of Aumale (1865, August 25th), which possesses the 
 remarkable property of turning black when heated. By the friction 
 of such surfaces and the consequent development of heat the adjacent 
 surfaces undergo a true metamorphism, and the grey face as a con- 
 sequence becomes black. The faults in such cases have the form 
 of black lines which have very much the appearance they would 
 present if traced with a pen. On comparing different fragments it 
 becomes evident that where the throw and as a consequence the 
 
 1 The second fault is described in Meunier's paper as being above on the left-hand 
 side of the figure in a position nearly horizontal, and continued below on the right 
 parallel to the first direction, being thrown down more than five cm. by the great 
 oblique fault. It seems, however, that his description is taken from the block and 
 not the engraving, which by his kind permission I have reproduced ; and that the two 
 faults respectively referred to are : one of those on the top towards the right, the 
 other that which appears to connect the two great perpendicular veins. 
 
112 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 mechanical effect have been considerable, the black lines have a more 
 marked character. The thickness indicates the degree of dynamic 
 energy to which the stone has been subjected, and the grey rock 
 of Aumale and Aumieres is in fact an extremely sensitive thermo- 
 meter of a kind that may render great service in the study of the 
 conditions to which meteorites may have been exposed. 
 
 1843, June 29th. Manegaum, near Eidulabad, Khandeish, India. 1 
 
 The conspicuous ingredient in this stone is a pale yellow-green, or 
 primrose-coloured mineral, with a tint similar to that of a very pale 
 peridot or chrysolite, occurring in crystalline grains, and cemented 
 together with a white opaque silicate. Under the microscope the green 
 granules are seen to be tolerably symmetrical crystals, varying in 
 size from a small pin's head to microscopic dust ; they were found on 
 analysis to be a highly ferriferous enstatite or bronzite. They 
 crystallise in the prismatic system, and yield the following results 
 on measurement, which accord closely with the numbers obtained by 
 von Lang when examining the enstatite of the Breitenbach siderolite : 
 
 Breitenbach enstatite. 
 
 100, 110 = About 46 45 52' 
 
 100,101 = 49 4' 48 49' 
 
 110,110 = About 88 88 16' 
 
 110, 101 = 58 39 58 24' 
 
 The specific gravity of the mineral is 3-198, the hardness 5-6, and 
 the chemical composition : 
 
 Oxygen. 
 
 Silicic acid 55-699 29706 
 
 Magnesia 22-799 9-119) 
 
 Iron protoxide 20-541 4-564 J 14-059 
 
 Lime 1-316 0-376 
 
 100-355 
 
 These numbers agree very closely with those required by the 
 formula (f Mg \ Fe) Si0 3 , and show the mineral to be twice as rich 
 in iron as the bronzite of the Breitenbach siderolite, where that 
 silicate occurs in association with abundance of nickel-iron. A 
 portion of the meteorite was analysed in its entirety with the follow- 
 ing results : 
 
 Oxygen. 
 Silicic acid ..... 63-629 28-602 
 
 Magnesia 
 Iron protoxide. 
 Lime 
 Chromite 
 
 23-320 9-328) 
 
 20-476 4-550 J 14-305 
 
 1-495 0-427) 
 
 1-029 
 
 99-949 
 
 1 N. Story-Maskelyne. Philosophical Transactions, 1870, clx. 189. Proc. Royal 
 Soc., xviii. 146. For an earlier notice see Phil. Mag., 1863, xxv. 39, and Journ. Asiat. 
 Soc. Bengal, xiii. 880. (The date formerly assigned to the fall of this meteorite, viz. 
 the 16th July, has been shown by General Cunningham to be erroneous.) See also 
 C. Rammelsberg. Die Chemieche Natur der Meteoriten. Abhandlungen ATc. Wiss. 
 Berlin, 1870, 120. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 113 
 
 These per-centages differ in so small a degree from those yielded 
 by the analysis of the picked crystals, that we arrive at the con- 
 clusion that both ingredients have the same composition, and find in 
 the Manegaum stone an instance of a meteoric rock consisting of a 
 single silicate. The Ibbenbiihren meteorite (1870, June 17th) has 
 since been shown by Vom Kath (see page 18) to be similarly con- 
 stituted. A very minute amount of meteoric iron, far too small for 
 isolation and analysis, occurs in the Manegaum stone. 1 
 
 Found 1846. Tula, Netschaevo, Russia. 2 
 
 This remarkable mass of iron, which encloses a number of angular 
 fragments of rocky material and resembles a true breccia, was stated 
 by Auerbach to contain but little nickel. Kammelsberg now finds as 
 the result of two analyses, conducted according to different methods, 
 that the per-centage of this metal (and cobalt) is 10-24 and 9*84, or 
 about four times the amount detected by the earlier observer. 
 
 1847, February 25th. Hartford, Linn Co., Iowa. 3 
 
 This meteorite was originally examined by Shepard (Eeport on 
 American Meteorites, 1848, page 37), who states that it consists of 
 83 per cent, of a silicate to which he gives the name of ' howardite ' 
 (an iron-magnesium silicate with the oxygen ratio of EO : Si0 2 1 : 
 3-3), about 10 per cent, of nickel-iron and 5 per cent, of magnetic 
 pyrites. Shepard moreover asserts in his paper that this extremely 
 acid silicate fuses easily before the blowpipe, and gelatinises with 
 warm dilute acid. Not a little astonished that a silicate of this form 
 should possess such properties, Kammelsberg undertook an examin- 
 ation of this meteorite, which he finds to possess the following 
 composition : 
 
 Nickel-iron ...... 10-54 
 
 Troilite ......... 6-37 
 
 Soluble silicate ...... 41-85 
 
 Insoluble silicate ... 41-24 
 
 100-00 
 The nickel-iron alloy consists of 
 
 Iron= 89-75; nickel = 10-25; Total= 100-00. 
 
 and the composition of the two portions of silicate separated by the 
 action of acid and sodium carbonate was as follows : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO MgO CaO Na 2 
 
 A. Soluble ...38-80 21-31 39-89 = lOO'OO 
 
 B. Insoluble ..55-08 4-86 13-58 22-70 2-85 0-93 trace = 100-00 
 
 1 This meteorite is stated to have been comparatively plastic at the time of its fall 
 and to have subsequently become harder and more compact. 
 
 2 C. Rammelsberg. Monatsber. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, 1870, Ixx. 444. 
 
 3 C. Rammelsberg. Monatsber. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, 1870, kx. 457. 
 
 8 
 
114 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 The oxygen per-centages of A clearly indicate the presence of an 
 olivine in which the ratio of Mg : Fe is 3 : 1, or the same as that of 
 the variety of this silicate which occurs in the Hainholz siderolite. 
 The insoluble portion, about equal in amount to the above, appears 
 to consist of a bronzite (or bronzite mixed with a little augite), in 
 which Mg : Fe : Ca is as 12 : 4 : 1 ; the ratio of iron to magnesium in 
 the two minerals forming the chief ingredients of this meteorite is 
 therefore the same. It is not improbable that the alumina, lime, 
 and soda of the insoluble portion may be present in the form of 
 oligoclase. Eammelsberg's results differ altogether from those 
 given by Shepard, and indicate the presence in this stone of those 
 minerals only which are frequently met with in meteorites. 
 Howardite ' has not been identified as a mineral species in any rock, 
 terrestrial or meteoric. 
 
 1847, July 14th. Braunau, (Hauptmannsdorf and Ziegelschlag) 
 
 Bohemia. 1 
 
 In a memoir on the crystalline characters of iron, and especially 
 those of meteoric iron, Tschermak describes the structure of the speci- 
 mens of Braunau iron preserved in the Vienna Collection. One piece 
 exhibits the cleavage planes of the cube, as well as other smaller 
 faces on the edges and corners of the cube ; the angles which these 
 faces form with those of the cube are 70 and 48, corresponding 
 evidently with those enclosed between the faces of the triakis- 
 octahedron (221) and the cubic faces, viz. 70 31' and 48 11'. 
 Faces were noticed in the following positions : 
 221, 212, 122, 221, 212, 221 
 
 other six directions, although present, could not be traced on the 
 specimen which the author examined. Occasionally solid angles or 
 corners are protruded from the cleavage planes with faces at right 
 angles to each other and corresponding, as regards their position to 
 the cube, with the directions (221). Little step-like markings, such 
 as are seen on artificial iron, and fine lines, evidently sections of thin 
 plates, are likewise observed in positions that correspond with one 
 or other face of the triakis-octahedron (221). Tschermak shows 
 that the development of these faces is due to twinning, not by con- 
 tact, but by interpenetration, the normal on 111 being the axis of 
 twinning. Such twinning is met with on crystals of fluor-spar. 
 
 By etching the Braunau iron two varieties of figures are developed : 
 with a moderate use of the corroding reagent an orientated sheen 
 is developed, the fine texture exhibiting what von Haidinger termed 
 crystalline damaskining (see page 20). As the author has shown in 
 the case of the Ilimae iron this appearance is due to slight depressions 
 of the surface ; they are, in fact, little cubical hollows, the sides of 
 
 1 G. Tschermak. Sitzber. Ak. Wiss. Wicn, 1874, Nov.-Heft, Ixx. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 115 
 
 which are parallel to the cleavage faces. A second curious feature 
 brought to notice by etching are little furrows which make their 
 appearance on those parts of the cleavage-face where the fine lines 
 were previously seen, lines which owe their origin to the plates 
 parallel to (221). The twin-lamellae therefore are more readily 
 acted upon than the mass of the metal. 
 
 On dissolving this iron in dilute nitric acid a residue remains 
 which consists of fine yellow metallic needles and excessively thin 
 yellow plates ; occasionally particles are met with exhibiting every 
 stage of transition from one to the other of these forms. The plates 
 are not unfrequently broken through, or imperfectly developed, in 
 the manner with which we are familiar in crystals of some varieties 
 of specular iron from volcanic localities. The needles, as Rose has 
 already shown, lie parallel to the edges of the cleavage-cube. 
 Tschermak believes both plates and needles to have the same com- 
 position, to be in fact schreibersite. By reason of the small amount 
 of material available for examination he was unable to determine 
 the crystalline form of this mineral, but he is of opinion that it will 
 be found to be either tetragonal or rhombic. 
 
 1850, November 30th. Shalka, Bancoorah, Bengal. 1 
 
 The mineral characters of this meteorite were first described by 
 von Haidinger and Gr. Eose, and the chemical investigation under- 
 taken by 0. von Hauer, who found the silicates, when analysed in the 
 mass, to give numbers the oxygen ratios of which were : RO to Si0 3 
 as 1 : 2-435. While von Haidinger regarded the chief constituent 
 of the meteorite to be a silicate to which he gave the name of 
 ' piddingtonite,' G. Rose considered it to be composed of olivine 
 and another mineral ' shepardite,' which has now been found to be 
 as hypothetical a species as ' piddingtonite/ Rammelsberg during a 
 recent examination of the meteorite determined it to consist of : 
 
 Bronzite 86-15 
 
 Olivine 10-92 
 
 Chromite 2'39 
 
 99-46 
 
 the separation with acid and sodium carbonate yielding the following 
 numbers : 
 
 SiO, FeO MgO CaO Na^O Chromite. 
 
 A. Soluble ... 35-17 35-80 29-03 100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble ... 55-55 16-53 27'73 0-09 0-92 0*33 = 101-15 
 
 Rammelsberg therefore finds this meteorite to have a much more 
 simple composition than the earlier investigations, and to consist 
 mainly of a bronzite and a few per cent, of olivine, in each of which 
 the Fe is to Mg as 1 : 3. 
 
 1 C. Rammelsberg. Monatsber. AJc. Wiss. Berlin, 1870, Ixx. 314. N. Story- 
 Maskelyne. Philosophical Transactions, 1871, cbd. 359. 
 
116 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 According to the results given in Maskelyne's paper, the constitution 
 of this meteorite, or of the portion of it examined in the British 
 Museum Laboratory, appears to be yet more simple. A small amount 
 of the debris of the stone was found to possess the following com- 
 position : Oaeyffenm 
 
 Silicic acid 45-370 24*197 
 
 Iron protoxide 19-060 4-236 
 
 Magnesia 15-636 6-254 
 
 Lime 2-214 0-632 
 
 Chromite 17'717 
 
 99-997 
 
 A mottled grey-coloured mineral, forming the chief constituent of 
 
 the meteorite, was twice submitted to analysis with the following 
 results : 
 
 I. Oxygen. II. Oxygen. 
 
 Silicic acid 52-831 28-176 52-725 28-120 
 
 Iron protoxide... 21-863 4-859 22-992 5-109 
 
 Magnesia 24-266 9'706 24-085 9'630 
 
 Lime 0-502 0-143 
 
 Chromite... 0-643 
 
 100-105 99-802 
 
 These numbers correspond with the formula (f Mg \ Fe) Si0 8 , 
 which is identical with the bronzite of the Manegaum meteorite 
 (page 112). 
 
 These results, it will be seen, do not indicate the presence of an 
 olivine. To check them, two weighed portions of the mineral were 
 subjected to the action of hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid 
 respectively, with subsequent treatment with sodium carbonate in 
 each case, whereby the following constituents were removed : 
 
 I. Oxygen. II. Oxygen. 
 
 Silicic acid 1-507 0-804 3-900 2-080 
 
 Iron protoxide... 0'974 0-216 1-799 0-399 
 
 1-058 0-423 , 1-877 , 0-750 
 
 3-539 7-576 
 
 The slight excess of iron oxide found in each case is doubtless due 
 to the presence of a little unseparated nickel -iron. These results 
 confirm the above analysis and fail to indicate the presence of olivine 
 in this meteorite. 
 
 Found 1850. Ruffs Mountain, Lexington Co., S. Carolina. 1 
 
 In an examination of this large block of meteoric iron Shepard 
 detected the presence of only 3'12 per cent, of nickel. By employing 
 two more refined methods of analysis, Eammelsberg now finds : 
 
 I. II. Mean. 
 
 Nickel 7-60 9-65 8-62 
 
 1 C. Rammelsberg. Monatsber. AJc. Wiss, Berlin, 1870, Ixx. 444. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 117 
 
 which is still within the limit that I find to obtain in those instances 
 where an iron exhibits Widmannstattian figures. (Compare with the 
 list on page 26.) 
 
 1852, September 4th, Mez6-Madaraz, Transylvania. 1 
 
 Allusion has already been made to Kammelsberg's recent investi- 
 gation of this meteorite (see page 10). His previous researches on 
 the constitution of the meteorites of Kleinwenden, Pultusk, Rich- 
 mond, and Linn Co., Iowa, 2 had proved them to consist of a mixture 
 of olivine and bronzite, and in his review of the additions made 
 during the last few years to our knowledge of these cosmical masses, 3 
 he had demonstrated that of the fifty chondritic meteorites which had 
 up to that time been submitted to analysis, the greater part 
 yielded a like result. Certain among the meteorites, however, did not 
 appear to come under this rule ; among them is the one mentioned 
 above which had been analysed by Atkinson. 4 who found no iron 
 protoxide in the insoluble portion, and determined the part broken 
 up by the acid to be a trisilicate. The author was induced to analyse 
 the stone afresh, and he has arrived at the following results : 
 
 Nickel-iron ... 
 Troilite 
 Chromite 
 Soluble silicate 
 Insoluble silicate 
 
 100-00 
 
 The nickel-iron, which has the composition indicated by the 
 formula Fe 5 Ni, yielded the following numbers : 
 
 Iron = 83-25 ; Nickel (cobalt) = 16'75. Total = 100-00 
 and the silicates those given below : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO MnO NiO MgO CaO Na 2 
 
 A. Soluble 36-61 2-19 22-82 0*42 0'14 35-49 Q'60 1-02 = 99-29 
 
 B. Insoluble 52-02 6-08 13-27 21-85 3'74 3-28=100-24 
 
 C. Total 44-24 4'10 18'25 0-22 0'07 28-98 2'02 2-12 =100-00 
 
 The soluble part is an olivine of the same composition, 3 Mg 2 Si0 4 
 4. Fe 2 Si0 4 , as that met with in the meteorites of Hainholz, Borkut, 
 St. Mesmin, Muddoor, Sherghotty, etc. ; the insoluble portion appears 
 to be a bronzite, in which the bases Ca : Fe : Mg=l : 3 : 9, accord with 
 those of the variety of this mineral which occurs in the Chantonnay 
 stone. The Mezo-Madaraz meteorite therefore belongs to the large 
 class of chondritic masses above mentioned. 
 
 1 C. Rammelsberg. Zeitschrift Deutsch. Geol. Gesell. JBerlin, 1871, xxiii. 734. 
 
 2 C. Rammelsberg. Mpnatsber. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, 1870, Ixx. 440. 
 
 3 C. Rammelsberg. Die Chemische Natur der Meteoriten. Abhandl. Ak. Wiss. 
 Berlin, 1870, 75. 
 
 * E. Atkinson. Jour. Prakt. Chem., 1856, Ixviii. 357; Phil. Mag., xi. 141. 
 
118 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 1852, December 2nd. Busti, between Goruckpur and Fyzabad, 
 India. [Lat. 26 45' N. ; Long. 82 42' E.] 1 
 
 With a view to obtain more satisfactory means of dealing with 
 the aggregates of mixed and minute minerals, which constitute 
 meteoric rock, the author of this paper sought the aid of the 
 microscope, having in the first place sections of small fragments cut 
 from the meteorites so as to be transparent. By studying such sections 
 we learn that a meteorite has passed through changes, and that it 
 has had a history of which some of the facts are written in legible 
 characters on the meteorite itself; and we find also that it is not diffi- 
 cult roughly to classify meteorites according to the varieties of their 
 structure. Constantly recurring minerals may be recognized ; but as 
 to what they are the method affords no means of determining. Even 
 the employment of polarized light, so invaluable where a crystal of 
 which the crystallographic orientation is at all known is examined 
 with it, fails, except in rare cases, to indicate with certainty even the 
 system to which such minute crystals belong. It was found that the 
 only satisfactory way of dealing with the problem was by employing 
 the microscope, chiefly as a means of selecting and assorting out of 
 the bruised debris of a part of a meteorite the various minerals that 
 compose it, and then investigating each separately by means of the 
 goniometer and by analysis finally recurring to the microscopic 
 sections to identify and recognize the minerals so investigated. In 
 the memoir, mentioned below, the author publishes the results of the 
 former part of this inquiry. It is obvious that the amount of each 
 mineral which can be so obtained is necessarily small, as only very 
 small amounts of the meteorite could be spared for the purpose. On 
 this account the greatest caution was required in performing the 
 analysis of such minerals, and the desirableness of determining 
 the silica with more precision than usually is the case in operations 
 on such minute quantities of a silicate suggested a process which, 
 after several experiments had been conducted with a view to perfect- 
 ing it, assumed a definite form. The method, which essentially con- 
 sists in the separation of the silicic acid from the bases by distilla- 
 tion with hydrofluoric acid, by which means the operator is enabled 
 to proceed to the estimation of the whole of the constituents of any 
 silicate in one and the same portion, will be described in detail 
 later on with other new methods of analysis. (See Part III.) 
 
 The first meteorite investigated on the principles here laid down 
 was the remarkable stone which fell at Busti, in India, at the above 
 date. The fall, which took place from a cloudless sky at 1O10 a.m., 
 was attended with an explosion, louder than a clap of thunder and last- 
 ing three to four minutes, and must have occurred about the time 
 the stone passed the longitude of Goruckpur. The meteorite, which 
 
 1 N. Story-Maskelyne. Proc. Royal Society, xviii. 146. Philosophical Trans- 
 actions, clx. 189. (See also Abstract in Nature, i. 382.) A preliminary notice of 
 this meteorite appeared in the Brit. Assoc. Report, 1862, " Notices and Abstracts." 
 Appendix ii. 190. 
 
THE METEORITE WHICH FELL AT BUSTI, BETWEEN GORUCKPUR 
 ANDFYZABAD ; INDIA ; 2? D DECEMBER,1852 
 l^ Actual SL?' 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 119 
 
 weighs about 3 Ibs., consists for the most part of the mineral enstatite ; 
 at one end, however, are embedded a number of chestnut-brown 
 spherules, in which again were detected minute octahedra having the 
 lustre and colour of gold. These two minerals seem scarcely to 
 have been affected by the heat which fused the silicates surrounding 
 and encrusting them. 
 
 The brown spherules are calcium (magnesium) monosulphide, and 
 they have been named by the author ' oldhamite ' ; their outer surface 
 is generally coated with calcium sulphate. This mineral cleaves with 
 equal facility in three directions which give normal angles averaging 
 89 57' ; they are no doubt 90. Its system, therefore, is cubic ; in 
 polarized light it is seen to be devoid of double refraction. 1 The 
 specific gravity is 2-58 and the hardness 3'5 4'0. With boiling 
 water it yields calcium polysulphides, and readily dissolves in acid 
 with evolution of hydrogen sulphide. The composition of these 
 spherules was found to be : 
 
 I. II. 
 
 ni ,, ., ( Calcium monosulphide 89-369 90-244 
 
 1X3 J Magnesium monosulphide 3-246 3-264 
 
 Gypsum 3-951 4'189 
 
 Calcium carbonate 3-434 
 
 Troilite 2-303 
 
 100-000 100-000 
 
 The presence of such a sulphide in a meteorite shows that the con- 
 ditions under which the ingredients of the rock took their present 
 form are unlike those met with in our globe ; water and oxygen 
 must have alike been absent. The existence of iron in a state of 
 minute division, as often found in meteorites, leads to a similar con- 
 clusion. But if the conditions necessary for the formation of pure 
 calcium sulphide be borne in mind, the evidence imported into this 
 inquiry by the Busti aerolite seems further to point to the presence 
 of a reducing agent during the formation of its constituent minerals ; 
 whilst the crystalline structure of the oldhamite and of the mineral 
 next described must certainly have been the result of fusion at 
 an enormously high temperature. The detection of hydrogen in 
 meteoric iron by Graham, and more recently by other observers, tends 
 to confirm the probability of the presence of such a reducing agent. 
 
 " Osbornite " is the name given by the author to the golden-yellow 
 microscopic octahedra embedded in the oldhamite. These minute 
 crystals gave the following angles : 
 
 Regular 
 octahedron. 
 
 Ill, 111 = 70 27' and 70 37' 70 31' 
 111, iff = 109 31' 109 28' 
 
 111, HI = 69 58' 
 
 This mineral withstands the action of the most powerful acids, is 
 unchanged by fused potassium carbonate, and possibly when heated 
 
 1 I observed a fragment of this mineral to exhibit phosphorescence. When 
 slightly warmed and illuminated by burning magnesium wire it emitted orange 
 coloured light. 
 
120 
 
 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 with the chlorate ; ignited in dry chlorine it glowed for a few seconds, 
 lost its metallic lustre, and left a residue which soon began to deliquesce. 
 The amount, about 0'002 gramme, was too small for anything but 
 a qualitative examination, which showed it to consist of calcium, 
 sulphur, and an element, which gives the reactions of titanium 1 or 
 zirconium, probably the former, in some singularly stable state of 
 combination. By heating zirconium to an intense heat with lime 
 and aluminium under conditions which probably did not exclude the 
 presence of sulphur, Mallet 3 obtained a golden -yellow incrustation, 
 cubic in form, unattacked by the strongest acids, and possibly 
 analogous in its nature to osbornite. 3 
 
 The next mineral described is an augite of a pale violet-grey 
 colour, intimately mixed with another silicate presently to be con- 
 sidered ; it belongs to the oblique system, the measurements yield- 
 ing the following approximate values : 
 
 Diopside. 
 
 001, 100 = About 75 30' 73 59' 
 
 001, 110 = 81 79 29' 
 
 110, JOO = 45 54' to 47 26' 46 27' 
 
 110, IlO = 85 8' to 86 20' 87 5' 
 
 100, 111 ? = 63 25' to 54 15' 53 50' 
 
 001,110 = 100 8' 100 57' 
 
 The plane containing the optic axes is perpendicular to the edge 
 [100,001], and the optical character in the centre of the field is 
 negative. When looked through in any direction parallel to the zone 
 circle [001,010], the crystals show a remarkable dichroism; the plane 
 100 presents a somewhat facile cleavage, and is also conspicuous for 
 a remarkable metallic lustre, recalling that seen on some kinds of 
 diallage, but of a fine golden hue. The author is of opinion that 
 osbornite may permeate the augite in minute interlaminated layers of 
 sufficient thinness to be transparent. 
 
 Two analyses of this mineral gave the following numbers : 
 
 I. II. (| Mg | Ca) Si0 3 
 
 Magnesia 
 
 
 23-621 
 
 23-036 
 
 23-585 
 
 Lime 
 
 
 20-020 
 
 19-942 
 
 19-811 
 
 Iron oxide .. 
 
 
 0-780 
 
 0-309 
 
 
 
 Soda 
 
 
 0-554 
 
 [0-554] 
 
 
 
 Lithia .. 
 
 
 trace 
 
 [trace] 
 
 
 
 100-364 99-435 100-000 
 
 The iron oxide contains some of the titanoid metal met with in 
 osbornite. In terrestrial varieties of augite the calcium is usually 
 in excess of the magnesium. The mineral was somewhat soluble in 
 acid, the action, however, was found to be simply that of a solvent. 
 
 1 See researches on the presence of titanium vapour in the solar prominences and 
 chromosphere, hy C. A. Young. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1871, ii. 335. 
 
 2 J. W. Mallet. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1856, xxviii. 346. 
 
 crucibles Daul 
 
 colour 
 
 beautiful copper-coloured substance discovered by Wohler. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 121 
 
 While the augite is present in greatest quantity in the area 
 containing the calcium sulphide, it is met with in other parts of the 
 stone ; and associated with it everywhere, and forming the mass of 
 the stone, is another silicate, which proved to be an enstatite like 
 that of the meteorite of Bishopville (1843, March 25th). 
 
 It presents the appearance of a number of more or less fissured 
 crystals, with different degrees of transparency, and with a more or less 
 symmetrical polygonal outline, embedded in a magma of fine-grained 
 silicate. Three varieties of this mineral are described : I), a dark- 
 grey glistening crystalline substance, tabular in form, very opaque, 
 and presenting cleavages indistinctly marking the faces of a prism for 
 which the mean of several measurements gave an angle of {ir||} 
 II). a colourless transparent variety, which is rare ; and III), a grey 
 semi-transparent splintery mineral in very composite fragments. 
 The following additional measurements were made of this mineral : 
 
 100, 110 
 
 110, 110 = 
 
 100, 101 
 
 010, oil (?) = 
 
 About 46 
 87 10' to 88 0' 
 
 41 34' 
 About 40 
 
 Breitenbach enstatite. 
 ... 45 52' 
 ... 88 15' 
 ... 41 12' 
 . 40 21' 
 
 The planes 100 and 110 are cleavages. The chemical examination 
 of these three varieties yielded the following per-centage numbers : 
 
 I. II. III. MgO,Si0 2 
 
 Silicic acid 
 Magnesia 
 Lime 
 Iron oxide 
 Potash ... . 
 Soda 
 Litbia ... . 
 
 57-597 
 40-640 
 
 1-438 
 0-394 
 0-906 
 
 58-437 
 38-942 
 1-677 
 1-177 
 0-332 
 0-357 
 
 57-037 
 40-574 
 2-294 
 0-867 
 
 57-961 
 39-026 
 1-524 
 0-154 
 0-569 
 0-680 
 
 57-754 
 38-397 
 2-376 
 0-423 
 0-569 
 0-657 
 0-016 
 
 100-975 100-922 100772 99-914 100-192 
 
 60-000 
 40-000 
 
 100-000 
 
 Each variety was acted upon to some extent by acid; the action, 
 however, was found to be simply that of a solvent. 
 
 The meteorite also contains a little nickel-iron and schreibersite, 
 having the composition : 
 
 Nickel-iron 
 
 /Iron 
 
 \ Nickel ... 
 
 I Iron 
 Nickel ... 
 Phosphorus 
 
 94-949 
 3-849 
 0-884 
 0-234 
 0-084 
 
 100-000 
 
 a very small quantity of troilite, and a small but appreciable amount 
 of chromite, a crystal of which gave the solid angle of a regular 
 octahedron. 
 
 The memoir is illustrated with two plates : the one showing very 
 carefully drawn microscopic sections of the augite and enstatite, the 
 other views of the stone and a section of the nodule containing the 
 oldhamite spherules. The accompanying plate is an endeavour to 
 reproduce, by the chromolithographic process, a very elaborate water- 
 
122 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 colour sketch of this interesting stone prepared by my friend Mr. 
 Edward Fielding. On the upper portion of the section towards the 
 right hand is seen the area where the spherules of the calcium sul- 
 phide and some large crystals of the augite are situated ; below is a 
 pepita of nickel-iron, the occasional white patches indicating large 
 crystals of enstatite. 
 
 Found 1853. Tazewell, Claiborne Co., Tennessee. 1 
 
 This meteorite was one of those selected by the author for his 
 investigation with the spectroscope of the gases occluded by meteoric 
 iron (see also the meteorites of Red River, Texas, and Arva, Hungary). 
 It is noted for the large amount of nickel, 14-62 per cent., which it 
 contains; it had been examined by Dr. L. Smith, 2 who found no 
 carbon in it. As in the case of the Texas meteorite, this iron 
 appears to evolve gas at ordinary temperatures ; the red and green 
 hydrogen lines were brilliant, while the bands of carbon were 
 not noticed. When heat was applied, the spectrum showed the 
 hydrogen lines very brilliantly, and the four chief carbon bands 
 were strongly marked. As the tension of the gas decreased, the 
 hydrogen lines became relatively brighter and the carbon narrower ; 
 when the guage stood at 1 mm. these bands were still prominent, 
 while some narrow bands apparently belonging to nitrogen were 
 observed. They differed however somewhat, as regards their rela- 
 tive intensities, from those observed with nitrogen alone. One of the 
 lines appeared to coincide with the chief coronal line 1474 K, although 
 less sharp than it appears in the solar spectrum. An oxygen 
 line, likewise observed, has the position 1462 K very nearly, and 
 closely agrees in point of refrangibility with a bright coronal line 
 noticed by Denza and Lorenzoni during the eclipse of the 22nd Dec., 
 1 870. A second oxygen line, less bright but sharp and distinct, has the 
 position 1359 i 1 K. The author directs attention to the complete 
 change which the spectrum of an air-tube undergoes by the intro- 
 duction of hydrogen. According to the method by which Wright 
 calculates the amount of gas present in an iron (see the meteorite 
 of the Red River, Texas, page 99), this metal occludes 4-69 times 
 its volume of mixed gases. Although the greater part of the gas had 
 been removed, the author is of opinion that the whole amount was 
 by no means extracted. The fact of the volume of gas in this 
 instance being in excess of that obtained by Graham and Mallet 
 probably arises from the Tazewell iron having been in a finely 
 divided state, and Wright's recent researches on the iron enclosed 
 in the meteorite of Iowa (1875, February 12th) support this as- 
 sumption. 
 
 1 A. W. Wright. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1875, ix. 294. 
 
 2 J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. Sc., [2], xix. 153. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 123 
 
 1853, February 10th, Girgenti, Sicily. 1 
 
 It is unfortunately probable that the history of this fall has been 
 lost to science. Yom Rath has recently endeavoured, but without 
 avail, to gather information from Gemmellaro, of Palermo, respecting 
 what now appears to have been a shower of stones rather than the 
 fall of a single meteorite, as hitherto supposed. Gemmellaro was 
 unable in 1869 to discover any persons who witnessed the fall ; as, 
 however, it appears that two years after the occurrence Greg 2 was 
 informed that an account had been printed in a Sicilian scientific 
 journal, more particulars of the fall may yet be obtained. 
 
 The two fragments examined by Vom Eath were partly covered 
 with a black crust forming an undulating surface, with occasional 
 little prominences that revealed the presence of nickel-iron. The 
 structure of the rock is chondritic, of a light greyish white, and finely 
 granular, appearing to the eye almost uniform in texture. A frac- 
 tured surface exhibits a great number of exceedingly fine black lines 
 which seem to have their origin in the crust, although, from their 
 diminutive size (they are generally only to be recognized with a 
 lens), it is, says the author, difficult to believe that they are filled 
 with fused matter. (Compare Meunier's observations on the black 
 lines in the Aumieres meteorite, page 111.) They form a tangled 
 mesh-work enclosing the spherules and rounded crystalline grains 
 of olivine ; and they are most abundant round the granules of 
 magnetic pyrites, which they occasionally traverse. The nickel-iron 
 is less abundant than in the Pultusk meteorites, and besides forming 
 rounded or hackly grains, occurs, as in the Krahenberg aerolite, in 
 fine veins. The magnetic pyrites (troilite?), which is more abun- 
 dant than the preceding mineral, takes different hues, and both it 
 and the granules of chromite are grouped together in small circles, 
 which give the rock a more distinctly chondritic character. Spherules 
 of sufficient size to project from a fractured surface and capable of 
 being detached are rare ; some, however, have a fibrous structure 
 and a pale green colour. Under the microscope the mass of the rock 
 is found to be an aggregate of white crystalline grains; in it one 
 small yellowish-green crystalline plate having the appearance of 
 mica was noticed. The specific gravity of the stone is 3-549, a 
 number intermediate between those yielded by the Pultusk and 
 Krahenberg meteorites. The Girgenti stone contains 8-3 per cent, 
 of nickel-iron having the composition : 
 
 Iron = 87 3; Nickel = 12-7; Total = 100-0. 
 
 Here again the proportion of this constituent is intermediate be- 
 tween that found in the meteorites just mentioned ; and in composition 
 nearly the same as the nickel-iron of Krahenberg. 
 
 The non-magnetic portion, amounting to 91-7 per cent., which, 
 by reason of the small amount of material available for analysis, 
 
 1 G. vom Rath. Pogg. Ann., 1869, cxxxviii. 541. S. Meunier. Compt. rend., 
 1873, Ixxvi. 109. 
 
 2 R. P. Greg. Phil. Mag. xxiv. 534. 
 
124 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 was not subjected to the separating treatment of acid, was found to 
 consist of : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO MnO MgO CaO Na 2 0? Fe S Chromite 
 43-41 1-57 17-96 trace 26-84 1-85 1-50 3-43 2'24 1'20 = 100-00 
 
 If the chromite and the iron sulphide, which as it occurs in the 
 portion of the stone unacted upon by the magnet is probably troilite, 
 be deducted, the silicates have the following composition : 
 
 Oxygen. 
 Silicic acid .. . 46-61 24-19 
 
 Alumina 1-68 
 
 Iron protoxide 19-22 
 
 Magnesia 28-89 
 
 Lime . 1-99 
 
 0-78 
 
 4-33 
 
 11-55 
 
 0-57 
 
 Soda (?) 1-61 0-66 
 
 100-00 
 
 The oxygen ratio of the total bases to that of the silicic acid is 
 1 : 1-352. As this is obviously a mixture of silicates, it seems not 
 improbable, both from the structure of the stone and the analytical 
 determinations, that it consists, as in the Krahenberg rock (see page 
 5), of an olivine of the form FeO, MgO, Si0 2 (like that also occur- 
 ring in the meteorites of Chateau-Kenard and Kakova), and a nearly 
 pure magnesian enstatite, as the following scheme indicates : 
 
 FeO, MgO, Si0 2 . MgO (CaO), Si0 2 . 
 Oxygen. Oxygen. 
 
 Silicic acid 8-66 ... 15-53 
 
 Iron oxide ... . 4-33 
 
 4-33 ( 8 ' 66 ... 7-22 ) 
 
 7-79 
 
 Lime ... 0-57 ) 
 
 For the reason already mentioned the presence of cobalt and of 
 the alkalies could not be directly determined. 
 
 Found 1854, Tucson, Pima Co., Arizona. 1 
 
 This remarkable mass of iron, of which an account is given in 
 Bartlett's "Personal Narrative," 2 has been chosen by von Haidinger 
 to illustrate some remarks on the rotation of meteorites. It measures 
 4 ft. 1 in. by 3 ft. 3 in., weighs about 1400 Ibs., and is in the form 
 of a ring. When first found, it was set up as an anvil. 
 
 Von Haidinger points out that the greatest extension of the iron 
 is in the plane of the ring, and that the rotation must have taken 
 place in this plane. The question arises : What would be the effect 
 which the resistance of the air would exercise on a plate of iron of 
 unequal thickness ? In the centre of the compression, and therefore of 
 the expansion, the air, he finds, would be compressed together in a con- 
 
 1 "W. von Haidinger. Sitzber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, 1870, Ixi. 499. 
 
 * J. R. Bartlett. Personal Narrative of Explorations and Incidents in Texas, 
 New Mexico, California, Sonora, and Chihuahua. 1854. New York: Appleton&Co. 
 Page 297. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 125 
 
 dition resembling that of a solid body. What then will be the effect 
 on a large mass of rock, the uneven surface of which is subjected to 
 the unequal action of a temperature of fusion ? The stone will be 
 bored into, as the Gross-Divina stone has been to a considerable 
 depth ; a similar phenomenon has been remarked in other meteorites. 
 While this will be the effect on brittle stony material, in the present 
 case the resistance of the air, operating on a plate three to four feet in 
 diameter of viscous metal, will be more rapid and energetic. The 
 plate will in process of time be penetrated at one point, and by the 
 gradual expansion of the orifice it will at last develope into a ring, 
 and arrive in this form on the earth's surface. 
 
 The meteoric iron which was seen to fall at Agram, Croatia (1751, 
 May 26th), has the form of a plate, and bears evidence of having 
 been subjected to the same eroding influence, though in a less degree. 
 Had it been continued to the depth of another inch this iron would 
 have been perforated, as in the case of the Tucson ring. 
 
 The above is a representation, one-twentieth the actual size, 
 of this curious mass, which is preserved in the Smithsonian Institu- 
 tion, at Washington. The figure is reproduced from von Haidinger's 
 memoir. 
 
 1855, June 7th. St. Denis-Westrem, near Ghent, Flandre orientale, 
 
 Belgium. 1 
 
 The earlier descriptions of this meteorite are by Duprez 2 and 
 Haidinger. 3 Meunier states that the rocky portion of this meteorite 
 
 1 S. Meunier. Bull. Acad. Sc. Belgique, 1870 [2], xxix. 210. (See also F. 
 Duprez, Bull. Acad. Sc. Belgique, 1870 [2], xxix. 161.) Acad. royale de Belgique. 
 Centieme Anniversaire de Fondation (1772-1872). Tome II. Rapport seculaire 
 (Sciences miner ales), par G. Dewalque, 23. 
 
 2 F. Duprez. Bull. Acad. Sc. Belgique, 1855 [2], x. 12. 
 
 3 W. von Haidinger. Sitzber. Ak. Wiss. Wien, 1860, xlii. 9. 
 
126 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 accords in all its characters with that of the stones which fell at 
 Luce, Sarthe, France (1768, September 13th), Mauerkirchen and 
 others, as well as with that of the meteorite of Sauguis St. Etienne, 
 Basses-Pyrenees (1868, September 7th). The latter rock, to which 
 he has given the name of " lucei'te," is described as white and finely 
 granular, rough to the touch and eminently crystalline, and having 
 the specific gravity of 3-43. He reproduces from another of his 
 memoirs the results of his examination of the last-mentioned 
 stone, and to this we shall presently direct attention. No analysis 
 of the Belgian meteorite appears to have been made. The paper 
 is chiefly devoted to theoretical considerations respecting the strati- 
 graphical arrangement of the star-masses whence the meteorites 
 are supposed to be derived. Meteorites, he maintains, are the pro- 
 duct of the breaking-up of larger celestial bodies at the completion 
 of their development, and the moon, he considers, is now approaching 
 this stage of her existence. 
 
 1856, November 12th. Trenzano, near Brescia, Lombardy. 1 
 
 Jervis gives a complete list of the collections in which fragments 
 of this meteorite are preserved. 
 
 Found 1856. Hainholz, near Paderborn, Minden, Westphalia. 2 
 
 This member of the small class of siderolites, originally described 
 by Wo'hler, von Reichenbach, and von Haidinger, has recently been 
 submitted to a careful chemical examination by Rammelsberg. It 
 was remarked by von Eeichenbach that the olivine of this meteorite 
 formed unusually large crystalline masses, the faces of which, how- 
 ever, were destroyed by weathering ; one crystal was 1 j in. long 
 and 1^ in. in breadth. 
 
 Two specimens of this meteorite were found by Eammelsberg to 
 have the composition : 
 
 Nickel-iron 14-48 12-70 
 
 Chromite 0-58 10-52 
 
 Olivine 56-45 62-78 
 
 Bronzite 28-49 24-00 
 
 100-00 100-00 
 
 The metallic portion consists of : 
 
 Iron = 93-84 ; Nickel = 6-16 Total = 100-00 
 
 1 G. Jervis. I Tesori Sotterranei dell' Italia. Parte Prima. Torino : Loescher, 
 1873. Page 277. 
 
 2 C. Rammelsberg. Monatsber. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, Ixx. 314. C. Rammelsberg. 
 Die chemische Natur der Meteoriten. Abhandl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1870, 94. See 
 also Ber. Deutsch. Chem. Gesell. Berlin, 1870, iii. 523. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 127 
 
 and the two silicates have the following composition : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO MgO CaO 
 
 A. Soluble ... 35-77 ... ... 22-91 ... 41-32 ... =100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble ... 53'05 ... 3-19 ... 15-63 ... 25-40 ... 2-73 =100-00 
 
 The soluble part, which constitutes more than one-half of the stone, 
 is an olivine in which the ratio Fe to Mg is 1 : 3, the same proportion 
 as that met with in the Linn Co., Sherghotty and other meteorites. 
 In the insoluble portion we have a bronzite in which the ratio of 
 these two metals is the same as that of the olivine accompanying it, 
 and as that in the enstatite of the Shalka aerolite. In the latter 
 meteorite the bronzite is not associated with nickel -iron. The con- 
 stitution of these two ingredients of the Hainholz siderolite may be 
 represented by the formula : 
 
 f FeSi0 3 ) 
 I Fe 2 Si0 4 ) ( 8 I 3 Mg Si0 3 j 
 
 3 Mg 2 Si0 4 A1 2 3 
 
 Found 1856 (?). Jewell Hill, Madison Co., N. Carolina. 1 
 
 This iron has been found by Tschermak to enclose thin plates of 
 troilite like those he recently noticed in the meteoric iron of Ilimae, 
 Desert of Atacama, Chili. (See page 19.) The lamellae are just as 
 abundant and have the same orientation as those of the Chilian iron, 
 and are about one-third the size. According to the analyses of 
 Tschermak and Dr. Lawrence Smith, these metallic masses have nearly 
 the same composition. In a volume of his papers collected and 
 published in 1873, the latter author 2 states that the Jewell Hill iron 
 reached his hands in 1854:. 
 
 1857, February 28th. Parnallee, Madura District, Madras, India. 
 [Lat. 9 14' N. ; Long. 78 21' E.] 3 
 
 Several notices of this remarkable fall, the larger aerolite of which 
 is preserved in the British Museum, have appeared : three by 
 von Haidinger, and three by 1). Cassels, by 2). Pfeiffer, who sub- 
 mitted the rock to analysis, and 3). by Maskelyne, who studied its 
 minute structure under the microscope. Meunier publishes the 
 results of a lithological study of this stone, which he finds to have a 
 very complex structure, and to present in its leading features great 
 similarity with the meteorites of Cabarras Co. (1849, October 31st), 
 Mezo-Madaraz (1852, September 4th), and Bremervorde (1855, 
 May 13th). Its structure has been described as pisolitic: Meunier, 
 on the contrary, likens it to a coarsely granular grit. The grains 
 
 1 G. Tschennak. Lenkschrift Wien. Akad. Math. Naturw. Classe, xxxi. 187. 
 
 2 J. L. Smith. Mineralogy and Chemistry, 317. 
 
 3 S. Meunier. Compt. rend., 1871, Ixxiii. 346. 
 
128 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 composing it are often angular, sometimes more or less rounded, and 
 in each instance have the characters of fragments which have been 
 detached from larger masses : the rock, in short, is a breccia. During 
 a careful examination of the four specimens preserved in the Paris 
 Collection, Meunier noted the presence of twelve distinct species 
 of grains: 1). troilite, sometimes in fragments of large size; 2). 
 nickel-iron, in rounded or markedly angular fragments ; 3). greyish 
 green translucent peridot, presenting the appearance of having been 
 rolled ; 4). chromite, enclosed in a whitish rocky matrix ; 5). a grey 
 laminated mineral, with pearly lustre, which is probably hypersthene 
 or amphibole. The remaining seven species, which may more 
 appropriately be designated rocks proper, are divided by the author 
 into two groups, according as he has, or has not, been able up to the 
 present to identify them as individual lithological types constituting 
 distinct meteorites. In the latter group he enumerates 6). a grey 
 scoriaceous rock, free from metallic particles ; 7) . a dark grey rock, 
 enclosing them ; and 8). a bright grey slightly ochreous rock, prob- 
 ably the altered product of another species. Meunier is of 
 opinion that any one of these three species may at some future 
 period be found to constitute an individual meteorite. The remain- 
 ing four species are : 9). a white granular rock, enclosing nickel-iron 
 and troilite ; this variety, which occurs in about thirty of the 
 meteorites in the Paris Collection, he has termed luceite ; 10). a 
 rock of the whiteness of plaster and enclosing small black grains ; 
 this is the 'chladnite' of the Bishopville meteorite, now shown to be 
 magnesian enstatite, MgO, Si0 2 ; 11). a rock, perfectly black and 
 very tough, containing grains of nickel-iron and troilite ; such a mate- 
 rial, met with in the stone of Tadjera (1867, June 9th) and the 
 meteoric irons of Deesa and Hemalga, has received the name of 
 tadjerite ; and 12). a greenish grey friable granular highly crystal- 
 line rock, containing no metal but small grains of chromite ; from 
 its resemblance to the meteoric rock of Chassigny (1815, October 
 3rd), and in fact by reason of its highly oli vinous character, it has 
 received the name of chassignite. 
 
 The presence, says the author, in the 'polygenic conglomerate' 
 of Parnallee of fragments belonging to seven types at least of 
 distinct meteoric rocks, demonstrates the co-existence of these types 
 in the star-mass whence this Indian meteorite came. 
 
 1858, December 24th. Murcia, Spain. 1 
 
 This meteorite, which was shown at the International Exhibition 
 of Paris in 1867, is in the form of a right parallelepiped with 
 
 i S. Meunier. These presentee a la Faculte des Sciences de Paris, 1869. fiecherches 
 sur la composition et la Structure des Meteorites, 9, et seq. (See also G. A. Daubree 
 and S. Meunier. Compt. rend., 1868, Ixvi. 639.) 
 
HISTORY QF METEORITES. 129 
 
 square base, the dimensions whereof are 39 centim., 40 centim., 
 and 27 centim. It weighs 114 kilog., considerably surpassing in 
 size the average of rock masses of meteoric origin. 
 
 This meteorite is remarkable for its hardness. The crust, which 
 is nearly perfect, has evidently turned since the fall of the stone 
 from black to brown. On the fractured surface grains of nickel-iron 
 are seen, few of which retain their lustre, as well as an iron sulphide 
 of a bronze hue which is abundantly disseminated through the mass. 
 Besides these are remarked, and this is a distinguishing feature of 
 this rock, very small extremely brilliant crystalline particles, some- 
 times in minute veins, which appear to be metal, but really have 
 vitreous lustre. They fuse before the blowpipe to a grey enamel, 
 and give the reactions of silica and alumina. They are probably a 
 felspar or an analogous mineral species. Though by their brilliancy 
 and transparency they resemble quartz, the feeble action which they 
 exert on polarized light suffices to distinguish them. In a microscopic 
 section the presence of a large amount of a black opaque ingredient 
 was recognized; grains of a sulphide with a sub-metallic lustre, 
 duller along the margin, are very abundant ; while others much smaller 
 and very black were identified with chromite. The stony matter 
 enclosing these substances is made up of two ingredients of different 
 aspect : the one, of a reddish-yellow colour and very transparent, 
 presents the flawed characters usually observed in the siliceous 
 portion of meteoric rocks ; the other is of a darker hue and less 
 homogeneous. 
 
 The material chosen for analysis, taken from the blackest, and 
 consequently less altered portion of the meteorite, had the following 
 composition : 
 
 Nickel-iron 14-990 
 
 Troilite 20-520 
 
 Chromite 0-920 
 
 Soluble silicate 38-688 
 
 Insoluble silicate 24-640 
 
 99-758 
 The nickel-iron consists of: 
 
 Iron = 90-93; Nickel = 9-07; Total = 100-00. 
 
 The troilite, constituting one-fifth of the stone, is present in larger 
 quantity than in any meteorite previously investigated. The siliceous 
 portions are composed as follow : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO MgO CaO N%0 K 2 Chromite 
 
 A. Soluble 38-725 12-932 47'206 0-233 0-904 = 100-000 
 
 B. Insoluble 55-719 1-996 0-880 37-806 trace 3-599 =100*000 
 
 The soluble portion consists chiefly of an olivine having the same 
 composition as that occurring in the meteorites of Tadjera and Pul- 
 tusk, while the insoluble part appears to be mostly pure magnesian 
 enstatite, with perhaps a small amount of the aluminous mineral 
 already alluded to. 
 
 This stone fell at Molina and is preserved in the Madrid Museum. 
 
130 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Found 1858, Trenton, Washington Co., Wisconsin. 
 [Lat. 43 22' N. ; Long, 88 8' W.] l 
 
 In the autumn of 1858 a farmer while working on his farm in Section 
 33, Washington Co., struck his plough against some hard object 
 about 10 inches below the surface; it proved to be a mass of 
 meteoric iron weighing 62 Ibs. It appears that four pieces, two of 
 which weighed 16 Ibs. and 7-f Ibs., were found, in the years im- 
 mediately following, within a circuit of two or three rods of the 
 spot where the largest was discovered. Dr. L. Smith gives the 
 weights of the masses: 62 Ibs., 16 Ibs., 10 Ibs., and 8 Ibs., and the 
 composition of the metal as written below (I.), side by side, with the 
 results of an analysis by Bode (II.), which is incorporated in 
 Brenndecke's report on these meteorites presented by him to the 
 Society of Natural History of Wisconsin : 
 
 I. II. 
 
 Iron , 91-03 . 89-22 
 
 Mckel 7-20 
 
 Cobalt 0-53 
 
 Phosphorus 0-14 
 
 Copper trace 
 
 Insoluble residue . 0-45 
 
 10-79 
 trace 
 0-69 
 
 99-35 100-70 
 
 Specific gravity 7'82 7*327 
 
 Bode states that the Widmannstattian figures are developed with 
 great distinctness. Dr. Smith arrived at the same result, and finds 
 that the spaces between these figures, which have convex ends and 
 sides, are darker in hue than they are, and exhibit striations, the 
 lines being at right angles to the bounding surfaces ; these forms he 
 terms 'Laphamite markings.' When the space where they occur 
 is nearly square the lines extend from each of the four sides ; in 
 other cases they are parallel to the longer sides. He considers that 
 these figures indicate " the axes of minute columnar crystals, which 
 tend to assume a position at right angles to the surface of cooling." 
 The author does not describe what phases these figures assume when 
 the iron is cut in various directions. 
 
 1859, May . Beuste, Basses-Pyrenees. 8 
 
 This meteorite has recently been acquired for the Paris Collection. 
 Two fragments, weighing respectively 1-40 and 0'42 kilog., were 
 found about 700 metres apart, the former having penetrated the soil 
 to a depth of about 50 centim. The black crust has a thickness of 
 
 1 J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1869, xlvii. 271. Mineralogy and Chemistry, 
 349. F. Brenndecke. Annual Rep. Smithsonian Inst. for 1869, 1871, 417. J. A. 
 Lapham. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1872, iii. 69. (See also Part I. page 15.) 
 
 2 G. A. Daubree. Compt. rend., 1873, Ixxvi. 314. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 131 
 
 0-4 to 0'5 mm., and the specific gravity of the stone is 3-53. It 
 belongs to the class of which the Chantonnay meteorite (1812, August 
 5th) is a representative, and consists, it may be presumed, as it has 
 not yet been analyzed, chiefly of olivine, bronzite, and labradorite. 
 The stone has a grey colour and a compact structure. The frac- 
 tured surface is traversed in all directions by black veins which 
 anastomose. 
 
 1860, May 1st New Concord, near Zanesville, Guernsey Co. and 
 Muskingum Co,, Ohio. 1 
 
 A note on the fall of these meteorites, copied from the Zanesville 
 Courier, apparently contains no new information beyond what has 
 already been recorded in Buchner's Die Meteoriten, 104. 
 
 Found 1861. Rittersgriin, near Schwarzenberg, Saxony. 
 
 For a short description of the probable composition of this sidero- 
 lite see the Breitenbach Meteorite. 
 
 Found 1861. Breitenbach, Bohemia. 2 
 
 This remarkable siderolite was found in Bohemia, at a spot not 
 very far distant from the Saxon frontier or indeed from Kittersgrim, 
 in Saxony, where a mass closely resembling it was almost contem- 
 poraneously found. So far back as 1751 at Steinbach, a village 
 about midway between Breitenbach and Kittersgrun, a meteorite in 
 all respects similar was discovered ; the three masses are so similar 
 to one another and so dissimilar to any others preserved in collections 
 that there can be little doubt that they belong to the same fall. In 
 1825 Stromeyer examined a siderolite in which he found 61-8 per 
 cent, of silica; this also appears to have been a member of this 
 shower of meteorites, believed by Breithaupt to have been the 
 "Eisenregen" which occurred at Whitsuntide, 11G4, in Saxony, 
 when a mass of iron fell near the town of Meissen. 
 
 A polished surface of either of these masses exhibits irregularly 
 formed patches of nickel-iron, the interspaces being partly filled 
 
 1 Amer. Jour. Sc., 1871, i. 309. 
 
 2 N. Story-Maskelyne. Proc. Royal Soc. 1869, xix. 266. V. von Lang. Sitzber. 
 Ak. Wiss. Wien, 1869, lix. 848. Pogg. Ann. cxxxix. 316. N. Story-Maskelyne. 
 Phil. Trans. 1871, clxi. 359. G. vom Eath. Zeit. Deut. Geol. Gesell. Berlin, 1873, 
 xxv. 106. Pogg. Ann. Erganz.-Bd. vi. 337. Jahrb. Mineralogie, 1874, i. 79. 
 
132 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 with small patches of iron sulphide, the greater portion of the 
 surface being occupied by a greenish and greyish-brown crystalline 
 magma. After the removal of the two first-mentioned ingredients 
 with mercury chloride, the magma is found to consist of (1) highly 
 crystalline, bright green or greenish-yellow grains; (2) rusty-brown, 
 sometimes nearly black, sometimes also nearly colourless grains of 
 a mineral presenting crystalline features, but on which definite 
 planes are rare : and (3) crystalline grains of chromite. 
 
 The first of these ingredients is bronzite, the crystallographic 
 characters of which are described in the paper of von Lang, who 
 gives the results of measurements made on nine crystals; these 
 results are mineralogically important as affording for the first time 
 complete data for the crystallography of a rhombic mineral having 
 the formula of enstatite. The elements of the crystal ar/e : 
 
 a : b : c = 0-87568 : 0'84960 : 1 
 which give the following among the important angles by calculation : 
 
 110,010 = 44 8' 
 101,100 = 41 11' 
 011,010 = 40 16' 
 
 Von Lang observed the following faces : 
 
 100, 010, 001, Oil, 054, 302, 101, 102, 103, 104, 410, 520, 210, 530, 110, 120, 
 250, 130, 111, 121, 112, 122, 212, 133, 232, 124, 144, 324, 344, 524. 1 
 
 The most important zonal relations of these faces are shown in 
 the spherical projection appended to his paper. 
 
 The hardness of this mineral is 6 and the specific gravity 3-238, 
 a number differing but slightly from those determined by Stromeyer 
 and estimated by Eumler in the case of the silicates of the Steinbach 
 siderolite. The composition of the bronzite, as determined by analyses 
 made by the new method of distillation already alluded to (page 
 118) and by fusion with alkaline carbonates, was found to be : 
 
 I. II. Mean. Oxygen. 
 
 Silicic acid 56-101 ... 56-002 ... 56-051 ... 29-89 
 
 Magnesia 30-215 ... 31-479 ... 30-847 ... 12-34 
 
 Iron protoxide 13-583 ... 13-295 ... 13-439 ... 2-97 
 
 99-899 100-776 100*337 
 
 These numbers correspond very closely with the formula (Mg* Fei.) 
 Si0 3 This bronzite, which occurs in association with nickel-iron, 
 contains only half the amount of iron met with in the bronzite of 
 the Manegaum meteorite (page 112), which stone contains next to 
 no nickel-iron. Kammelsberg 2 has recently pointed out the fact 
 
 1 About the time that Von Lang published these results Vom Rath measured some 
 crystals of terrestrial bronzite, found in a sanidine bomb from the Laachersee, and 
 arrived at results which accord very exactly with those of Von Lang. (-Fogg. Ann., 
 cxxxviii. 529.) 
 
 2 C. Rammelsberg. Pogg. Ann., cxl. 311. Rammelsberg draws attention to the 
 remarkable accordance between the angles of bronzite and olivine, which would 
 explain the fact of G. Rose having regarded the silicate in the siderolites of Ritters- 
 grun and Steinbach as olivine. (See note to page 87.) 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 133 
 
 that in Stromeyer's paper, already alluded to, the specific gravity of 
 the silicate is given r= 3-27 ; and he shows that, although the mineral 
 analysed by Stromeyer contained undecomposed silicate, or more 
 probably asmanite, the ratio of Fe to Mg is the same as in the above 
 
 By treating with hydrochloric acid the dark-coloured grains con- 
 stituting the second ingredient of the meteorite and forming about 
 one-third of the mass of the mixed silicates the iron staining them 
 is removed, and they are left in a state of colourless purity. This 
 mineral, to which Maskelyne has given the name asmanite, 1 is silicic 
 acid, possessing the specific gravity of quartz after fusion, and 
 crystallising in forms belonging to the orthorhombic system. The 
 grains of asmanite are very minute and much rounded, and, although 
 entirely crystalline, they very rarely present faces offering any 
 chance for a result with the goniometer; from several thousand 
 little grains comprised in some two grammes of material Maskelyne 
 obtained a very few crystals with sufficiently distinct crystallographic 
 features to be available for measurement. He found the parametral 
 ratios of asmanite to be : 
 
 a : b : c = 1-7437 : 1 : 3-3120 
 
 The angles, as calculated from these data and as found on seven 
 different crystals, are as follow : 
 
 A. 
 
 B. 
 
 f 100,403 = 
 
 21 
 
 33' 
 
 ... 
 
 i 
 
 101 = 
 
 27 
 
 46 
 
 27 40' 
 
 
 
 102 = 
 
 46 
 
 29 
 
 46 18 
 
 
 
 103 = 
 
 57 
 
 40 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 001 = 
 
 DO 
 
 
 
 90 " 
 
 
 001 
 
 ,103 = 
 
 32 
 
 20 
 
 32 22 
 
 
 
 203 = 
 
 51 
 
 42 
 
 51 32 
 
 
 
 102 = 
 
 43 
 
 31 
 
 43 34 
 
 
 
 101 = 
 
 62 
 
 14 
 
 62 17 
 
 S 100,010 = 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 110 = 
 
 GO 
 
 10 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 "110 = 
 
 119 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 110 
 
 ,110 = 
 
 120 
 
 20 
 
 ... 
 
 001,011 = 
 
 73 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 010 = 
 
 N 
 
 
 
 .. 
 
 f 
 
 101 
 
 ,110 = 
 
 68 
 
 53 
 
 
 M 
 
 t 110 = 116 
 
 7 
 
 
 .. 
 
 ( 
 
 001 
 
 ,116 = 
 
 32 
 
 28 
 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 112 = 
 
 02 
 
 21 
 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 
 223 = 
 
 68 
 
 33 
 
 
 .. 
 
 [ 
 
 
 110 = 
 
 90 
 
 
 
 
 %t 
 
 ! 548,001 = 
 
 03 
 
 52 
 
 
 .. 
 
 
 
 100 = 
 
 58 
 
 28 
 
 
 .. 
 
 
 
 101 = 
 
 52 
 
 18 
 
 
 .. 
 
 C. D. 
 
 21 31' 
 
 27 46 27 49* 
 
 46 31 
 
 57 34 
 
 90 
 
 32 19 
 
 E. 
 
 27 25' 
 46 2 
 
 F. 
 
 G. 
 
 27 55' 27 44' 
 57 25 57 35 
 
 60 
 
 62 14 
 13 60 10 
 
 120 23 
 
 60 10 
 120 10 
 
 90 
 
 63 54 
 116 7 
 
 32 56 
 62 21 
 68 36 
 90 
 
 64 
 58 30 
 51 48 
 
 The cleavage-plane 001 has a vitreous lustre, that on the planes of 
 the forms 100 and 101, as also of the rounded surface in the zone 
 with them, is usually resinous, recalling the lustre of opal. The 
 
 1 Asman is the Sanscrit term, corresponding to the Greek fa/tw, for the thunder- 
 bolt of Indra. 
 
134 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 faces of the octaid forms are almost invariably rounded. The 
 optical characters confirm the measurements in showing asmanite to 
 be rhombic, the optic axes being very distinct and widely separated ; 
 their apparent angle, as measured in air, is 107 to 107 3CK. 
 
 The hardness of this mineral is 5-5, and the specific gravity 2 '245 ; 
 according to Vom Eath 2-247. Of the following analyses, I. and 
 II. are the original analyses given in Maskelyne's paper, III. are 
 the results of a recent analytical examination by Vom Rath : 
 
 III. 
 
 96-3 
 1.6 
 
 trace 
 1-1 
 
 Silicic acid ... . 
 Iron oxide ... 
 
 I. 
 
 97-430 
 1-124 
 
 II. 
 
 ... [99-210] 
 
 Lime ... 
 
 0-578 
 
 . ' 0-790 
 
 Magnesia ... . 
 
 1-509 
 
 
 100-641 100-000 99-00 
 
 It is not a little curious to find that in his Catalogue of the Vienna 
 Collection Partsch 1 describes a specimen of the Steinbach meteorite 
 as "native iron, jagged and hackly, with quartz in grains, and a 
 yellow fluorspar." The detection by G. Eose of quartz in the oxi- 
 dised crust of the Toluca iron is the only earlier instance recorded 
 of the occurrence of free silica in a meteorite. The solvent action of 
 an aqueous solution of sodium carbonate on asmanite and quartz in 
 powder appears to be uniform. 
 
 As regards the relation in which the three forms of crystallised 
 silicic acid stand to each other in respect to the mode of their for- 
 mation, Vom Eath remarks that while crystals of quartz have in 
 most cases unquestionably separated from aqueous solution, and 
 tridymite, as a characteristic mineral of the druses of volcanic rocks, 
 appears to require the co-operation of vapour for its formation, we 
 have probably in asmanite silicic acid crystallised from a molten 
 mass which has become solid. Crystallised silica has not yet been 
 produced by fusion ; when it is, it will probably have the characters 
 of asmanite. 
 
 The nickel-iron of this siderolite exhibits figures when etched, 
 and consists of : 
 
 I. II. Mean. Equivalent Ratios. 
 
 Iron 89-976 ... 90-878 ... 90-426 ... 3-229 
 
 Nickel 9-642 ... 8-927 ... 9-284 ... 0-314 
 
 Cobalt 0-383 ... 0-195 ... 0-290 ... 0-010 
 
 Copper trace ... trace 
 
 100-000 100-000 100-000 
 
 The above ratios differ but slightly from Fe : (Ni, Co) = 10 : 1. 
 Eube's examination of the Eittersgriin iron yielded very similar 
 per-centage numbers. The chromite of this siderolite gives angles 
 corresponding to a regular octahedron. 
 
 1 P. Partsch. Die Meteoriten im k. k. Hof-Mineralien-Kabinette zu Wien. 
 1843. Pase 95. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 135 
 
 Found 1861. Cranbourne, near Melbourne, Australia. 
 [Lat. 38 II S. ; Long. 145 2<X E.] 1 
 
 This enormous block of meteoric iron, which is a familiar object 
 to those frequenting the British Museum, is, with the exception of 
 the recently found Ovifak irons, preserved at Stockholm and Copen- 
 hagen, the largest meteorite contained in any collection. The 
 minerals composing it have for some time past formed the subject 
 of an investigation, and the results which I have obtained will shortly 
 be published. It will suffice here to state that the Australian, like 
 the Greenland irons, oxidises on exposure to moist air and scales off. 
 These masses differ in this that the Ovifak iron yields a rusty-brown 
 coarse powder, apparently without structure ; while in the debris of 
 the Australian iron, on the other hand, distinct crystals of nickel- 
 iron are to be met with. Though partially converted into oxide 
 and readily broken when handled, they attain after treatment with 
 an excess of hydrogen at a red heat their pristine stability. A num- 
 ber of crystals of nickel-iron, apparently tetrahedra, large and very 
 perfect, as well as plates of what may possibly be beam-iron and 
 which lie, though not immediately, upon them, were reduced by 
 this method. Between these two forms lie excessively thin plates 
 of an alloy of iron, much richer in nickel, and to the diminished 
 action of an etching fluid on this more stable alloy I ascribe the 
 development of such thin lines as are seen in the section of the 
 Toluca iron (see Plate, page 95). The descriptions and analyses 
 of these and other minerals will appear in the memoir which is in 
 course of preparation. I have now to refer the reader to Von 
 Haidinger's earlier notices 2 of the discovery of this block, based for 
 the most part on a report supplied by Neumayer, at that time 
 Director of the Flagstaff Observatory at Melbourne. Two masses 
 of meteoric iron were discovered, and near the larger meteorite 
 Neumayer found a brown ochrey mineral which he regarded as a 
 portion of its oxidised crust. It had but feeble action on the magnet 
 and did not fuse before the blowpipe, but turned black and became 
 magnetic. The hardness is rather less than that of felspar, and the 
 specific gravity =. 3*744; the composition, according to a recently 
 published analysis by Haushofer, is : 
 
 Insoluble silicate 4-1 
 
 Silicic acid 2-3 
 
 Alumina ... 1-5 
 
 Iron oxide 71*1 
 
 Nickel oxide 3-1 
 
 Lime 1-8 
 
 Phosphoric acid .. 1 % 4 
 
 Water 137 
 
 99-0 
 
 1 K. Haushofer. Jour. Prakt. Chem., 1869, cvii. 330. M. Berthelot. Ann. chim. 
 et phys. 1873, xxx. 419. 
 
 2 TV. von Haidinger. Sitzber. Ak. Wiss. TFien, 1861, xliii. 583 ; xliv. 378 and 
 465; and 1862, xlv. 63. 
 
136 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 The author suggests that more or less rounded masses of nickel- 
 iferous gothite or limonite having a similar origin may probably be 
 met with in the older sedimentary rocks. 
 
 In continuation of his valuable researches on the native and 
 artificial varieties of carbon, 1 Berthelot examined a specimen of the 
 graphite-like carbon, which I found among the fragments of metal 
 detached from this iron. His object was to ascertain which variety 
 of carbon it resembled, whether it should be classed with the 
 graphite of pig-iron, native plumbago, the amorphous carbon obtained 
 by treating carbides of iron or manganese with acid, the so-called 
 artificial graphite of the gas-retorts which he had previously shown 
 to be no true graphite, anthracite, or, lastly, the carbonaceous sub- 
 stance found in the remarkable meteorite which fell at Orgueil 
 (1864, May 14th). 2 
 
 The carbon of the Cranbourne meteorite was warmed with nitric 
 acid to remove the iron sulphide, and then digested with fuming 
 nitric acid and chlorate of potash. After two treatments with these 
 powerful oxidising agents, Berthelot obtained a greenish graphitic 
 oxide, identical in every respect with the oxide obtained from the 
 graphite of cast iron, and differing as entirely from the oxidised 
 product which plumbago yields under like conditions. As this 
 meteoric carbon resembles in all respects the variety of this element 
 which has been dissolved in molten iron and separated from the 
 solidified mass after very rapid cooling, Berthelot suggests that its 
 formation and association with the meteoric form of iron sulphide 3 
 may be ascribed to the action of sulphide of carbon on incandescent 
 iron, since the carbon of the last-mentioned sulphide by decom- 
 position is also liberated in the graphitic form. The carbon of this 
 meteoric iron owes its present form to exposure to a very high 
 temperature ; it cannot have been produced by the action of 
 iron on carbonic oxide or from carbon once combined with the 
 metal and liberated at ordinary temperatures by the solution of the 
 iron in some reagent ; and is still further removed from the other 
 variety of meteoric carbon occurring in the stone of Orgueil. The 
 carbon of the Ovifak iron (see page 31) has likewise been examined 
 by Berthelot, who finds it to differ so completely in its behaviour 
 with oxidising reagents from the carbon of the Australian iron that 
 he does not hesitate to pronounce the conditions under which these 
 two forms of the element were produced to have been essentially 
 distinct. 
 
 1 M. Berthelot. Ann. de Chim. et de Physique, xix. 405. 
 
 2 "Wohler and Cloez have found that certain of the carbonaceous meteorites con- 
 tain compounds of carhon, hydrogen, and oxygen, resembling the last residues of 
 organic substances of terrestrial origin. By applying his method of hydrogenation 
 to the carbonaceous matter of the Orgueil meteorite, he succeeded in forming a 
 notable quantity of a hydrocarbon of the series (Co n H 2n 4. 2) comparable with the 
 oils of petroleum. This new analogy between the carbonaceous matter of meteorites 
 and substances of organic origin. occurring in the crust of our planet is of great 
 interest. (Compt. rend., Ixvii. 849.) 
 
 3 Troilite in large nodules is abundantly present in this meteoric iron. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 137 
 
 Fell 1862. Victoria West, Cape Colony, S. Africa. 1 
 
 This mass is of interest as belonging to the very small class of 
 meteoric irons the fall of which was witnessed. It is stated to be 
 shaped like a pear, the one end being smooth and rounded, the 
 other and smaller end being jagged in a manner which indicates 
 the probability of its having been detached from a larger meteorite. 
 
 In 1870 the mass, which weighed 6^ Ibs., was sawn in two by 
 order of the authorities of the South African Museum at Cape Town, 
 and the one half further divided for distribution. 
 
 Tschermak has already shown that the meteorites of Ilimae (see 
 page 19) and Jewell Hill (see pages 23 and 127) enclose lamella 
 of troilite, which are situated parallel to the faces of the cube ; he 
 now finds that this iron furnishes a third example of this structure. 
 The section of the iron is not only traversed by fissures, which were 
 evidently once filled with troilite and in many cases still enclose 
 traces of that mineral, but perfect plates of the sulphide are like- 
 wise observed. As in the former instances, the troilite lamellas lie 
 parallel to the faces of the cube, and are enclosed in a shell of beam- 
 iron (kamacite). The etched figures are very distinct, and nodules 
 of granular troilite are also met with. 
 
 Dr. L. Smith also directs attention to these fissures, and finds the 
 figures developed by etching to be of that class where the lines are 
 delicate and straight, inclined at a considerable angle to each other, a 
 form common in irons rich in schreibersite. The latter mineral is 
 diffused through the iron in masses with straight boundaries, f in. to 
 f in. long, and J- in. in breadth, also in much narrower and longer 
 forms, as well as in others which are triangular and arrow-shaped. 
 
 In a drawing accompanying his paper we have an interesting 
 illustration of the specimen which he examined. In the centre of 
 the section a cavity is seen, 1^ in. in the longest and 1 in. in the 
 shortest diameter, the interior of which is also coated with a layer 
 of schreibersite -g'o-th in. thick ; the rest of this cavity is stated to be 
 filled with pyrites. In his later paper, however, the nodule is said 
 to consist of the monosulphide, troilite. In the absence of the know- 
 ledge of any test, whether with chemical reagents or with the magnet, 
 having been applied, it appears not improbable that some of the 
 elongated enclosed masses described above as schreibersite may be 
 the lamellaB of sulphide which Tschermak observed. 
 
 The specific gravity of this iron is 7-692, and the composition : 
 
 Iron = 88<83; Nickel = 10-14; Cobalt = 0-53; Phosphorus = 0-28; 
 Copper, trace. Total = 99-78. 
 
 1 G. Tschermak. Mineralogische Mittheilungen, 1871, 109. J. L. Smith. 
 Amer. Jour, Sc., 1873, v. 107, and 1874, vii. 394. Compt. rend., 1873, Ixxvi. 294. 
 See also G. R. Gregory. Geol. Mag. 1868, v. 531. 
 
138 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Found 1862. Howard Co., Indiana. 1 
 
 This mass of meteoric iron, which weighs 4 kilog. and has an 
 irregular elongated oval form, was found in a bed of stiff clay about 
 two feet below the surface. It is one of the class of irons which are 
 only slightly affected by atmospheric agency, freshly cut surfaces 
 retaining their brightness perfectly. The specific gravity of the 
 iron is 7-821 and the composition : 
 
 Iron = 87-02; Nickel = 12-29; Cobalt = 0-65; Phosphorus = 0-02; Copper, trace. 
 
 Total = 99-98. 
 
 An etched surface does not give the slightest indication of Wid- 
 manstattian figures ; their occurrence in short appears to be an excep- 
 tion rather than the rule in the case of irons containing more than 
 9 or 10 per cent, of nickel (see page 26). 
 
 Dr. L. Smith expresses his belief that we shall not arrive at a 
 satisfactory explanation of the formation of these figures until our 
 knowledge of the effect of the presence of a minute quantity of 
 foreign substances in iron is better understood. He alludes to the 
 power iron, containing one per cent, or even a less amount of phos- 
 phorus, acquires of withstanding the action of acid, as evidenced in 
 vessels used for parting gold and silver. During the crystallization 
 of iron, as of other substances, " there is a tendency to eliminate 
 foreign constituents to the exterior portion of the crystals " : after a 
 blast-furnace, for example, has been chilled and the metal has slowly 
 passed from a plastic to a solid condition, the iron will be found in 
 large crystals containing a very much smaller amount of carbon than 
 is usually the case. If meteoric iron then be rapidly brought to the 
 solid state, we can conceive of such a diffusion of the phosphorus as 
 would give no marked indications in any part of the mass ; by slow 
 cooling, however, we might expect a more or less complete elimina- 
 tion of the phosphorus in certain parts representing the spaces 
 between the crystals of the mass. " The portions of the iron form- 
 ing the limits of the crystals become more richly charged with phos- 
 phorus," the homogeneous character of the " iron" is destroyed, and 
 this would render its different parts variously susceptible to the action 
 of an etching fluid. 
 
 The irons of Victoria West, South Africa (see page 137), and Taze- 
 well (page 122), which enclose nodules of troilite and schreibersite, 
 contain, the former only a trace of sulphur and 0-28 per cent, of phos- 
 phorus, the latter 0-016 per cent, of phosphorus ; and in the mass 
 of the Arva iron, which is filled with layers of schreibersite, there 
 remains only 0-019 per cent, of phosphorus. The geologist and 
 the mineralogist have noticed such a segregation in a vast number 
 of instances. 
 
 1 J. L. Smith. Compt. rend., 1873,lxxvii. 1193. Amer. Jour. 8c., 1874, via. 391. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 139 
 
 1863, March 16th. Pulsora, N.E. of Rutlam, Indore, Central 
 
 India. 1 
 
 The village of Pulsora, where the fall of these meteorites took 
 place during the afternoon of the above day, is six miles N.E. of 
 Butlam. One, the largest, struck the roof of a house, a second fell 
 near a well, and the third in a nulla ; they lay within 200 yards of 
 each other. The stones came in a direction from W. to E., and the 
 noise attending their fall was heard three miles distant. 
 
 In his descriptive catalogue of the meteorites in the Vienna Col- 
 lection, which is dated 1st October, 1872, Tschermak describes the 
 etone as chondritic, and as consisting of olivine and bronzite with 
 nickel-iron. It occupies a place between those marked C w (white 
 rock without spherules) and C g (grey rock with light-coloured 
 spherules). The letters C i b, affixed to it in the catalogue, denote 
 that it has a brecciated structure, like the meteorites of Dacca and 
 St. Mesmin. 
 
 1863, June llth. Tarrangolle, S.E. of Gondokoro, Africa. 3 
 [Lat. 4 31' N. ; Long. 32 5<X E.] 
 
 In Sir Samuel Baker's work it is stated that on the above day 
 (7*20 A.M.) a curious phenomenon was noticed. "The sky was per- 
 fectly clear, but we were startled by a noise -like the sudden explosion 
 of a mine or the roar of heavy cannon almost immediately repeated. 
 It appeared to have originated among the mountains (the Madi 
 Mountains?), about sixteen miles due south of my camp. I could 
 only account for this occurrence by the supposition that an immense 
 mass of the granite rock might have detached itself from a high 
 mountain, and, in falling into the valley, it might have bounded 
 from a projection on the mountain's side, and thus have caused a 
 double report." It seems not improbable, as has been suggested, 
 that the explosion may have been caused by the disruption of an 
 aerolite. 3 
 
 [1863.] South-Eastern Missouri. 4 
 
 Shepard describes a small mass of meteoric iron originally weigh- 
 ing about 12 oz. which was found by Prof. Shumard in 1863 in the 
 collection of the old Western Academy of Sciences of St. Louis; 
 
 1 W. von Haidinger. Sitzber. AJc. Wiss. Wien, 1869, lix. 228. G. Tschermak. 
 Mineralogische Mittheilungen, 1872, 165. 
 
 2 The Albert N'yanza, Great Basin of the Nile and Explorations of the Nile 
 Sources. By S. W. Baker. London: Macmillan. 1866. Vol. L 359. 
 
 3 Let Mondes, 1870, xxii. 585. 
 
 4 C. U. Shepard. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1869, xlvii. 233. In the catalogue of the 
 Vienna Collection this iron bears the date 1864. 
 
140 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 the only locality given on the label is " S. E. Missouri." Shepard 
 finds it to resemble most closely the irons of Arva and Cocke Co. 
 The specific gravity is 7-015 7-112. The metal encloses so large 
 a quantity of schreibersite that after prolonged treatment with acid 
 that mineral projects in thick laminae from the surface, as mica does 
 from coarse-grained weathered granite. The intermediate areas are 
 not traversed with the delicate lines of the same substance (?) as 
 in the case of other irons. The meteorite has the following com- 
 position : 
 
 Iron = 92-096; Nickel = 2-604; Schreibersite = 5'000. Total = 99-700. 
 
 with traces of cobalt, chromium, phosphorus, magnesium, carbon 
 and silicium. 
 
 Found 1864. Wairarapa Valley, Province of Wellington, New 
 
 Zealand. 
 
 I have to thank Dr. Hector, F.R.S., Director of the Geological 
 Survey of New Zealand, for a short account of the only meteorite 
 which has yet been found in that colony, and which is preserved in 
 the Colonial Museum at Wellington. It is in the form of an irregular 
 six-sided pyramid, 7 inches high and 6 inches across the base ; the 
 edges are rounded, and the sides slightly convex and indented with 
 shallow pits. The capacity of the stone is 49 cubic inches, the 
 weight 480 oz., and the specific gravity 3-254: ; the hardness 5-6. 
 It is strongly magnetic, but exhibits no decided polarity. The surface 
 is of a light rusty brown colour, and is stained with exudations of 
 iron chloride and sulphate. A freshly fractured surface is dark 
 grey, mottled with bright metal-like particles of what may be iron 
 monosulphide. By treatment with copper sulphate, the presence of 
 iron in the form of metal was determined ; with hydrochloric acid 
 sulphuretted hydrogen was evolved, sulphur set free, and a large 
 quantity of gelatinous silicic acid separated. The insoluble portion 
 consisting of silica and insoluble silicates constituted 56*0 per cent, 
 of the stone. In the soluble portion the predominating ingredients 
 were iron, amounting to 24-01 per cent, and magnesia along with 
 nickel, manganese and soda ; alumina and chromium are not present. 
 These reactions so far indicate in the New Zealand meteorite the 
 presence of olivine and an insoluble silicate, in addition to nickel- 
 iron and what may be troilite or magnetic pyrites. A short notice 
 of this stone is to be found in the Appendix A to the Jurors' Keport 
 of the New Zealand Exhibition of 1865, p. 410. Von Haidinger 
 alludes to the circumstances attending the fall of a meteorite of this 
 date (Sitzber. AL Wiss. Wien, Hi. 151). 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 141 
 
 1865, May 23rd. Gopalpur, Bagerhaut, Jessore, India. 1 
 
 In his paper communicated to the Vienna Academy Tschermak 
 gives the history of the fall of this stone, 2 from which it appears 
 that its descent was unattended by the detonation which usually 
 accompanies the descent of a meteorite. The stone, of which three 
 views are given in Techermak's paper, has a greyish brown colour ; 
 when laid on its largest flat surface it has approximately a tra- 
 pezoidal boundary, the upper side being curved and exhibiting pits 
 and striped markings. The front surface (die Brustseite] is covered 
 with a thin feebly lustrous crust which is finely striped and chan- 
 nelled ; the channels have a radiate arrangement and converge to a 
 point near which is a small deep pit, while not far removed from it 
 is another deeper-lying hollow; all the pit-like depressions are 
 elongated, the extension being the more marked the shallower they 
 become and the further they lie from the point of radiation. It will 
 be evident from this that during the transit of the meteorite through 
 the atmosphere this point was in front. (See the Tucson iron, page 
 124.) The heat generated by the compression of the air melts the 
 surface of the stone, and the attrition of particles of air with the 
 more porous portion of the front surface forms the depressions 
 radiating from the foremost point ; the fused drops as fast as formed 
 are driven off by the opposing air and give rise to the fine radiated 
 texture of the crust. The hinder surface has very different characters : 
 it consists of two almost flat faces meeting nearly at right angles 
 and forming sharp edges with the front surface. Along this edge 
 the very distinctive crust of the front surface slightly overlaps the 
 hinder portion, terminating in a well-defined and sometimes fringed 
 border. Here the crust is verrucose, most of the granules consist- 
 ing of fused matter, many enclosing unaltered grains of the meteorite; 
 few follow the radiated arrangement observed in the former case. 
 
 As regards the structure of the stone of Gopalpur it closely re- 
 sembles, in the diminutive size of its chondra, the meteorites of Pegu 
 and Utrecht. They are of three kinds : 1). The most striking have 
 a brownish-grey hue and fibrous fracture, their optical principal 
 sections being parallel and perpendicular to the direction of the 
 fibres; these appear to be bronzite; 2). The next have a radiate 
 structure, and are built up of larger bar-like transparent crystals, 
 which in one spherule were observed to radiate from two centres ; 
 these are not improbably a felspar ; and 3). The last kind of chondra 
 consist of a granular fissured mineral which appears to be olivine. 
 
 The spherules have the same composition as their matrix, bronzite, 
 olivine, nickel-iron and magnetic pyrites forming the predominating 
 constituents in each case. While the chondra, met with in terrestrial 
 rocks, in perlite, obsidian, pitchstone, in many diorites, are radiate- 
 fibrous, those occurring in meteorites are but rarely so, and in these 
 
 1 G. Tschermak. Sitzber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, 1872, Izv. 135. Mineralogische 
 Mittheilungen, 1872, 95. A. Exner. Mineralogische Mittheilungen, 1872, 41. 
 
 2 Pi-oc. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1865, 94. 
 
142 
 
 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 cases the arrangement of the fibres within the spherule is excentric. 
 Moreover, while the meteoric chondra, as already stated, consist of 
 the same ingredients as the matrix, and often differ from it only in 
 being more coarsely granular, the chondra of terrestrial rocks are 
 shown by the microscope to be differently constituted from the 
 matrix. Tschermak is of opinion that in the case of the meteorites 
 solid masses have been reduced to powder by mutual attrition, the 
 tougher particles withstanding the action becoming rounded, and 
 that dust and spherules have undergone subsequent segregation. 
 
 The stone of Gopalpur consists, according to Exner's analysis, of : 
 
 Nickel-iron 20-35 
 
 Magnetic pyrites 4-44 
 
 Olivine 2886 
 
 Bronzite 35-60 
 
 Felspar 10'75 
 
 Chromite .. trace 
 
 100-00 
 The nickel-iron has the following composition : 
 
 Iron = 90-37; Nickel = 9-11; Cobalt = 0-52. Total 100-00. 
 and the portions separated by acid : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO MnO CaO MgO K 2 Na 2 
 
 A. Soluble 38-31 0-54 25-72 0'72 34-71 = 100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble... 57'95 5-19 10-03 0*57 3'04 21-42 9-45 1-35 = 100-00 
 
 This, it will be seen, is one of the few meteorites containing a 
 variety of felspar, which in this instance amounts to more than 10 
 per cent. Tschermak was unable to determine by an examination 
 of microscopic sections whether it was oligoclase. 
 
 1865, August 25th. Sherghotty, near Gya, Berar, India. 1 
 
 The earliest notice of this stone appears in the Proceedings of the 
 Asiatic Society of Bengal. 2 It fell near Sherghotty at 9 A.M. on the 
 day mentioned ; the weather was calm and the sky overcast, when 
 a loud report was heard and the stone penetrated the soil to the 
 depth of about two feet. When exhumed it was found to be broken 
 into two pieces. 
 
 According to Lumpe's analysis, given below, this meteorite con- 
 sists almost exclusively of silicates, only a trace of metallic iron 
 
 1 E. Lumpe. Mineralogische Mittheilungen, 1871, 55. G. Tschermak, Mineral- 
 ogische Mittheilungen, 1871, 56; and 1872, 87; Sitzber. Ak. Wiss. Wien, 1872, Ixv. 
 122; Jahrbuchfiir Mineralogie, 1872, 733. See also F. Crook. On the Chemical 
 Constitution of the Ensisheim, Mauerkirchen, Sherghotty, and Muddoor Stones. 
 (Inaug.-Dissert.) 1868. Gottingen : E. A. Huth. 
 
 2 Proc. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1865, 183. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 143 
 
 and a very small amount of sulphur having been met with. It 
 contains : 
 
 Silicic acid 50-21 
 
 Alumina 5-90 
 
 Iron protoxide 21-85 
 
 Magnesia 10-00 
 
 Lime 10-41 
 
 Soda 1-28 
 
 Potash .. ... 0-57 
 
 100-22 
 
 These results show that the Sherghotty stone belongs to the class 
 including the meteorites of Stannern, Juvinas, and Jonzac. The 
 stone examined by Crook in Wohler's laboratory contained more 
 than nine per cent, of nickel-iron and very little lime, from which 
 it is apparent that what Crook held to be the meteorite of Sherghotty 
 is a specimen of another fall. 
 
 More recently this meteorite has been submitted to a very complete 
 investigation by Tscherrnak. He finds a fractured surface to be 
 distinctly granular ; the grains are of nearly equal magnitude, and 
 among them the eye readily distinguishes two minerals : one of a 
 light brown colour and with very distinct cleavage, the other trans- 
 parent and with a strong vitreous lustre. Further microscopic and 
 chemical examination revealed the presence of three more ingre- 
 dients : a yellow silicate rarely met with and forming grains, 0-1 mm. 
 across, which exhibit doubly refractive power and appear to crystal- 
 lise in the rhombic system ; they are probably bronzite. Magnetite 
 and magnetic pyrites were likewise present. 
 
 An augitic mineral, the one above alluded to, forms the chief mass 
 of the stone; it has a greyish-brown colour, and exhibits double 
 refraction with slight pleochroism. The cleavage and optical cha- 
 racters suggest its classification with diopside. The analytical re- 
 sults given below, however, show that it cannot be regarded as a 
 member of the augite group : 
 
 Silicic acid 52-34 
 
 Alumina 0-25 
 
 Iron protoxide 23-19 
 
 Magnesia 14-29 
 
 Lime 10-49 
 
 100-56 
 These numbers accord with the formula : 
 
 CaO, 2 MgO, 2 FeO, 5 Si0 2 . 
 
 A mixture of hypersthene and hedenbergite, the former greatly 
 preponderating, possesses such a composition. Tschermak finds, 
 however, that the silicate cannot be thus constituted, and he con- 
 siders this augitic constituent of the Sherghotty meteorite to be a 
 chemical compound which has not yet been discovered in our terres- 
 trial rocks. 
 
 The second constituent of this stone occurs more rarely in 
 transparent colourless granules with vitreous lustre and conchoidal 
 fracture ; they proved to be distorted octahedra. " Maskelynite," as 
 
144 
 
 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Tschermak has named this mineral, does not doubly refract light, 
 and agrees in point of composition with no known cubic mineral, 
 approaching nearest to a labradorite from Labrador examined some 
 time since by Tschermak. This silicate has the specific gravity 
 2'65 and the following composition : 
 
 Silicic acid 56*3 
 
 Alumina 25'7 
 
 Lime 11-6 
 
 Soda 5-1 
 
 Potash 1-3 
 
 100-0 
 
 In comparing maskelynite with labradorite, or suggesting a pos- 
 sible dimorphism of labradorite, the one form triclinic, the other 
 cubic, the fact must not be lost sight of that labradorite already re- 
 presents a mixture of two silicates, anorthite and albite, which sub- 
 stances, it will have to be assumed, are dimorphous and occur as a 
 mixture in the cubic form. The action of acid on maskelynite 
 pointed to its composite nature, to the possibility of its consisting of 
 an aluminous silicate containing soda which is less readily acted 
 upon than another aluminous silicate containing lime. 
 
 Pyroxene. Maskelynite. Magnetite. 
 
 O 
 
 Tschermak represents the Sherghotty meteorite as made up of : 
 
 Total Total 
 
 Composition Composition 
 
 (Calculated). (Observed). 
 
 Silicic acid .. 38-21 12-68 50-89 50-21 
 
 Alumina 0-18 5'79 5-97 5-90 
 
 Iron protoxide 16-93 16-93 17'59 
 
 Magnesia 10-43 10-43 10-00 
 
 Lime 7'65 2-60 10-25 10-41 
 
 Soda 1-14 1-14 1-28 
 
 Potash 0-29 0-29 0-57 
 
 4-50 4-57 
 
 Magnetite 
 
 73-40 22-50 
 
 Specific gravity... 3-466 2-65 
 
 4-50 
 5-0 
 
 100-40 
 3-285 
 
 100-53 
 3-277 
 
 While the Sherghotty stone by its peculiar constitution defies in a 
 way proper classification, it finds a place among the small group of 
 eukritic meteorites, and resembles most closely that of Petersburg 
 (1855, August 5th). 
 
 Fell 1865. Wisconsin. 1 
 
 At the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement 
 of Science, held at Detroit in 1875, Dr. L. Smith communicated a 
 notice of an undescribed meteorite which fell in Wisconsin during 
 1865. The details of this paper have not yet reached me. 
 
 Amer. Jour. So., 1875, x. 314. 
 
HISTORY Of METEORITES. 145 
 
 1866, June 9th. Knyahinya, near Nagy-Berezna, Unghvar, 
 
 Hungary. 1 
 
 Shortly after this remarkable shower of meteorites had taken place 
 two very full reports on the occurrence were drawn up by von 
 Haidinger. It is computed that over a very limited area more than 
 a thousand stones, weighing in all from 8 to 10 cwt., must have 
 fallen. The largest found is now preserved in the Vienna Collec- 
 tion; it weighs 293-3 kilog. (5 cwt. 3qrs. 31bs.), and measures 2ft. 
 4 in. long and 18 in. broad, and penetrated the ground to a depth of 
 lift. For drawings of this enormous block, the largest mass of 
 meteoric stone preserved in any collection, and coloured representa- 
 tions of the meteor which was observed at the time of its descent, 
 the reader is referred to von Haiclinger's two memoirs. 
 
 Kenngott has published the results of a microscopic investigation 
 of thin sections of a fragment of this meteorite, illustrated with 
 eight drawings indicating peculiarities of structure. To the naked 
 eye the section appears to be finely granular and of a grey tint, and 
 even with a very moderate power is seen to present spherular 
 structure, recalling, if relative size be left out of consideration, that 
 of the globular diorite of Corsica. The opaque ingredients are 
 nickel-iron, troilite, and a black substance; in addition to these 
 are two crystalline mineral species, the one colourless and trans- 
 parent and somewhat fissured, the other grey and translucent and 
 presenting an appearance of lamellar structure : both appear in 
 angular and rounded granules, and both are bi-refractive ; they are 
 differently affected by hydrochloric acid, and from other differences 
 in their crystalline characters it may be inferred that the grey 
 silicate is enstatite, the colourless silicate is olivine. It is hardly 
 possible to give the reader in a small compass an idea of Keungott's 
 detailed description of the various granules; the grey mineral he 
 observed to constitute several of the round or rounded granules, and 
 in most of the specimens there was clear evidence that the two 
 silicates had crystallized simultaneous^ ; in one instance an alter- 
 nation of the two minerals in one and the same granule, as it occurs 
 in globular diorite, is remarked, the interior consisting of the 
 grey mineral, finely striated and surrounded with black opaque 
 substance, around which again is a granular aggregation of the 
 transparent fissured silicate, locally interspersed with particles of 
 the black opaque substance and of nickel-iron. 
 
 Fragments heated before the blowpipe become covered with a 
 black enamel, while the grey powder of the meteorite, when 
 moistened with distilled water, reacts distinctly, sometimes in- 
 tensely, on turmeric paper. The specific gravity of this stone is 
 3515. 
 
 1 A. Kenngott. Sitzber. Ak. Wiss. Wien, 1869, lix. 873. Phil Mag., 1869, 
 xxxvii. 424. J. V. Schiaparelli. Entwnrf einer astronoraischen Theorie der Stern- 
 schnuppen. 1871. Stettin: Nahmer. Page 267. E. H. von Baurahauer. Archives 
 Neerlandaises, 1872, vii. 146. See also W. von Haidinger. Sitzber. Ah. Wiss. 
 Wien, liv. 200 and 513. G. Rose. Monatsber. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, livii. 203. 
 
 10 
 
146 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 It was not till after a lapse of six years from the date of this 
 abundant aerolitic fall that a specimen was submitted to careful 
 chemical analysis. Von Baumhauer, by whom it was undertaken, 
 finds the Knyahinya meteorite to have the following composition : 
 
 Nickel-iron ..................... 5*0 
 
 Troilite ........................ 2-2 
 
 Chromite ........................ 08 
 
 Olivine ........................ 39-9 
 
 Insoluble silicate .................. 52-1 
 
 100-0 
 The nickel-iron contains : 
 
 Iron = 79-94; Nickel = 20-06. Total = 100*00 
 
 The silicates, separated by the action of acid and sodium carbonate, 
 consist of: 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO 1 MgO CaO K 2 
 
 A. Soluble ...... 37-16 0-27 26-54 30-18 2-43 2-14 1-28 = 100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble... 56-35 5-93 11-22 19-58 3-97 I'll 1'84 = 100-00 
 
 The soluble portion is olivine, having the composition 
 (Mg-f Fe-J) 2 Si0 4 ; it is identical with that which, according 
 to Damour's analysis, constitutes the meteorite of Chassigny 
 (1815, October 3rd), and occurs as one of the ingredients of 
 so many meteorites. In the insoluble portion the ratio of the 
 oxygen of the silicic acid to that of the total bases is 2:1. 
 Von Baumhauer points to a resemblance between these in- 
 gredients and those forming the insoluble portion of the 
 meteorites of Chantonnay, Seres, and Blansko, analysed by Ber- 
 zelius, as well as that of the Utrecht stone, which he himself 
 examined. He considered it (the insoluble part) to be in that case 
 a mixture of albite and augite ; Eammelsberg, on the other hand, 
 held that it consisted either of labradorite and hornblende, or 
 oligoclase and augite ; a considerable proportion may be bronzite. 
 
 On the last page of Boguslawski's translation of Schiaparelli's 
 Note e Biflessioni sulla teoria astronomica delle Stelle cadenti is an 
 interesting mathematical demonstration that the meteorites of Knya- 
 hinya and Pultusk (1868, January 30th) cannot have come from 
 the same part of space. 
 
 1 With traces of manganese protoxide. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 147 
 
 1866, December 6th, 10.30 a.m. Elgueras, District of Cangas de 
 Onis, Province Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. ' 
 
 In Meunier's interesting paper a drawing is given of this curious 
 stone, which he selects as one exhibiting peculiarities of brecciated 
 structure and the relation of meteoric rocks to each other as regards 
 stratification. The stone contains abundance of fragments of a white 
 ingredient enclosed in a darker material ; the white portions he finds 
 to be identical with the rock forming the meteorite of Montrejeau 
 (1858, December 9th), while the duller substance, cementing them 
 together, is the same as that constituting the stone which fell at 
 Adare, in Ireland (1813, September 10th). He terms these two 
 rock varieties : montresite and limerickite. Meunier gives November 
 30th as the date of the fall of this meteorite. 
 
 Found 1866. Frankfort, Franklin Co., Kentucky. [Lat. 38 14' N. ; 
 Long. 80 40- W.] 2 
 
 This block of meteoric iron, which was found on a hill 8 miles 
 S.W. of Frankfort, was conveyed to a blacksmith's forge in that 
 town, in order to test its quality as iron. It weighs 24 Ibs., has a 
 somewhat globular form and a highly crystalline structure. The 
 specific gravity of this iron is 7'692 and the composition : 
 
 Iron = 90-58 ; Nickel = 8'53 ; Cobalt = 0-36 ; Phosphorus = 0-05 ; Copper, 
 trace. Total = 99-52. 
 
 Found 1866. Sierra de Deesa, near Santiago, Chili. 3 
 
 Meunier has studied the two fragments of this iron preserved in 
 the Paris Collection, and finds it to possess characters of which a 
 superficial view of the exterior gives no indication. It appears to 
 resemble an ordinary meteoric iron, but when sawn through it is 
 found to enclose siliceous fragments, black in colour, markedly 
 angular, and varying in size from a few millimetres to two centi- 
 metres ; in these in some cases lie embedded grains of nickel-iron 
 and spherular particles of troilite. Troilite, as well as occasionally 
 little pieces of schreibersite, are also observed in the metallic portion. 
 According to Domeyko this iron consists of : 
 
 1 J. R. Luanco. Ann. Soc. Espan. Hist. Nat., iii. p. 64. F. Homer. Jahrbuch 
 fur Mineralogie, 1873, 257. S. Meunier. Les Pierres qui tombent du Ciel. La 
 
 Nature, 1873, i. 403. 
 
 2 J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1870, xlix. 331. 
 
 3 S. Meunier. Cosmos, 1869, vii. (v. ?), 188, 552, 579 and 612. Sitzber. Ale. 
 Wiss. Wien, 1870, Ixi. 26. La Nature, 1873, i. 405. W. von Haidinger. Sitzber. 
 Ak. Wiss. Wien, 1870, Ixi. 29. See also G. A. Daubree. Compt. rend., 1868, Ixvi. 
 571. 
 
148 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Nickel-iron 95-92 
 
 Schreibersite 1-42 
 
 Silicate 2-40 
 
 99-74 
 
 Meunier found in one specimen 1-7 per cent, of silicate. The 
 siliceous portion is distributed sparsely and so irregularly throughout 
 the mass that it is impossible to judge with any accuracy of the 
 composition of the meteorite en bloc. 
 
 A portion of the siliceous ingredient from which a great part of 
 the metal had been detached had the composition : 
 
 Nickel-iron 12-62 
 
 Troilite (?) 5-01 
 
 Chromite, schreibersite and graphite... traces 
 
 Soluble silicate 40-82 
 
 Insoluble silicate ... .41-55 
 
 100-00 
 Domeyko found the nickel-iron and schreibersite to consist of: 
 
 Iron = 90-88; Nickel = 9-12 = 100-00 
 
 Iron = 65-00 ; Nickel = 26-30 ; Phosphorus = 870 = 100-00 
 
 The density of the iron = 7-51 ; it does not show Widmannstattian 
 figures when etched, although small plates enclosed in the alloy de- 
 velope a pattern. The numbers yielded by the analysis of the phos- 
 phide correspond approximately with the formula Fe 8 Ni 3 P 2 . 
 
 Meunier adopted a novel means for analysing the nickel-iron : he 
 reduced it to fine particles with a hard file, and fused them with 
 caustic potash in a silver crucible ; in this way the sulphur and 
 phosphorus of the troilite and schreibersite are rendered soluble and 
 removed with water. To ensure a perfectly pure condition of the 
 metal it is treated with fuming nitric acid, and is then dried and 
 heated cautiously in a current of air ; when the requisite temperature 
 is reached the particles change colour ; those acquiring a blue tint 
 are kamacite, Fe u Ni, and those a yellow are tanite, Fe 6 Ni. In the 
 case of the Deesa iron nearly all the particles turned blue, a yellow 
 grain being observed here and there. Meunier finds the composition 
 of the nickel- iron, iron sulphide and schreibersite to be : 
 
 I. Iron = 91-4 ; Nickel = 7'2 = 98-6. 
 
 II. Iron and Nickel = 58 ; Sulphur (calculated) = 42 = 100. 
 III. Iron = 60-00 ; Nickel = 26-75 ; Phosphorus = 10-29 = 97'04. 
 
 I. agrees with Domeyko's analysis as regards the iron ; II., a very 
 imperfect analysis, accords rather with the formula of pyrrhotite 
 than troilite ; and III. differs considerably from the numbers corre- 
 sponding with the accepted formula of schreibersite. 
 The composition of the portions separated with acid is : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 Fe 3 3 FeO MgO CaO Na 2 
 
 A. Soluble ... 44-13 trace 13-52 42-35 trace = 100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble ... 49-98 5-46 0'98 16-79 23-31 3-48 trace = 100-00 
 
 In the soluble part the oxygen ratios are approximately those of 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 149 
 
 olivine, in the insoluble part those of pyroxene. While the pre- 
 sence of olivine could not be detected in the mass by any crystalline 
 features, in the insoluble part three minerals were recognised. The 
 most apparent has a blackish-brown colour, lamellated structure and 
 a specific gravity 3 '35. The composition was found to be : 
 
 Silicic acid 51-61 
 
 Alumina 7'36 
 
 Iron protoxide 24-54 
 
 Magnesia 16-05 
 
 Lime .. 3-68 
 
 103-24 
 
 The second is white and granular, and possesses the following 
 constitution : 
 
 Silicic acid 55*76 
 
 Magnesia 41-85 
 
 Lame 3-89 
 
 101-50 
 
 and closely accords in composition with one of the three (IIL) 
 varieties of enstatite met with in the Busti meteorite (see page 121). 
 A third mineral, to which Meunier has given the name of victorite, 
 resembles hypersthene, occurs in colourless and transparent crystals 
 in a geode of 5 mm. diameter ; they form six-sided prisms terminated 
 with four- sided pyramids. Through some fragments very small 
 opaque black grains are disseminated, with here and there the cavi- 
 ties and rounded enclosures first observed by Sorby. The prisms 
 are grouped in a remarkable way. This mineral, which is present 
 in so small a quantity that none of it could be sacrificed for analysis, 
 has been declared by Des Cloiseaux from the following measure- 
 ments to be enstatite : 
 
 g'n = 134 3' to 134* 20'. 
 
 g 1 h l = 90 40'. 
 
 g'm over h l = 46. 
 
 mh 1 = 137 20. 
 
 mm 1 over h l = 93 0' to 93 40'. 
 
 h'm (left) = 136 25'; and 135 40' (?). 
 
 g l m = 134 0' ; and 134 40'. 
 
 mm 1 over g 1 = 88 40\ 
 
 Meunier finds this meteorite to be identical, as regards composition, 
 with that which fell at Tadjera, near Setif, Algiers (1867, June 9th), 
 in which also he recognised the presence of this variety of enstatite. 
 (See page 151.) 
 
 1867, Jan. 19th. Saonlod, 3 Miles N. of Khettree, Shekawattie, 
 Rajputana, India. [Lat. 28 9' 45" N. ; Long. 75 51' 20" E.] l 
 
 A shower of stones, numbering about forty, fell near the village 
 of Saonlod on the above day, at 9 A.M. The morning was bright 
 and clear, and no clouds were to be seen, when a loud report, reseni- 
 
 1 D. Waldie. Jour. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1869, xxxviii. 252. Records Geol. 
 Survey India, 1870, ii. 101 ; 1870, iii. 10. 
 
150 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 bling that of a cannon, was heard over an area many miles in length 
 and breadth, and was succeeded by two louder reports and followed 
 in turn by "a regular roll, resembling musketry heard at a short dis- 
 tance." The terrified inhabitants of the village where the stones fell, 
 seeing in them the instruments of vengeance of an offended deity, 
 set about gathering all they could find, and, having pounded them to 
 powder, scattered them to the winds. A gentleman connected with 
 the Topographical Survey, who happened at the time to be a few 
 miles distant from Saonlod, states that he sent all the sowars attached 
 to his camp to scour the country, with the intention of procuring as 
 many of the stones as possible. He adds : " I was very nearly too 
 late, as, between them all, they only managed to get the piece I sent, 
 
 .... and that under promise of a large reward." According to 
 the description, given by the more respectable class of natives, some 
 of the meteorites were of the size of a 24-pounder shot, and had a 
 blackish appearance on the outside ; they fell with such velocity 
 that they sank two or three feet into the ground in a sandy soil. 
 
 The crust of the stone is nearly black, cellular on the surface and 
 corrugated somewhat longitudinally, and is about one-third of a 
 millimetre in thickness. The interior has a light bluish-grey colour 
 in some parts, and a much darker grey in others; the two portions 
 lie side by side like two strata in some places, while in others a 
 nodule of the one is seen to be enclosed in the other. The freshly 
 fractured surface is studded with metallic particles of nickel-iron, 
 and exhibits translucent granules of a greenish yellow, which are 
 probably olivine. Siliceous spherules, as well as cavities once occu- 
 pied by them, are also observed, and when the mineral is finely 
 powdered and examined under water with a lens, the lighter portion 
 of the stone exhibits a considerable quantity of nearly white crys- 
 talline particles, mixed with small angular fragments of black, 
 brownish, greenish yellow, and opaque minerals, as well as rounded 
 particles of nickel-iron ; the dark-grey portion has very much the 
 same appearance. 
 
 The meteorite is not very hard ; the specific gravity of some small 
 pieces of the light-coloured portion was 3-743, of the dark-coloured 
 variety 3-612, while analysis showed it to consist of : 
 
 Nickel-iron 18-55 
 
 Troilite and schreibersite ... , 5-22 
 
 Soluble silicate 35-18 
 
 Insoluble silicate 42-36 
 
 101-31 
 The metallic portion contains : 
 
 Iron = 91-54 ; Nickel = 6-79; Cobalt = 1-15 ; Chromium = 0-52. Total = 100-00. 
 
 The sulphide and phosphide are assumed by the author to con- 
 sist of : 
 
 Iron = 51-54; Sulphur = 33 '71; andiron = 12-46; Phosphorus = 2'29. 
 Total = 100-00. 
 
 He regards the iron sulphide " as Fe 7 S 8 , troilite," a view which is 
 hardly tenable in face of the fact that Dr. L. Smith and Rammels- 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 151 
 
 berg, who have analysed the nodules of the mineral, which occur in 
 the meteorites of Knoxville, Seelasgen and Cocke Co., Tennessee, 
 have shown it to be a monosulphide. Again, no schreibersite has 
 yet been met with which does not contain a very considerable per- 
 centage of nickel, the whole of which metal the author takes to be 
 present in the metallic ingredient. 
 
 The siliceous portions separated by treatment with acid and sodium 
 carbonate have the following composition : 
 
 Si0 2 AloO. } Cr 9 3 FeO MgO CaO N^O X 1 
 
 A. Soluble ... 30-50 1-17 21-35 39-11 1-93 0-26 5-68 = 100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble ... 57'67 3-22 0-95 8-62 23-70 4-00 1-84 2 = 100-00 
 
 While the soluble portion appears to be chiefly olivine, that which 
 resisted the action of acid may be taken to be bronzite, together with 
 some percentage of a felspathic ingredient, possibly labradorite. 
 
 The Khettree meteorite, in point of composition, resembles that 
 which fell at Klein- Wenden, near Nordhausen, Prussia (1843, Sep- 
 tember 16th). 
 
 1867, June 9th. Tadjera (Amer Guebala), near Guidjell, Setif, 
 Province of Constantino, Algiers. 3 
 
 A meteor was seen to traverse the sky over this district, and 
 two stones, weighing 5-76 and 1-70 kilog., fell near Setif at about 
 10.30 P.M. The siliceous portion of the stone has a black colour 
 which distinguishes it from most meteorites, and it is further re- 
 markable for the absence of the usual fused crust. It has a specific 
 gravity of 3 '595 and the following composition : 
 
 Nickel-iron 8-32 
 
 Troilite... 8-04 
 
 Chromite 0-20 
 
 Soluble silicate 54-64 
 
 Insoluble silicate ... , 28-80 
 
 100-00 
 The nickel-iron consists of: 
 
 Iron = 91-6; Nickel = 8-4. Total = 100-0. 
 and the siliceous portions separated with acid and sodium carbonate : 
 
 SiO, Alo0 3 Cr 2 3 FeO MgO CaO Na 2 
 
 A. Soluble ... 45-24 0-81 11-17 42-78 trace = 100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble ... 50-21 4-15 0-41 27'99 8'03 9-21 trace = 100-00 
 
 In the soluble portion the silicic acid is in excess of that required to 
 form olivine, in the insoluble part of that required to form bronzite; 
 in the latter case a portion of the acid is probably present as a con- 
 stituent of a felspar. 
 
 1 Constituents removed with sodium carbonate, but undetermined. 
 
 2 With trace of potash. 
 
 3 S. Meunier. These presentee a la Faculte des Sciences de Paris, 1869. Re~ 
 cherches sur la Composition et la Structure des Meteorites, 13. Compt. rend., 1871, 
 Ixxii. 339. Cosmos, March 28th, 1866, 7. See also Angeraud. Compt. rend., 1867, 
 Ixv. 240. G. A. Daubree. Compt. rend., 1868, Ixvi. 51 i. Cosmos, March 21st, 
 1868, 25. 
 
152 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 1868, February 29th. Villanova di Casale Monferrato, Province 
 of Alessandria, and Motta dei Conti, Province of Novara, 
 Italy. 1 
 
 The village of Villanova lies on the left bank of the Po, 5 kilo- 
 metres N.E. of Casale Monferrato and 2 kilometres from the village 
 of Motta dei Conti. Between 10-30 and 10-45 A.M. (local mean time) 
 on the 29th February, the sky being calm but cloudy with cirri, 
 cirro-cumuli and cumuli, a loud detonation was heard which was 
 noticed in many villages and towns of this part of Piedmont. In 
 Casale the noise resembled the discharge of artillery or the explosion 
 of a mine ; while an observer stationed near the confluence of the 
 Sesia and the Po states that he heard a crackling noise like the dis- 
 charge of musketry afar off. Near Casteggio, in the district of 
 Yoghera, Alessandria, a mass was observed to traverse the heavens 
 with great rapidity, leaving a black track resembling smoke ; and 
 two explosions were heard followed by a prolonged noise. A medical 
 man who was near Santo Stefano d' Aveto. in the district of Chiavari, 
 Genoa, saw a globe of fire of considerable size cross the sky from 
 N.W. to S.E. at the same time. 
 
 One meteorite fell about 600 metres S.E. of Villanova ; it crashed 
 through the branches of a tree and entered the ground a few paces 
 distant from a terrified peasant, who, believing it to be a bomb, fell 
 on his face. The villagers were filled with alarm at the occurrence, 
 and some oxen yoked to a plough near Eoggia Marco va stood still 
 with fear. The stone penetrated the clayey soil to a depth of 0'4 
 metre, and on the following day was exhumed by a boy, while the 
 courageous owner of the field sheltered himself securely hard by and 
 watched the operation. 3 
 
 The Villanova meteorite has somewhat the form of a cube and 
 measures 0-08 metre along the side ; it weighs 1-92 kilog. and has a 
 specific gravity = 3*29. It is covered with a thin hard brown crust ; 
 the interior has a mottled grey colour and a fractured appearance, 
 and is very friable. The matrix is stated to enclose grains of an 
 ochrey-yellow hue, others much larger and of a brown colour 
 (chromite), as well as lustrous metallic particles, the remainder con- 
 sisting of various stony ingredients, some consisting of microscopic 
 crystals. 
 
 1 A. Goiran, A Bertolio, A. Zannetti, and L Musso. Sopra gli Aeroliti caduti 
 il giorno 29 febbraio 1868 nel territorio di Yillanova e Motta dei Conti, Piemonte, 
 circondario di Casale. Con Introduzione del padre Denza. 1868, Torino. See 
 also Bull, meteor, dell' Osserv. del R. Coll. Carlo Albertl in Montcalieri, March to 
 June, 1868. - F. Denza. Compt. rend., 1868, Ixvii. 322. G. Jervis. I Tesori 
 Sotterranei dell' Italia. Parte Prima. 1873, Torino: Loescher. Page 153. 
 
 2 The trajectory of this stone could be approximately determined since three points 
 in a vertical plane were determined : 1) the point where it grazed the top of a tree, 
 2) the broken end of the bough of a walnut tree severed by the meteorite, and 3) 
 the point where it entered the ground. Other peasants, who were employed lopping 
 trees near the high road which leads from Casale to Vercelli, at a point about 1200 
 metres from Villanova, observed a rain of black grains ; one man was struck on the 
 hat with a piece of considerable size. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 153 
 
 According to Bertolio this meteorite consists of : 
 
 Iron ........................... 20-700 
 
 Nickel oxide ..................... 5-371 
 
 Manganese and copper ............... traces 
 
 Sulphur ........................ 0-503 
 
 Phosphoric acid ..................... 0-597 
 
 Chlorine ....................... 0-105 
 
 Silicic acid ........................ 39-661 
 
 Alumina ........................ 0-415 
 
 Chromium sesquioxide ............... 0-036 
 
 Iron protoxide ..................... 12-234 
 
 Magnesia ........................ 14*776 
 
 Lime ..................... ...... 0-878 
 
 Potash and soda .................. 4-151 
 
 99-427 
 
 I have arranged according to the method adopted in foregoing 
 analyses, the results which Bertolio obtained by treating a portion 
 of the meteorite with acid and have further assumed that the nickel 
 which he quotes in the form of oxide is however present as a con- 
 stituent of the alloy. The metallic minerals broken up by acid 
 chiefly consist of nickel-iron with perhaps a little troilite and 
 schreibersite, and contain : 
 
 Iron = 84-659; Nickel = 11-791; Sulphur = 2-058; Phosphorus = 1-063; 
 Chlorine = 0-429 ; Copper, trace = 100-000 
 
 And their siliceous portions separated by acid have the following 
 composition : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 3 3 Cr 2 3 FeO NiO MgO CaO K 2 
 
 A. Soluble .. 35-287 21-643 (?) 38-423 tf = 100-000 
 
 B. Insoluble 69-806 1-053 0-091 12-133 4-293 3-923 2'228 0-246 6-227 = 100-000 
 
 The oxygen ratio of the silicic acid and of the total bases in A, if the 
 alkalies be regarded as soda, is 18-82 : 21-38, and in B, where the 
 alumina and nickel oxide are included, 37-23 : 7-968 ; A thus appears 
 to consist of an olivine in which the oxygen ratio of MgO and FeO 
 is approximately 3:1. It is not improbable that a portion of the 
 acid which gelatinised was not removed in the carbonate from B ; 
 and that the latter moreover was imperfectly decomposed during the 
 subsequent fusion. 
 
 A second stone, weighing 6-311 kilog., fell in a cornfield near the 
 farm Eoletta at a spot 2350 metres distant from the first. In form 
 it somewhat resembles a truncated pyramid, and measures 0-223 
 metre in its greatest length and 0*14 metre in its greatest breadth ; 
 it is also covered with a thin crust, evidently the result of fusion. 
 It is preserved in the Natural History Museum of the University 
 of Turin. The authors of the paper above alluded to consider the 
 two Villanova stones to be distinct meteorites, and not fragments 
 resulting from the explosion of a single mass during its passage 
 through our atmosphere ; their opinion is shared by Denza. 
 
 At the same time a meteorite fell at Motta dei Conti, the village 
 
154 HISTORY OE METEORITES. 
 
 already referred to. It struck the pavement in front of a tavern 
 with great violence, driving the slab 0*5 cm. into the ground ; the 
 shattered fragments of the meteorite, which rebounded over the roof 
 of a small dwelling 7 metres high, are estimated to have weighed 
 from 300 to 500 grammes. According to the list of the specimens, 
 quoted by Jervis as preserved in collections, their total weight does 
 not exceed 30 grammes. Bertolio, who submitted a small portion of 
 the Motta del Conti stone to examination, declares it to differ both 
 in physical characters and chemical composition from the Villanova 
 meteorites ; the disparity, however, is not difficult to account for. 
 He finds this stone to be more magnetic and dense (specific gravity 
 = 3'76) than the others, and to contain no lime and scarcely a trace 
 of alumina. A fragment of a meteorite, containing nearly one 
 quarter of its weight of nickel-iron, would, during the rough treat- 
 ment to which this stone was subjected, lose much of the interstitial 
 rocky matter and acquire a greater density in consequence, while the 
 proportion of the two oxides in the Villanova is in any case so small 
 that the indications they may give in a qualitative examination of 
 so small a quantity of material could hardly warrant our drawing 
 a conclusion as to whether or no it had a common origin with, or 
 similar constitution to, the Villanova stones. All the remaining 
 ingredients of the latter are likewise found in the Motta dei Conti 
 meteorite. It is stated that a fourth stone fell further north in the 
 water of the Eoggia Marcova, in the parish of Caresana. 
 
 Daubree points out that the above meteorites do not essentially 
 differ from others which have previously fallen in Piedmont, namely, 
 at Cereseto (1840, July 17th), and at Giuliana Vecchia (I860, 
 February 2nd); and finds them very similar in character to the 
 meteorites which fell at Oviedo, Spain (1856, August 5th), and 
 in the Commune des Ormes, Yonne, France (1857, October 1st). 
 
 1868, March 20th. Daniel's Kuil, N.N.E. of Griqua Town, Griqua 
 Territory, South Africa. 1 
 
 This meteorite fell at Daniel's Kuil, near a Griqua, who picked 
 it up while warm and gave it to Captain Nicolas Waterboer, the 
 Griqua Chief, from whom Gregory obtained it. It was broken into 
 two parts when it reached his hands, and has since unfortunately 
 been divided into several more ; it weighed 21b. 5oz. The crust 
 has a dull black colour; immediately below it for a thickness of 
 about -|th of an inch the stone has a browner colour than the 
 interior, the result of oxidation. The rock has a dark grey colour and 
 a fine granular texture, and encloses a very considerable amount of 
 nickel-iron in a finely divided condition, as well as particles of 
 
 1 A. H. Church. Jour. Chem. Soc., 1869 [2], vii. 22. Jour. PraJct. Chem., 1869, 
 cvi. 379. See also J. R. Gregory, Geol. Mag. Vol. V. p. 531 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 155 
 
 troilite and schreibersite. The rounded grains so commonly pre- 
 sent in meteoric rock are not seen. 
 
 This meteorite has been examined by Church, who finds it to 
 possess the specific gravity 3-657 to 3*678, and the following com- 
 position : 
 
 Nickel-iron 29'72 
 
 Troilite 6'02 
 
 Schreibersite 1-59 
 
 Silica and Silicates 61-53 
 
 Carbon, Oxygen, other constituents, and loss 1-14 
 
 100-00 
 The nickel-iron contains : 
 
 Iron = 94-72 ; Nickel = 5-18. Total = 100-00. 
 
 The per-centage of troilite is based on a sulphur determination made 
 in a separate portion; the schreibersite "was approximately esti- 
 mated by calculating its amount as being ten times that of the un- 
 oxidised phosphorus in the stone" a novel method which can hardly 
 be considered a satisfactory one. The rocky portion of the stone, 
 constituting nearly two-thirds of the mass, does not appear to have 
 been submitted to detailed analysis, although we are told that the 
 silicates consist chiefly of olivine and labradorite, " the former species 
 constituting by far the larger portion of the powder unaffected by 
 dilute acids." Olivine, as is well known, is the meteoric silicate 
 par excellence which is broken up by such reagents, being easily acted 
 upon even by dilute hydrochloric acid. Church does not state whether 
 he succeeded in detecting the presence of alumina in this meteorite, 
 although he numbers labradorite among its constituent minerals ; 
 while the occurrence of silica, as such, in a meteorite is so very rare, 
 having as yet been isolated and submitted to analysis in one instance 
 only (see p. 133), that an investigation of this question is desirable. 
 The author further states that in a second portion of the same 
 sample he found the silicates to amount to 61*10 per cent., in 
 another fragment to 48*99 per cent. ; while in yet another portion 
 the nickel -iron, judging from the per-centage of nickel it contained, 
 constituted 39-20 per cent, of the stone. 
 
 Found April, 1868. Losttown (2J miles W. of), Cherokee Co., 
 
 Georgia. 1 
 
 According to Shepard's first notice, this block of iron has the form 
 of a human foot and weighs 61bs. lOoz. " Widmannstattian figures 
 are visible directly in one portion of the surface ;" those presented by 
 treatment with acid are stated to be very beautiful and to most 
 nearly resemble the figures of the Seneca Lake iron. The nickel, 
 which in the first notice is stated to be abundantly present, although 
 
 1 C. U. Shepard. Amer. Jour. Se., 1869, xlvii. 234. See also Amer.Jour. Sc., 
 1868, xlvi. 257. 
 
156 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 the development of the figures would not lead one to expect the per- 
 centage to be large, proved on analysis to be considerably below the 
 average, as the following composition shows : 
 
 Iron = 95-759; Mekel = 3'660; Insoluble portion = 0-5 80. Total = 99-999. 
 
 The insoluble part is stated to consist of schreibersite and rhabdite ; 
 traces of cobalt, chromium, magnesium, and tin (?) were detected. 
 The specific gravity of the iron is 7*52. 
 
 1868, July llth. Ornans, Doubs, France. 1 
 
 This meteorite is described as differing in appearance from any of 
 the stones which have fallen in Europe during recent times. It has 
 a dull grey colour, and is so friable that it can be crumbled between 
 the fingers. It is very porous ; a fragment immersed in water ab- 
 sorbed about T Vth of its weight of water in two hours. Particles 
 of iron can only be detected here and there with a lens, and the 
 stone is feebly magnetic. The specific gravity of the rock is 3-599, 
 and it consists of : 
 
 Nickel-iron 1-85 
 
 Magnetic pyrites 6'81 
 
 Chromite 0*40 
 
 Olivine 75-10 
 
 Insoluble silicate ... 15-26 
 
 99-42 
 The portions of silicate separated by the treatment with acid were : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 FeO MO MgO CaO K 2 and Na 2 
 
 A. Soluble 33-37 3-93 3076 3-83 26-37 1'74 = 100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble... 40-43 8'98 10-55 30-15 6'29 3*60 = lOO'OO 
 
 Pisani, it will be seen, is of opinion that a portion of the 
 nickel is present in the form of oxide in the silicate which 
 gelatinises with acid. He determined the amount of iron present 
 as metal by measuring the volume of hydrogen which it evolved 
 during its solution in acid. In calculating the results of his 
 analysis he considers the sulphur to be combined with a portion 
 of this iron in the form of magnetic pyrites, and the remainder 
 of that metal to be alloyed with some of the nickel, the excess 
 of the nickel above that required to form the normal alloy being 
 present as oxide. As, however, it has not been shown to be a com- 
 ponent of the silicate, and recent researches (see page 88) have 
 failed to prove that it forms a constituent of meteoric olivine, it may 
 be present as alloy. If we exclude the oxygen of this nickel oxide, 
 the ratio of the oxygen of the silicic acid to that of the total bases 
 of that portion is 13-35 : 13*43, from which it appears that the chief 
 
 1 F. Pisani. Compt. rend., 1868, Ixvii. 663. G. Tscherraak. Sitzber. Ah. Wiss. 
 Wien, 1870, Ixii. 855. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 157 
 
 constituent of the Omans meteorite is an olivine having the 
 formula 2 (f Mg f Fe) Si0 4 . 
 
 Tschermak finds that the dull grey colour of this stone is due, at 
 least in part, to the presence of carbonaceous matter. (Compare 
 with the Goalpara meteorite, page 162.) 
 
 1868, September 7th. Saugnis-St-Etienne, Canton de Tardets, 
 Arrondissement Mauleon, Basses-Pyrenees. 1 
 
 At 2'30 A.M. a meteor emitting a pale green light traversed the 
 sky over Mauleon, and broke up leaving a faint whitish cloud which 
 lasted for some time. Its disappearance was succeeded by a noise as 
 of thunder, followed by three or four loud detonations, which were 
 heard over an area 80 kilometres wide. The inhabitants of Sauguis- 
 St.-Etienne heard, in addition to these noises, a sound like that pro- 
 duced by quenching hot iron in water, and a dull thud caused by 
 the meteorite striking the ground. It fell about 30 metres from the 
 church in the bed of a small stream, and was so completely shattered 
 that the largest fragments did not measure more than o cm. in length ; 
 their total weight is about 2 kilog. The fall was witnessed by two 
 men, who, returning home late, had continued in conversation at the 
 door of one of their dwellings. Frightened by the hissing noise, 
 they fell on the ground, and saw the stone strike the earth about 
 20 metres from them. 
 
 The Sanguis meteorite consists chiefly of rocky matter, the metallic 
 grains being small and sparsely distributed ; troilite is noticed in 
 nodules, some of which are 10 mm. across. The crust is dull black 
 and possesses the unusual thickness of 1 mm. ; the fine black veins 
 observed to traverse certain meteoric rocks are abundantly present 
 in this stone. A microscopic section was found to act strongly on 
 polarised light, and to have the appearance of a breccia of very 
 small transparent and colourless particles. 
 
 Daubree finds the rock composing this meteorite to be identical 
 in all respects with that forming the stones which fell at Villanova 
 di Casale Monferrato in Piedmont (1868, February 29th) [see page 
 152] ; even a practised eye examining specimens of these two falls 
 would fail to distinguish one from the other. 
 
 According to Meunier this stone has a specific gravity = 3-3G9, 2 
 and consists of: 
 
 Nickel-iron 8'050 
 
 Troilite 3-044 
 
 Soluble silicate 65-909 
 
 Insoluble silicate 23-571 
 
 100-574 
 
 1 G. A. Danbree. Compt. rend. 1868, Ixvii. 873. S. Meunier. These presentee 
 a la Faculte des Sciences de Paris, 1869. Recherches sur la Composition et la Struc- 
 ture des Meteorites, 16. 
 
 2 In his paper on the Belgian meteorite, a specific gravity = 3-43 is given. 
 
158 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 The nickel-iron contains : 
 
 Iron = 93-88; Nickel 6-12. Total = 100-00. 
 
 and the portions of the silicate separated by treatment with acid and 
 sodium carbonate : 
 
 Si0 2 Al 2 3 &Fe 2 3 Cr 2 3 FeO MgO CaO K 2 Na 2 
 
 v mum j 
 
 A. Soluble 45-66 3-05 50-68 0-61 trace = 100-00 
 
 B. Insoluble... 61-96 2'56 0'05 8-49 24*62 2'12 0'20 = 100-00 
 
 In both portions the silicic acid is considerably in excess of that 
 required to form a silicate of the form of olivine in A, and of a 
 brorizite in B. The amount of iron protoxide in the portion which 
 gelatinised with acid is unusually small. 
 
 Meunier refers to this meteorite in his description of the stone 
 which fell at St. Denis- Westrem, near Ghent (1855, June 7th). 
 (See p. 125.) 
 
 1868, October 1st. Lodran, Mooltan, India. 1 
 
 This meteorite fell at 2 P.M. on the above day at a spot about 
 12 miles E. of Lodran, the descent being accompanied with a loud 
 explosion, which appeared to come from the west. The chondritic 
 structure noticed in many meteorites was not observed in this 
 stone, but enclosed within its black crust was found a magma of 
 siliceous particles of so coarse-grained a character that the individual 
 granules occasionally measured 2 mm. in diameter. The constituent 
 minerals were carefully isolated before analysis, which showed the 
 stone to consist of : 
 
 Nickel-iron 32-5 
 
 Magnetic pyrites 7'4 
 
 Olivine 28-9 
 
 Bronzite, with some chromite and anorthite . 31-2 
 
 100-0 
 
 The alloy, an important ingredient, which developes figures re- 
 sembling those of the Senegal iron, forms a mesh-work enclosing 
 the silicates, the crystals of olivine not unfrequently leaving a com- 
 plete impression of their faces in it; it has the following com- 
 position : 
 
 Iron = 85-44; Nickel = 12-79; Magnesia = 0/25 ; Residue =0-81. Total = 99-29. 
 
 Associated with the substance just mentioned and occasionally en- 
 tangled in the silicates were fragments of magnetic pyrites : they 
 possess no crystalline structure and dissolve in acid with deposition 
 of sulphur. The olivine is of a bluish grey to Prussian blue colour, 
 and occurs in unusually well-developed crystals, which have been 
 
 1 G. Tschennak. Sitzber. Alt. Wiss. Wien, 1870, Ixi. 465. Pogg. Ann., cxl. 321. 
 Records of the Geological Survey of India, vol. ii. part 1, page 20. 
 
HISTORY >F METEORITES. 159 
 
 found by von Lang to agree in all respects with the olivine from 
 basalt ; the following measurements were made : 
 
 Calculated. 
 
 100, HO = 65 2' 65 2' 
 
 110, 110 = 49 49' 49 57 
 
 100, 210 = 46 30' about 47 2 
 
 100, 310 = 35 30' 35 36 
 
 100,210 = 41 0' 40 27 
 
 The fissures of many of the crystals are filled with a black 
 mineral of a dendiitic form ; this is assumed to be chromite and 
 is believed to be a secondary formation. This silicate has the specific 
 gravity 3-307 and the following composition : 
 
 Silicic acid 40-14 
 
 Chromium oxide 0-60 
 
 Iron protoxide 13'55 
 
 Magnesia 46-01 
 
 100-30 
 
 These numbers differ only to a slight extent from those of an olivine 
 in which the two compounds Mg 2 Si0 4 and Fe 2 Si0 4 are in the ratio 
 of 82 : 18. 
 
 The bronzite occurs in grains and imperfect crystals, on any of 
 which faces of more than one zone are rarely recognisable. On one 
 crystal von Lang determined the following angles : 
 
 Calculated. 
 
 100,320 = 34 50' about 34 30' 
 
 100, 110 = 45 56' 45 52' 
 
 100, 230 = 57 15' 57 6' 
 
 100,130 = 71 56' about 72 5' 
 
 while a second gave the following numbers : 
 
 Calculated. 
 
 110,010 = 44 6' about 44 8' 
 
 010, 110 = 44 0' about 44 8' 
 
 The calculated angles are based on observations made on the 
 bronzite of the Breitenbach siderolite (see page 132). The plane of 
 the optic axes is parallel to the zone [110, 010] and the mean line 
 perpendicular to 010 has a negative optical character. The specific 
 gravity of this mineral is 3'313 and the composition : 
 
 Silicic acid 55-35 
 
 Alumina 0-60 
 
 Iron protoxide 12-13 
 
 Magnesia 32-85 
 
 Lime 0-58 
 
 101-51 
 
 which corresponds, in point of constitution, with a bronzite in which 
 the isomorphous compounds Mg Si0 8 and Fe SiO s are present in the 
 ratio 78 : 22. 
 
 When a microscopic section of this mineral is examined it is found 
 to enclose three substances : 1) colourless chondra of a doubly re- 
 fracting mineral, which the crossed Nicols show to be twinned, and 
 which is probably a felspar ; 2) small round black particles, usually 
 lying in groups, and believed to be chromite ; and 3) fine hair-like 
 
160 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 bodies, disposed parallel to the cleavage-planes ; their nature could not 
 be determined. The plate accompanying Tschermak's paper furnishes 
 drawings of all these substances. 
 
 In addition to the octahedral faces (111), von Lang observed on 
 the chromite crystals, faces of the rhombic dodecahedron (110) and 
 the leucitoid (311), and made the following measurements : 
 
 Calculated. 
 
 111,111 = 70 31' 70 32' 
 
 Oil, 131 = 31 25 31 29 
 
 131, 113 = 50 25 50 29 
 
 It should be stated that in the Records of the Geological Society of 
 India, Oldham gives the 17th of October as the date of this fall. 
 
 1868, November 27th. Danville, Alabama. [Lat. 34 30 / N. ; 
 Long. 87 (X W.] l 
 
 During the (American) war, writes Dr. Lawrence Smith, artillery 
 had often been heard in the valley of the Tennessee, xind various specu- 
 lations were indulged in as to the meaning of a loud report, like 
 that of a cannon, which occurred at about 5 P.M. on the day above 
 mentioned, and appeared to come from a direction northward of 
 Danville. On the following day a man brought to that town a piece 
 of rock which, he said, fell near him and in the presence of some 
 labourers who were picking cotton at a place 3 miles W. of Dan- 
 ville. It entered the soil to a depth of 1J to 2 feet, and when 
 exhumed was found to weigh about 4| Ibs. Several stones fell in 
 the neighbourhood; one near some negroes at work in a cotton- 
 field, two others whizzed right and left past two men who were 
 ploughing a field about If miles N.W. of Danville. 
 
 The meteorite which reached Dr. Smith's hands, the first of those 
 mentioned, has the usual black crust, which is rough and dull, and 
 appears in some parts to have been whipped round, as it were, and 
 rolled over the border on to the unfused surface as the stone tra- 
 versed the atmosphere. 
 
 A fresh surface has a dark grey colour, and is less choiidritic than 
 is the case with many meteorites, and there are veins or patches of 
 a slate-coloured mineral running across it. Iron sulphide and nickel- 
 iron are diffused through the rock, the latter more especially in the 
 slate-coloured areas ; and there are occasional white patches of what 
 is probably enstatite. 
 
 The meteorite has a specific gravity of 3'398, and contains 3-092 
 per cent, of nickel-iron consisting of : 
 
 Iron = 89-513; Nickel = 9-050 ; Cobalt = 0-521 ; Phosphorus =0-0 19 ; Sulphur= 
 0-105; Copper, trace. Total = 99'208. 
 
 and the iron sulphide contains : 
 
 Iron = 6Ml; Sulphur = 39 -5 6. Total = 100-67. 
 1 J. L. Smith, Amer. Jour. Sc., 1870, xlix. 90. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 161 
 
 If the excess over 100 be deducted from the iron, the chief con- 
 stituent, these numbers correspond very closely with the percent- 
 ages of magnetic pyrites (pyrrhotite), not of iron protosulphide, 
 as stated in this paper ; troilite, the presence or absence of which 
 was not established, is of course the protosulphide. The rocky por- 
 tion of the Danville meteorite consists of : 
 
 Soluble silicate 60-88 
 
 Insoluble silicate .. 39-12 
 
 100-00 
 and has the following composition : 
 
 Si0 2 A1 2 3 Cr 2 3 FeO MnO MgO CaO K 3 Xs^O S P 
 
 A. Soluble.. 45-90 1-73 trace 23-64 trace 26-52 2-31 0-64 0-51 1-01 trace = 102-26 
 K. Insoluble 50'08 4- 11 19-85 20-14 3'90 = 98'08 
 
 In the soluble portion the excess over 100 is due to some of the 
 iron regarded as oxide being present in combination with sulphur ; 
 this portion is chiefly olivine, that insoluble in acid is bronzite with 
 a little augite or felspar. 
 
 The author finds this meteorite to be similar in every respect to 
 the stone which fell in Harrison Co., Indiana (1859, March 28th), 
 which in many catalogues is incorrectly referred to Harrison Co., 
 Kentucky (1859, March 26th). 
 
 1868, December 5th. Frankfort, Franklin Co., Alabama. 1 
 
 The fall of this meteorite, which occurred at 3 P.M. on the above day, 
 was attended by three loud reports, immediately succeeded by a series 
 of sounds like that of a great fire blazing and crackling. The descent 
 took place four miles S. of Frankfort, and was witnessed by Mr. 
 J. W. Hooper, who saw the stone strike some willow saplings about 
 70 or 80 yards from him ; on going to the spot, he found it nearly 
 buried in the ground and still warm. The noise of the explosion 
 was heard 20 or 25 miles E. and W. and 15 or 20 N. of Frankfort. 
 Mr. Hooper made notes of the occurrence, and sent the stone for 
 analytical examination. " He refused with scorn money offers, 
 which must have been tempting to a person of limited income, pre- 
 ferring the advancement of science to dollars and cents." 
 
 The meteorite, which is almost entirely covered with a very lus- 
 trous black crust, so thin in some parts that fragments of olivine can 
 be distinguished through it, weighs 615 grammes, and has a specific 
 gravity of 3-31. A fractured surface presents a pseudo-porphyritic 
 structure, having a grey ground on which black, green, white and 
 dark grey spots are seen : the black fragments are very lustrous and 
 slightly magnetic (chromite) ; and the yellowish-green mineral, 
 passing into yellow and shading into dark grey, appears to be olivine ; 
 while the greyer variety, cannot, according to Brush, be distinguished 
 
 1 G. J. Brush. Amer. Jour. Sc., 1869, xlviii. 240. 
 
 11 
 
162 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 from the " piddingtonite " of the Shalka stone, now shown to be no 
 true mineral species (see page 115). Some brilliant points possessing 
 metallic lustre were found to be troilite ; and one or two delicate 
 black veins were also observed. 
 
 The nickel-iron constitutes only a few hundredths of one per cent., 
 the chromite O62 per cent., and the troilite 0*63 per cent, of the 
 mass ; and of the latter about 26 per cent, is soluble in acid. An 
 analysis of a portion of the stone gave the following results : 
 
 Oxygen. 
 Silicic acid... , 51-33 26-37 
 
 Alumina 8'05 
 
 Chromium oxide 0'42 
 
 Iron protoxide 13-70 
 
 Magnesia 17'59 
 
 Lime 7-03 
 
 Potash 0-22 
 
 Soda 0-45 
 
 Sulphur 0-23 
 
 3-75 
 
 3-04^ 
 
 7-04 | 
 
 2-06 ^12-28 
 
 0-03 
 
 0-llJ 
 
 99-02 
 
 As the greater portion of the lime and but little of the magnesia 
 and iron protoxide were found in the portion soluble in acid, it 
 appears probable that this meteorite will be found after the more 
 detailed investigation, which Brush contemplates undertaking, to 
 consist to a great extent of anorthite, olivine and bronzite. He is 
 of opinion that by sacrificing more material it will be possible to 
 mechanically separate the constituent minerals under a lens. In 
 general physical characters it closely resembles the meteorite of 
 Petersburg, Lincoln Co., Tennessee (1855, August 5th). 1 
 
 1868, December 22nd. Moteeka Nugla, Ghoordha, Bhurtpur, India. 
 
 A specimen of this stone weighing 14 oz. is preserved in the 
 British Museum Collection. 
 
 Found 1868. Goalpara, Assam, India. [Lat. 26 10' N.; 
 Long. 90 40' E.] 2 
 
 This meteorite, the date of the fall of which is not known, was 
 first described by von Haidinger, who directed attention to the 
 peculiarities of its form and surface as indicating with great clear- 
 ness the orientation of the stone in respect to the path of flight 
 through the atmosphere; he remarked among its mineralogical 
 characters differences from those observed in all other meteorites, 
 and described it as an olivinous rock, of coarse grain, and of a very 
 
 1 J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. Sc. 1861, xxi. 264. 
 
 2 W. von Haidinger. Sitzber. Ak. Wiss. Wien, 1869, lix. 224 and 665 N 
 Teclu. Sitzber. Ak. Wiss. Wien, 1870, Ixii. 852. G. Tschermak. Sitzber. Ak 
 Wiss. Wien, 1870, Ixii. 855. Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie, 1871,412. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 163 
 
 dark grey hue. Von Haidinger's preliminary notice is illustrated 
 with two beautiful plates showing the remarkable form of the stone. 
 
 Tschermak, who has made a very complete investigation of this 
 meteorite, describes the exterior as having a deep greyish-brown 
 colour ; the fused crust is extremely thin and hard, and is readily 
 removed in flakes. The interior has a porphyritic structure; the 
 deep grey matrix enclosing light-coloured yellow grains, which 
 have a nearly uniform breadth of 1 mm. These included particles 
 are found on closer inspection to be of two kinds ; the one exhibit- 
 ing a very distinct cleavage, the other none. The first mineral is 
 rhombic, has cleavage-planes forming an angle of 92, is unacted 
 upon by acid, and is identified with enstatite. The second species 
 is also infusible, gelatinises with acid, and is found to be olivine. 
 
 The very finely granular matrix, when viewed under a high 
 power, is seen to consist partly of small transparent particles which 
 appear to be olivine, partly of opaque material in which reflected 
 light reveals the presence of three substances : a sponge-like mass, 
 the thin cell-walls of which are minute crystals, some cubic in 
 form, and readily identified by their lustre with nickel -iron ; a 
 smoke-brown pulverulent lustreless substance, of which more will 
 be said below ; and diminutive yellow metallic granules, which are 
 probably magnetic pyrites. The relative position which these in- 
 gredients occupy in the mass of the rock is clearly shown in the 
 beautiful microscopic drawings accompanying Tschermak's paper. 
 
 When a fragment of the meteorite is treated with acid the nickel- 
 iron, magnetic pyrites, and olivine decompose, and at the outset 
 a little sulphuretted hydrogen is disengaged ; soon an odour is 
 remarked like that attending the solution in acid of iron contain- 
 ing combined carbon. After prolonged action the residue is 
 still grey ; on diluting the solution with water, however, this grey 
 matter rises to the surface, or if it should happen to adhere to the 
 silica can, through its lower specific gravity, be separated by elutria- 
 tion. When heated on platinum foil the grey substance disappears ; 
 it possesses in every respect the properties of soot. This carbon- 
 aceous matter is the dark-coloured lustreless ingredient of the matrix 
 already mentioned. 
 
 The Goal para stone has a specific gravity = 3-444: and consists of: 
 
 Nickel-iron , 8-49 
 
 Hydrocarbon 0-85 
 
 Olivine 61-72 
 
 Enstatite 30-01 
 
 Magnetic pyrites trace 
 
 101-07 
 
 If the total amount of silica, determined by analysis, be apportioned 
 to the bases in the soluble and insoluble portion, it is found, in the 
 first instance, that the olivine contains in 100 parts : 
 
 Silicic acid 37-81 
 
 Iron protoxide 18-99 
 
 Magnesia 43-20 
 
 100-00 
 
161 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 These numbers show the mineral to be made up of the silicates 
 Mg 2 Si0 4 and Fe 2 Si0 4 in the ratio of 3 : 1. The insoluble portion 
 has the following composition : 
 
 Silicic acid 56*72 
 
 Iron protoxide 5*33 
 
 Magnesia 35-95 
 
 Lime 2-00 
 
 100-00 
 
 The enstatite is remarkable for the small per-centage of iron oxide 
 present ; it may be a mixture of a pure magnesian enstatite with a 
 little of the ferriferous variety, bronzite, and is possibly associated 
 with a small amount of augite. 
 
 This meteorite, it is seen, consists for the most part of olivine and 
 enstatite, an association of minerals previously noticed by Tschermak 
 in the stone which fell at Lodraii (see page 158). The presence of 
 carbonaceous matter forming 0-85 per cent, of the stone, and consist- 
 ing of 0*72 carbon and 0'13 hydrogen, constitutes by far the most 
 striking feature of this meteorite. While the carbonaceous meteorites 
 which fell at Kaba, Alais, etc., have a very loose texture, the Goal- 
 para stone exhibits great toughness. 
 
 A list of meteorites containing carbon has been given on page 4 ; 
 to that must be added the names of those which fell at Kenazzo 
 (1824, January 15th), Mezo-Madaraz (1852, Sept. 4th), Ornans 
 (1868, July llth), and Zsadany (1875, March 31st). 
 
 [1868]. Auburn, Macon Co., Alabama. 1 
 
 In October, 1868, Prof. Darby, of the East Alabama College, drew 
 up a report on a mass of meteoric iron which had been ploughed up 
 " many years since," in the Daniel plantation near Auburn. It was 
 a nearly round mass, weighing about 8 Ibs. ; it is traversed with 
 such deep cracks and open veins that it would not be difficult to 
 break it in pieces ; on one side a " globule " of troilite, half an inch 
 in diameter, was noticed. When etched the iron exhibits a mesh- 
 work of exceedingly thin lines, the areas within the lines being 
 lustrous when viewed in a certain direction ; the former appearance 
 is ascribed to thin plates of schreibersite, the latter to sections of 
 needles of rhabdite. 
 
 The metal has a specific gravity of 7'05, and the composition : 
 
 Iron = 94-580; Nickel = 3-015 ; Phosphorus = 0-129; Insoluble portion = 0-523 
 
 Total = 98-247. 
 
 Besides the above ingredients the presence of undetermined 
 quantities of chromium, calcium, magnesium, and silicium (?) was 
 recognised. Shepard states that " neither cobalt, tin, nor copper was 
 detected in this iron." Commenting on this statement and the ob- 
 
 1 C. TJ. Shepard. Amer.Jour. Sc., 1869,xlvii. 230. L. Smith. Amer.Jour. Sc., 
 1870, xlix. 331. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 165 
 
 servations of other investigators, where the fact of the presence of 
 cobalt in meteoric iron has not been actually recorded, Dr. L. 
 'Smith says: 1 "I cannot but suggest the importance of making a 
 most critical examination of these irons before pronouncing this 
 fact ; for in every analysis that I have made of meteoric irons (over 
 one hundred different specimens) with this in view, cobalt has been 
 invariably found, along with a minute quantity of copper." 
 
 [N.D.] Collina di Brianza, near Villa, Milan. 8 
 
 It is stated by Chladni 3 that this mass of metal was found about 
 40 to 50 years earlier (which would be about 1769-79) while digging 
 the foundations of a house, and that it was placed in the Convent of 
 S. Alessandro. Guidotti, Klaproth, and Gehlen, to whom fragments 
 were sent for analysis, found neither nickel, chromium, phosphorus, nor 
 carbon in it, and considered it to be very pure iron ; so malleable was 
 it, in fact, that Chladni had a tuning-fork forged from it. Specimens 
 of this mass, which weighed originally from 200 to 300 Ibs., are to 
 be met with in most collections : its cosmical origin, however, has 
 been regarded as doubtful, especially since Stromeyer reported that 
 he had discovered the presence of carbon in the metal. A fragment 
 with the above label was submitted by Haushofer to a fresh ex- 
 amination with the aid of more delicate analytical methods, and he 
 inferred that the mass is unquestionably meteoric. When etched 
 the fragment gave very distinct Widmannstattian figures. One part 
 of the metal he found to contain 95'2 per cent, of iron, while the 
 composition of another part was : 
 
 Iron = 91-1; Nickel = 7'7 ; Cobalt = 0-2; Phosphorus = 0-3; Carbon, trace. 
 Total = 99-3. 
 
 He states the specific gravity of the iron to be 7-596, a number very 
 slightly in excess of that given by Chladni. A later analysis by 
 Wohler 4 of an undoubted fragment of the original specimen confirms, 
 however, the older results, and makes it clear that Haushofer had 
 examined a specimen provided with a wrong label. 
 
 1 J. L. Smith. Mineralogy and Chemistry, 3o2. 
 
 2 K. Haushofer. Jour. Prakt. Chem., 1869, cvii. 328. 
 
 3 E. F. F. Chladni. Ueher Feuer-Meteore. Vienna: 1819. Page 349. 
 
 4 Gottinger Kach., 1870, 31-32. 
 
 END OF PART II. 
 
166 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 DIGEST OF MEMOIRS AND NOTICES 
 
 PUBLISHED SUBSEQUENTLY TO 1875. 
 
 [Before 1744.] Hizen, Japan. 1 
 
 Dr. Divers has drawn attention to two Japanese meteorites, the 
 property of a gentleman, Mr. Naotaro Nabeshima, formerly Daimiyo 
 of Ogi or Koshiro, in the province of Hizen, Japan. They are 
 heirlooms in his family, and used to be in the care of the priests of 
 one of the family temples in Ogi, called Fukuchi- in Gomado. After 
 the revolution the temple was closed. In the family archives there 
 is a record of these stones having been entrusted, some years after 
 their fall to a priest named Jishobo, which is dated December 10th, 
 1744, and his receipt for them is also preserved; they must there- 
 fore have fallen about 150 years ago. They were formerly among 
 the offerings annually made in the temple in Ogi to Shokujo 
 (Tanabatatsume) on her festival, the 7th day of the 7th month ; they 
 were connected with her worship by the belief that they had fallen 
 from the shores of the Silver Eiver, Heavenly River, or Milky Way, 
 after they had been used by her as weights with which to steady 
 her loom. 
 
 The meteorites are somewhat similar in appearance, being angular 
 masses, evidently fragments, irregular quadratic pyramids in shape. 
 The smaller shows a number of small pits or depressions. Faintly 
 marked thin ridges and streaks are to be seen on both stones, 
 radiating with some regularity from about the centre of the base 
 over the basal edges towards the apex ; the edges and faces are all 
 rounded, and have the usual very thin, nearly black, coating. The 
 interior is light grey in colour, earthy, porous, somewhat soft, and 
 interspersed with particles of nickel-iron and a few of troilite. The 
 larger stone weighs 5-6 kilog., the smaller 4-6 kilog. The density 
 of the stone was found to be 3 -62. 
 
 1 E. Divers, Asiatic Soc. of Japan, Tokiyo, Feb. 9, 1882: Chemical News, 1882, 
 xlv. 216. 
 
HISTORY .OF METEORITES. 
 
 167 
 
 The analysis made by Mr. Shimidzu, one of the students of the 
 Kobu dai Gakko, led to the following results : 
 
 Iron ... 
 Nickel, etc. 
 Manganese 
 
 15-35 
 1-75 
 0-18 
 
 Tin, etc 0-15 
 
 Iron monoxide, as silicate 
 
 Alumina 
 
 Soda 
 
 Potash 
 
 Manganese monoxide 
 
 Nickel oxide . 
 
 8-64 
 1-94 
 1-89 
 0-97 
 0-16 
 0-51 
 0-30 
 
 99-01 
 
 Iron monosulphide .. 5 -91 
 
 Iron chromite 0-61 
 
 Phosphoric acid 0-34 
 
 Silicic acid 36-75 
 
 Magnesia 23-36 
 
 Or, arranged mineralogically : 
 
 Nickel-iron 17'43 
 
 Troilite 5-91 
 
 Olivine (silicic acid = 13-10) 32-89 
 
 Insoluble silicates (silicic acid = 24-30) 43-16 
 
 Chromite 0*61 
 
 100-00 
 
 If. in accordance with the suggestion of Baron Nordenskjold, 1 the 
 quantities of oxygen are neglected, it is found that the proportion 
 between the elements in this, and the Orvinio stone (August 31st, 
 1872), and in the meteorite of Tajima, Japan (February 18th, 1880), 
 are practically identical, thus establishing the interesting fact that 
 meteorites which fell in Japan one hundred and fifty years ago have 
 the same composition as some of those which have fallen recently, 
 both in Japan and on the other side of the globe. 
 
 Orvinio. 2 Tajima. 
 
 Hizen. 
 
 Iron 39-70^ 
 
 0-86 I 
 
 Sulphur ... 
 Phosphorus 
 Chromium... 
 Silicium ... 
 Magnesium 
 Nickel and Cc 
 Calcium 
 Aluminium 
 Sodium 
 Potassium... 
 
 
 
 3-27 j 
 0-22 | 
 0-43 j 
 26-06 
 21-30 
 3-02 
 2-11 
 1-53 
 1-09 
 0-19 
 
 44-7 
 
 bait ... 
 
 43-29 
 
 26-09 
 21-28 
 3-16 
 2-46 
 1-75 
 1-59 
 0-38 
 
 100-00 
 
 II. 
 
 42-55 
 
 26-65 
 20-18 
 4-71 
 2-56 
 1-91 
 1-10 
 0-34 
 
 100-00 
 
 43-65 
 
 100-00 
 
 1766, July. Albareto, Modena, Italy. 3 
 
 This meteorite, which is now said to have fallen at Albarello, 
 been analyzed with the following results : 
 
 Magnesia 22-773 
 
 Iron ............ 4-332 
 
 Nickel ............ 0-730 
 
 Cobalt ............ 0-105 
 
 Sulphur ......... 2-364 
 
 Silicic acid ......... 35-913 
 
 Iron oxide ......... 24-313 
 
 Alumina 4-479 
 
 Lime 2-073 
 
 Potash 0-440 
 
 Soda 1-637 
 
 Loss 0-840 
 
 99-999 
 
 1 Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie, 1 879, 77. 
 
 2 The cementing substance is I., and the granular matter is II. 
 
 3 P. Maissen, Gazzetta chimica, x. 20. 
 
168 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 with traces of manganese and chromium. The silicate soluble in 
 hydrochloric acid appeared to be analogous to olivine, and the 
 insoluble silicate to bronzite. 
 
 Found 1833. l The Siderolite of Rittersgriin. 
 
 The examination by Dr. Clemens Winkler of the siderolite of 
 Rittersgriin, Saxony, shows it to accord closely in composition with 
 the siderolite of Breitenbach in Bohemia, examined some years since 
 (1871) in the Laboratory of the Mineral Department of the British 
 Museum; and to strengthen the view expressed at the time that 
 these bodies, as well as the meteorite of Steinbach in Erzgebirge 
 were probably members of the same fall, possibly of the " Eisenre- 
 gen" reported on by Sartorius (died 1609) as having fallen "im 
 Meissnischen " at Whitsuntide, 1164. 
 
 The Rittersgriin meteorite was found in 1833, not 1861 (p. 131), 
 by a workman employed in clearing the forest, and offered for sale 
 as old iron to a smith, but without success ; but in 1861 it came to 
 the notice of the lamented Professor Breithaupt, and was secured 
 for the mineral collection of the Bergakademie, of Freiberg. Its 
 mean diameter is 043 metre, and its weight 86-5 kilogrammes. 
 It has recently been sawn through in Vienna, a troublesome and 
 costly labour extending over two months. An excellent chromo- 
 lithograph of the surface thus exposed was prepared by Professor 
 Weisbach, in 1876, and published with a few notes. 2 
 
 The meshwork of nickel-iron of the siderolite incloses the follow- 
 ing minerals : troilite, asmanite, bronzite, and chromite ; the metallic 
 portion constitutes about 51 '06 per cent., and the non-metallic ingre- 
 dients about 48'94 per cent, of the stone. The nickel-iron contains : 
 
 Fe Ni Co Ca P S Si C Asmanite. 
 
 89-990 9-740 0-230 0-035 0-150 O'Oll 0-066 Trace 0-056 = 100-278 
 
 which constituents may be arranged as follows : 
 
 Nickel-iron Fe 9 Ni 98-995 
 
 Iron-nickel phosphide (FeNi) 4 P 0-293 
 
 Iron phosphide Fe 2 P 0-539 
 
 Iron silicide Fe 2 Si 0'330 
 
 Iron sulphide FeS 0-030 
 
 Iron carbide trace 
 
 Copper 0-035 
 
 Asmanite 0-056 
 
 100-278 
 
 The iron sulphide, regarded as troilite, is not acted upon by the 
 magnet, when in the form of pieces, and but feebly so when in the 
 form of powder. The ratios of iron to sulphur in troilite or iron 
 
 1 C. Winkler, Verhandl. der K. Leop. Carol, deut. Akad. der Natitrforscher, 
 xl. Nr. 8, 333. Halle, 1878. 
 
 2 Der Eisenmeteorit von Rittersgriin im Sachsischen Erzgebirge. By A. W. 1876. 
 Freiberg Kbn. Bergakad. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 169 
 
 mono-sulphide, and in magnetic pyrites, differ in so small a degree 
 that the analytical results do not always put the question at rest. It 
 is moreover a question whether the meteoric sulphide, associated as 
 it is with nickel-iron, does not actually contain some of the metal 
 as an ingredient. The numbers obtained in these analyses are as 
 follow : 
 
 Calculated Found 
 
 I. II. 
 
 . 63-63 65-87 63-58 
 
 . 1-40 
 
 . 36-37 34-27 
 
 Iron 
 
 Nickel ... 
 Sulphur 
 Silicic acid 
 
 100-00 
 
 101-54 
 
 36-42 
 
 100-00 
 
 III. 
 
 63-00 
 1-02 
 
 35-27 
 0-67 
 
 99-96 
 
 The asmauite appears to have the density of 2-274-2-278, and the 
 following composition : 
 
 SiO 2 Fe.,0 3 CaO and MgO. Loss on Ignition. 
 95-77 l 3-16 trace 1-07 = 100-00 
 
 97-84 1-65 1-01 = 100-50 
 
 As regards the crystalline form of this mineral, Weisbach considers 
 that the recent researches of Schuster and of Von Lasaulx have 
 placed almost beyond any doubt the identity of tridymite and asma- 
 nite. It occurred to Winkler that the relative solubility of tridy- 
 mite and asmanite in potash solution should be determined, and in 
 as nearly parallel experiments as it was possible to devise, it was 
 found that of tridymite from Siebenbiirgen 49-63 parts, and of asma- 
 nite from Eittersgriin 43-88 parts per cent, were dissolved. 
 
 The bronzite, the most prominent of the non-metallic minerals, 
 was obtained in a pure form with comparative ease. It is but 
 slightly affected by the blowpipe, and is not acted upon by acids 
 with the exception of hydrogen fluoride. Its specific gravity is 3-310. 
 It possesses the following composition : 
 
 Silicic acid ... 
 Alumina 
 Iron protoxide 
 Manganese protoxi 
 Magnesia 
 Lime 
 Soda 
 Chromite 
 
 I. 
 
 57-27 
 2-28 
 10-99 
 e 0-41 
 24-78 
 1-77 
 not determined 
 0-94 
 
 . 
 
 II. 
 56-56 
 2-05 
 10-74 
 0-42 
 25-13 
 2-52 
 1-43 
 0-98 
 
 III. 
 56-56 
 2-04 
 10-09 
 0-55 
 2-5-59 
 1-66 
 1-43 
 0-98 
 
 98-44 99-83 98'90 
 
 No trace of olivine was met with in this material. 
 Heated in vacuo the substance of the meteorite lost 0-23 per cent, 
 of its weight, and the gas evolved took fire, but was so small in 
 quantity that it could not be further examined. The meteorite 
 possesses the " crust of fusion " in a fully developed form ; it is of 
 about the same thickness as a sheet of paper, and close under it are 
 found the mixture of the minerals troilite, asmanite, and bronzite, of 
 an unaltered light brown colour, although they turn deep black when 
 
 1 By difference. 
 
170 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 raised to a temperature slightly above that at which lead melts. The 
 author's pages conclude with some considerations on the probable 
 temperatures of meteorites in their passage through our atmosphere. 
 
 1840. De Kalb Co., Caryfort, Tennessee. 1 
 
 Brezina points out that in Tschermak's Catalogue 2 this iron is 
 described as compact, and in Kose's Besclireibung und Eintlieilung it 
 is shown to resemble that from Babb's Mill. A fine section, acquired 
 from Professor L. Smith, shows it to be rightly placed near the irons 
 of Arva and Sarepta. Almost every band of kamacite, 1-5 to 3 
 millimetres across, carries a bar of porous schreibersite ; band-iron 
 and interstitial iron are sparsely present, and of a dull grey colour. 
 Two inclosed pieces of troilite, from 3 to 4 mm. diameter, are sur- 
 rounded by schreibersite from 1-5 to 2 mm. thick, and around this is 
 an irregular shell of beam-iron. 
 
 1841, September 6th. St. Christophe-la-Chartreuse, Commune de 
 Roche-Servieres, Vendee, France. 3 
 
 The fall of this stone, which was accompanied by a double detona- 
 tion resembling thunder and a luminous appearance, took place in 
 the vineyards of St. Christophe at the above date. It created quite 
 a panic in the surrounding country; on the first day none of the 
 peasants would approach it ; one could only look with fear in the 
 direction where it lay, it was said ; but on the following day a young 
 man, who was escorted to the spot, found it out and brought it away 
 with him. 
 
 The stone weighs 5-500 kilogrammes, and is in the hands of a 
 proprietor who was neither disposed to communicate any information 
 respecting it, nor to allow any fragments to be removed. M. Daubree 
 has therefore to content himself with registering its existence, which 
 up to the present time has not been placed on record. 
 
 [Before 1845] Barratta Plain, Deniliquin, Australia. 4 
 
 It was stated in an issue of The Australasian of the date given 
 below that Mr. H. C. Kussell, the Astronomer- Royal, while visit- 
 ing Deniliquin, succeeded in acquiring for the Sydney Museum the 
 freater part of a meteorite which fell " some years ago " at Barratta 
 tation, 35 miles "below Deniliquin." The stone originally weighed 
 
 1 A. Brezina, Sitzber. Akad. Wiss. 1880, Ixxxii. Oct. -Heft. 
 
 2 Mineralog. Mitth. for 1872, 165. 
 
 3 G. A. Daubree, Compt. rend., 1880, xci. 30. 
 
 4 The Australasian, April 22nd, 1811. Nature, iv. (1871), 212, See also The 
 Journal of Science, January, 1874, 123. The Deniliquin or Barratta Meteorite. By 
 Archibald Liversidge. 1873. Sydney : T. Richards, Government Printer. Trans- 
 actions of the Royal Society of N. Sotith Wales, 1872, p. 98. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 171 
 
 3001bs., but it had been broken up and fragments had been distri- 
 buted as curiosities. An announcement appeared in 1874 to the 
 effect that Mr. Liversidge, of the University of Sydney, had made a 
 preliminary examination of its composition. 
 
 From a paper since issued by Liversidge it appears that the pieces 
 of stone originally weighed about 2 cwt. The large mass now weighs 
 145 Ibs., and must at first have amounted to from 150 to 157 Ibs. 
 Of the two pieces found near the large mass, one weighing about 
 4 Ibs. has been lost, the other weighed 60 to 70 Ibs., and was taken 
 to the Editor of the Pastoral Times newspaper at Deniliquin, and it 
 also has been lost. 
 
 Barratta Station is situated on a vast plain, on which no signs of 
 rocks can be seen ; the largest stone to be found weighed 2 oz. A 
 stockman named Jones stated in 1871 that he remembered the fall, 
 which took place about dusk one evening in May, about ten or 
 twelve years before, when a large body, like a bush on fire, making a 
 loud hissing or roaring noise, came from the S.E. and passed over- 
 head. Some fencers, who were camped four miles N.W. of the 
 Barratta homestead, saw " a thunder and lightning stone " fall on the 
 ground near their camp. It frightened them because they saw it 
 coming directly towards them, but it fell about a quarter of a mile 
 distant. It was found some days afterwards half-buried in the ground, 
 which it had ploughed up for a considerable distance. It was cracked 
 in several places. It is believed to have been, when found, 30 inches 
 in diameter and about 12 inches thick. This would make it one of the 
 largest stones the fall of which has been put on record. 
 
 Subsequently, Mr. F. Gwynne, of the next station to Barratta, 
 informed Mr. Russell that he had found the stone when riding over 
 the plain about J:he year 1845; so far as he could judge it might 
 then have been there for years. 
 
 A preliminary chemical examination of the stone by Liversidge 
 shows it to consist of 92 per cent, of silicates of magnesium, iron, 
 and aluminium, and about 8 per cent, of magnetic minerals. The 
 proportion of nickel-iron is small in the extreme, amounting to from 
 0-063 to 0-086 per cent., and cobalt is stated to be entirely absent. 
 On the outside it has a blackish fused crust, and the outer layers 
 appear to possess a strongly laminated structure to the depth of from 
 three-quarters of an inch to one inch. Below this the stone is much 
 more compact, and granular, inclosing numerous spheroidal bodies. 
 Under the microscope small grains of a green mineral resembling 
 olivine are to be seen, also particles of a yellow mineral which passes 
 into brown. The specific gravity of the outer layer is 3*382. The 
 inner part of the stone has a distinctly chondritic structure ; some of 
 the chondra are comparatively large, from one-sixteenth to one- 
 eighth of an inch across, and a few are a little larger. The specific 
 gravity of this portion of the stone is 3-503. Mr. Russell, who took 
 the density of the large block, makes it 3-387. The grey granules 
 were submitted to a superficial examination and showed the reactions 
 of bronzite. 
 
 I have to thank Prof. Liversidge for sending me several micro- 
 scopic sections of this very important meteorite. 
 
172 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Found about 1850. Pittsburg, Alleghany Co., Pennsylvania. 1 
 
 This large mass of meteoric iron, weighing 132 kilog., was turned 
 up by a plough at Pittsburg. It was briefly described at the time 
 by Silliman, and has now been analyzed by Dr. Genth. The 
 specific gravity appears to be 7-741 ; and the chemical composition 
 of a somewhat oxidized specimen was found to be 
 
 Iron 92-809 
 
 Nickel 4-665 
 
 Cobalt 0-395 
 
 Copper 0-034 
 
 Manganese 0-141 
 
 Sulphur 0-037 
 
 Phosphorus 0-251 
 
 98-332 
 
 The phosphorus corresponds with about 1-8 per cent, of schrei- 
 bersite. The iron, when etched, exhibits Widmannstattian figures, 
 and the presence of minute crystals of a phosphide could be 
 recognized on the surface of the section. 
 
 [1851-68]. The Meteoric Irons of the Mexican Desert. 2 
 
 Dr. Lawrence Smith takes stock afresh of our knowledge of the 
 masses of meteoric iron of that region of Mexico called the Bolson de 
 Mapimi, or the Mexican Desert, situated in Cohahuila and Chihuahua, 
 two of the northern provinces of the Mexican Republic. In 1854 
 he described three masses, two of which (one weighing 630 kilo- 
 grammes, and the other 125 kilog.) were subsequently conveyed to 
 the United States ; in 1868 eight other masses, the* largest of which 
 weighed 325 kilog., were conveyed to the United States ; and later 
 still, in 1871, Dr. Smith published a description of a still larger 
 block, estimated to weigh 3500 kilog., now lying in the western 
 boundary of the Desert near El Para. There is, moreover, some 
 account of a mass yet vaster to be seen in the very centre of the 
 desolate region. In this district alone not less than 15,000 kilo- 
 grammes in weight of meteoritic masses have been discovered. 
 
 While examining sections of two of the above-mentioned masses, 
 Dr. Smith noticed a number of nod alar concretions imbedded in the 
 metal, having at first sight the appearance of " very finely crystal- 
 lized troilite " ; closer inspection, however, reveals the fact that 
 most of these nodules have more or less of a black mineral associated 
 with them. This substance was ascertained to be not graphite, as 
 might at first sight have been supposed, but a compound of 
 chromium and sulphur, a mineral new both to terrestrial and celes- 
 tial mineralogy. 
 
 Daubreelite, as Dr. Smith has named it, is a black lustrous 
 
 1 F. A. Genth, Amer. Journ. Sc. 1876, vol. xii. p. 72. Report of Geological 
 Survey of Pennsylvania, 1875. 
 
 2 J. L. Smith, Amer. Juurn. Sc. 1876, xii. 107. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 173 
 
 mineral, highly crystalline, usually occurring on the surface of the 
 nodules of troilite, but sometimes traversing them ; in one nodule 
 a vein of the mineral, 2 millims. wide and 12 millims. in length, 
 crosses the very centre of a nodule. It exhibits a distinct cleavage, 
 is very fragile, and is feebly magnetic : the powdered mineral is 
 perfectly black, and is but slightly acted upon by strong acids, 
 with the exception of nitric acid, in which it completely dissolves ; 
 this reaction serves to distinguish and separate it from chromite. 
 100 milligrammes, not perfectly pure, were examined and found to 
 contain 3648 per cent, of sulphur, the remainder being chromium, 
 with nearly 10 per cent, of iron, and a little carbonaceous matter. 
 (Chromium monosulphide contains chromium =: 62*38, and sulphur 
 = 37-62 ; iron monosulphide (troilite) contains iron = 63-64, and 
 sulphur =: 36-36.) The discovery of this new body is of great 
 interest in extending the knowledge, already arrived at by aid of 
 the spectroscope, of the distribution of chromium in cosinical bodies. 
 Later Dr. L. Smith l published a further paper on the new mineral 
 daubreelite. When pure, it possesses the following composition : 
 
 Calculated. Found. 
 
 Sulphur 44-29 43-26 
 
 Chromium 36-33 36-38 
 
 Iron .. 19-38 20-36 
 
 100-00 100-00 
 
 It is a sulphide corresponding in atomic constituents to the well- 
 known oxide, chromite (FeO,Cr0 3 ), daubreelite being FeS.CrS s , 
 sulphur replacing the oxygen. The calculation of the composition 
 is based upon the sulphur found in the analyses. The finer powder 
 obtained by cutting sections of the irons is treated with a magnet 
 to remove the nickel-iron ; that remaining consists of troilite and 
 daubreelite. This is then digested with strong hydrochloric acid 
 several times; all the troilite dissolves readily, and the residue 
 consists of the new sulphide. " It consists of shining black frag- 
 ments, more or less scaly in structure, not altogether unlike fine 
 particles of molybdenite." The fracture is uneven, except in one 
 direction, where there appears to be a cleavage. It is brittle and 
 easily pulverized, the fine particles retaining their brilliancy. It is 
 not magnetic, and but slightly altered before the blow-pipe. It 
 is not acted upon in the slightest degree by hydrochloric acid, either 
 cold or hot, but dissolves slowly and completely in nitric acid when 
 warmed with it. The specific gravity is 5-01. 
 
 Other meteoric irons, such as those from Toluca, and Cocke Co., 
 contain this mineral. 
 
 In the " Butcher irons" from Coahuila Dr. L. Smith 2 has since 
 met with a nodule of chromite in the interior of compact iron from 
 one of these masses. His attention was attracted to an inclosed 
 nodule, the lustre of which was less vitreous than that of dau- 
 breelite : it was virtually a black granular mass. When heated 
 
 1 Amer. Journ. Sc. 1878, xvi. p. 270. 
 
 2 Amer. Journ. Sc. 1881, [3], xxi. p. 461. 
 
174 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 with strong nitric acid in the water-bath, not the slightest impres- 
 sion was made upon it, thus showing that it is not daubreelite. 
 Heating it in fused sodium carbonate in no way affected its non- 
 solubility in acids ; 150 milligrammes of the finely pulverized 
 mineral were fused with ten times that weight of sodium bisulphate, 
 and were attacked but not dissolved. Subsequent treatment with 
 sodium carbonate and nitre broke it up, and the results of the 
 analysis were : 
 
 Chromium oxide 62-71 
 
 Iron protoxide 33'83 
 
 96-54 
 
 While chromite has been known to be associated with meteorites, 
 this is the first instance of its having been found imbedded in this 
 manner in the interior of meteoric iron. 
 
 Some of the particles of chromite when placed in very intense 
 light were found to be feebly translucent and to have a dark reddish- 
 purple colour. This observation, it appears, had already been made 
 by M. Stanislaus Meunier, of Paris. 
 
 1853. TazeweU, Claiborne Co., Tennessee. 1 
 
 Brezina points out that in the Catalogue prepared by Tschermak 2 
 this iron (vide supra p. 122) is indicated as Of, showing fine-ruled 
 Widmannstattian figures. It differs, however, very much from other 
 irons of this group, as Lion Kiver, Jewell Hill, Charlotte, etc., while 
 it closely resembles the Butler iron. While, however, in the latter 
 case the chief walls of the skeleton inclose very large chambers, here 
 they are very small, so that the skeleton-character is far less 
 marked. The characteristic of the two irons of Butler and Taze- 
 well rests mainly on the very unusual smallness of the octahedral 
 lamella, whereby the beam-iron, or its representative, almost 
 vanishes, the irons consisting almost entirely of interstitial and 
 band-iron (and of troilite inclosed in both, arid schreibersite plates 
 in Tazewell). Whether the almost infinitely thin nucleus of the 
 lamellae is identical with the ordinary beam-iron can only be decided 
 by further investigation. The appearance of traces of granular 
 structure renders it very probable. 
 
 Found 1854. Cranbourne, near Melbourne, Victoria, S. Australia. 3 
 
 Two masses of meteoric iron were discovered in Victoria in 1854 
 (p. 135), and they were first reported upon by the late W. Haidinger in 
 the Sitzungsbericlite A kad. TFiss. 4 in 1861. The smaller block became 
 
 1 A. Brezina. Sitzber. AJcad. Wiss. 1880, Ixxxii. Oct. -Heft. 
 
 2 Mineralog. Mitth. for 1872, 165. 
 
 3 Walter Flight. Philosophical Transactions, 1882. 
 
 4 "W. Haidinger. Sitzungsberichte Aknd. Wiss. xliv. 18th April, 6th June, and 
 17th October, 1861 ; xlv. 65, 9th January, 1862. 
 
HISTORY. OF METEORITES. 175 
 
 the property of Mr. Abel, the engineer ; the larger one was pur- 
 chased by Mr. A. Bruce, now of Chislehurst. It appears that Mr. 
 Bruce had seen a piece of iron, which had the appearance of being 
 meteoric iron, in the fireplace of a squatter there, and he asked the 
 man if any more of that kind was to be met with in that neighbour- 
 hood. He was conducted to a spot in the adjoining parish of Sher- 
 wood, where an irregular spur of iron projected from the surface, 
 and he there and then purchased it with the intention of presenting 
 it to the British Museum. Later on, when they proceeded to dig 
 round it and uncover its sides, they were astonished at its large size. 
 Various sums of money were offered Mr. Bruce for the splendid 
 block, but his one answer to all such offers was, " No ; I have 
 bought it for a sovereign ; and I am going to give it to the British 
 Museum." As has been stated, a point only of the iron was above 
 the surface. A photograph was taken on the spot by my late friend, 
 Mr. R. Daintree, the Agent-General for Queensland, after the tertiary 
 sandstone inclosing it had been removed. It is the same sandstone 
 which crops out at Broughton, with basalt from 12-15 feet below, 
 as on the coast at Western Port. Bruce states that the lower bed 
 is Silurian, and that the block of iron penetrated a foot or more 
 into it. 
 
 Early in 1861 the spot was visited by Dr. Neumayer and Mr. 
 Abel. One mass was found to weigh several hundredweight ; the 
 other from three to four tons. Their relative position is illustrated 
 in the memoir by a small sketch-map of the district. They were 
 found to be beyond all question native, or rather meteoric, iron 
 covered with a crust of the usual characters, in which the customary 
 hollows were not wanting. This statement is, however, somewhat 
 misleading. No crust corresponding to that of magnetite, such as is 
 presented by the Rowton siderite (page 195), is met with ; but, in 
 place of it, a layer of considerable thickness of hydrated oxides and 
 magnetite, indicating a long period during which the blocks had lain 
 in the earth. The relative position of the two masses was S. 34 W. 
 and N. 34 E. (magnetic declination), and they were 3-6 miles apart. 
 Both lay close to the surface, and were only so deeply imbedded 
 that a point protruded from the soil. The latitude of the smaller 
 block, which lay north of the other, was 38 8' and long. 145 22' E. ; 
 that of the larger being 38 11' and long. 145 20' E. of Greenwich. 
 The height above sea-level of the former was 107 feet, and of the 
 latter 127 feet. 
 
 They showed no polarity beyond that due to the action of the 
 earth. The under side of each mass was strongly south magnetic, 
 and the upper side north magnetic. The longer axis of the Bruce 
 meteorite, the larger mass, is about 5 English feet, and it lay 
 exactly in the magnetic meridian of the place. 
 
 Neumayer made a number of determinations of the specific gravity 
 of the nickel-iron of the smaller mass, in the possession of Mr. Abel ; 
 it ranged from 7-12 to 7-6, that of the crust being 3-66. This block was 
 sent to the International Exhibition in London in 1862. The larger 
 was brought down to Melbourne and placed in the University 
 
176 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Grounds there, near the shore, and unfortunately exposed to the 
 action of the sea-water. Efforts were made to delay the shipment 
 of the Bruce meteorite to England, but eventually the smaller block 
 was bought by the Trustees of the British Museum for 300, 
 and presented to the Colonial Museum ; the Bruce meteorite was 
 then sent to this country. When it reached the British Museum, 
 some holes were drilled into its under surface, and it was fixed on a 
 turntable in the first room of the Mineral Gallery. It was found to 
 decay to a considerable extent ; fragments oxidised and crumbled off, 
 and drops of iron chloride exuded here and there. This, however, 
 was stopped to a very great extent by injecting it with clear shellac 
 varnish, and keeping it in a glass case provided with trays contain- 
 ing caustic lime. By this means the destruction has been reduced 
 to a minimum. It was noticed that the part of the meteorite which 
 was so rapidly decaying presented a very marked crystalline charac- 
 ter : that the tetrahedral structure broke up into plates, between 
 which were very thin plates of another constituent, less readily 
 subject to change. The action of moisture on these series of plates 
 was like that of the exciting liquid of a galvanic cell, and caused the 
 oxidation to proceed very rapidly. Many of the fragments which 
 came off at this time were selected and reduced again to the firm 
 original condition : they present beautiful structure. 
 
 It was at once noticed that the meteorite consisted entirely of 
 metallic minerals, that it contained no rocky matter whatever. One 
 of the first experiments which suggested itself was to determine 
 whether the iron was alloyed with nickel, cobalt, copper, etc., and 
 whether it contained combined carbon. A weighed portion was 
 suspended by a platinum wire, carefully covered up in caoutchouc, 
 in a solution of recrystallized salt, and connected with a Bunsen cell. 
 The positive cell was kept slightly acid from time to time as it grew 
 alkaline. Nickel-iron weighing 5-9989 grms. was dissolved in this 
 way, and the greater part of the insoluble ingredients was found to 
 consist of very minute bright apparently square prisms, which per- 
 vade all the nickel-iron, and apparently constitute nearly 1 per cent, 
 of its mass. These prisms are acted upon slowly and with con- 
 siderable difficulty by hydrogen chloride, but dissolve readily in 
 hydrogen nitrate. 
 
 The absence of all combined carbon was fully established. The 
 nickel-iron thus dissolved was found to consist of: 
 
 Prisms 0-932 per cent. 
 
 Nickel 7-651 ,, 
 
 Cobalt 0-501 ,, 
 
 Copper 0-0156 ,, 
 
 Silicium 0-172 ,, 
 
 Some of the largest nickel-iron crystals, and cleavages of them, 
 were examined for other constituents than iron with the following 
 results : I. was a tetrahedron of iron with cleavages parallel to 
 the faces of the tetrahedron ; II. was similar to I. but thinner ; III. 
 were several examples of cleavage plates, firm not pliant, thicker 
 than the paper-like plates which will be described later on ; IV. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 177 
 
 II. III. 
 
 rv. 
 
 V. 
 
 VI. 
 
 0-072 0-103, 0-106, 0-724 
 
 none 
 
 none 
 
 0-137 
 
 J7-837, 7'712\ 
 \7-529, 7-504) 
 
 9-764, 6-476 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 __ 
 
 9-801 
 
 9-046 
 
 
 
 0-601 
 
 0-756 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 0-187 
 
 0-018 
 
 0-059 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 0-023 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 were thinner plates, but not pliant ones ; V. were thick cleavage 
 plates ; and VI. some borings. The following ingredients were met 
 with : 
 
 I. 
 
 Insoluble part 1-405 
 
 Nickel ... . 
 
 Nickel and 
 
 Cobalt ... 8-057 
 
 Cobalt 
 
 Phosphorus ... 
 Sulphur 
 
 The rusted fragments of the meteorite, which were very carefully 
 picked over, yielded many very good crystals of nickel-iron. These 
 were reduced by hydrogen in porcelain tubes, a large quantity of 
 hydrogen chloride was extracted from them, and dozens of perfectly 
 complete tetrahedra of nickel-iron, as well as many cleavage pieces 
 with sharp edges, were safely preserved. 
 
 In one of the early notes on the Bruce meteorite published by 
 W. Haidinger, in 1862, he wrote, "Vielleicht finden sich in der 
 ThatinnerhalbderMeteoreisenmassen . . . selbst manche Sattigungs- 
 punkte, welche wirklich verschiedene Mineralspecies darstellen." 
 Such an instance presents itself in the thin paper-like pliant plates 
 which lie on the faces of the tetrahedra of nickel-iron arid between 
 the large plates of the crystals of nickel-iron ;- they are in the form 
 of equilateral triangles or are lozenge-shaped, have the thickness of 
 stout writing paper, and, unlike the plates of nickel-iron, are quite 
 pliant. They are strongly magnetic, are of a pure white colour, and 
 have evidently been extruded from the nickel-iron at the time of 
 formation. They are soluble in hydrogen chloride and nitrate. As 
 the examination of them had been made in the case of some which 
 had been reduced by hydrogen, a further portion picked direct from 
 the fragments which had come off the meteorite was taken ; both 
 kinds were found to be equally pliant. The fresh plates taken 
 direct from the meteorite contained 0*688 per cent, of phosphorus. 
 Anal} T sis of the plates showed them to consist of : 
 
 Iron 70-138 
 
 Nickel 29-744 
 
 99-882 
 
 and their composition may thus be represented by the formula Fe 5 Ni 2 . 
 This is evidently an alloy of very well defined composition, which 
 has been extruded from the nickel-iron under special conditions 
 when the latter was saturated with it and ready to expel it. It is 
 the constituent of nickel-iron which forms the fine lines constituting 
 the Widmannstattian figure, and not schreibersite, as usually stated 
 in writings on the etched figures of meteoric iron. Ta'nite is the 
 name which Reichenbach gave to leaves containing 13-2 per cent, of 
 nickel, and which he stated to form the figures on an etched surface. 
 Mr. A. T. Abel proposed the name " meteorine " for a new metal 
 occurring in the Cranbourne meteorite which he found to contain 
 
 12 
 
178 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 no copper, nickel, or cobalt. 1 The substance referred to in both cases 
 is evidently the little plates above described. As the composition 
 of this mineral has now for the first time been definitely made out, 
 I propose to call it Edmondsonite, in memory of the late George 
 Edmondson, the Head Master of Queenwood College, Hampshire, 
 a great lover of science, a man with whom I had the honour to 
 be long and intimately connected. 
 
 A curious accident should here be described which established the 
 fact that the alloy is a definite chemical compound. A number of 
 pieces of nickel-iron from this meteorite, which had become rusty, 
 were heated in a porcelain tube in a current of hydrogen. During 
 the experiment, which was conducted out of doors, it came on to rain, 
 and some drops touched the hot tube and cracked it. Air slowly 
 entered the crack and oxidised the iron, till it acquired a bright blue 
 colour ; while the little plate of edmondsonite remained colourless. 
 This result accords with the conclusion arrived at by Stodart and 
 Faraday some sixty years ago, 2 on the oxidation of alloys of iron 
 and nickel. An alloy of iron, or rather of the best Bombay wootz, 
 with 10 per cent, of nickel, made by them in 1820, in imitation of 
 the Siberian meteoric iron, in which Children found as a mean of 
 three analyses 8-96 per cent. 3 of nickel, was compared, as regards 
 its powers of undergoing oxidation, with pure iron. And the 
 authors say : " The colour, when polished, had a yellow tinge. A 
 piece of the alloy has been exposed to moist air for a considerable 
 time together with a piece of pure iron ; they are both a little rusty, 
 not, however, to the same extent, that with the nickel being but 
 slightly acted upon comparatively to the action on the pure iron ; 
 it thus appears that nickel, when combined with iron, has some 
 effect in preventing oxidation, though certainly not to the extent 
 that has at times been attributed to it. It is a curious fact that the 
 same quantity of the nickel alloyed with steel instead of preventing 
 its rusting, appeared to accelerate it very rapidly." 
 
 The Bruce meteorite contains many nodules of troilite lying here 
 and there amongst the plates and crystals of nickel-iron, always in 
 rounded masses, only very occasionally an ill- defined cleavage plane 
 being met with. They vary in size from half an inch to more than 
 two inches in length, are usually covered with a thin layer of 
 graphite, sometimes with some daubreelite surrounding them ; and 
 one nodule, consisting of graphite, was found to inclose troilite, 
 which had aggregated inside the graphite in a curious way, so that 
 the section of the nodule suggested the outline of a holly-leaf. A 
 sketch appended to the original memoir represents a section of the 
 nodule of graphite, the shaded inclosed part representing the 
 sulphide. Troilite is the only sulphide found in this meteorite, 
 and, it need hardly be said, was not in the slightest degree mag- 
 
 1 Jahrb.fur Mineralogie, 1861, p. 557. 
 
 2 Faraday's Experimental Researches in Chemistry and Physics. Taylor and 
 Francis, 1859, p. 63. 
 
 3 Berzelius found nickel 1073 per cent., and copper 0*46 per cent, in the Krasno- 
 jarsk nickel-iron from Siberia. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 179 
 
 netic. A specimen of pounded and dried mineral was digested with 
 a quantity of carbon disulphide, which had been twice distilled, 
 for a day and a half, and sulphur amounting to 0-0207 per cent, 
 was dissolved. A portion chosen for analysis was found to possess 
 the following composition : 
 
 Insoluble part 
 
 Iron... 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 Nickel 
 
 Copper 
 
 Chlorine 
 
 I. 
 
 0-215 
 
 36-543 
 
 or, 
 
 II. 
 
 2-297 
 62-150 
 
 0-446 
 0-079 
 0-130 
 
 63-613 
 
 36-333 
 
 0-079 
 
 0-130 
 
 III. 
 
 63-613 
 36-207 
 
 IV. 
 
 36-250 
 
 Fe S requires 
 63-64 
 36-36 
 
 100-155 100-00 
 
 The next mineral, the composition of which we have to consider, 
 is that forming the prisms which, as we have already seen, are 
 scattered throughout the mass of the nickel-iron, and form nearly 
 one per cent, of its mass. They resist the action of hydrogen 
 chloride and are only dissolved after long treatment with very strong 
 acid ; they dissolve, on the other hand, easily in hydrogen nitrate. 
 
 They exhibit strong magnetic characters. They seem to be 
 identical with the mineral to which Gustav Kose gave the name of 
 rhabdite. They appear to form square prisms, and the terminal 
 faces of the prism could rarely be met with. 
 
 The prisms were exceedingly brittle, and were rarely, if ever, 
 found unbroken. It was a difficult matter to obtain the prisms quite 
 free from organic matter (dried varnish, etc.), but the following very 
 pure material was at last obtained : 
 
 I. II. III. Mean. FeiNigP-j. 
 
 Iron 49-715 48-955 49-335 48-38 
 
 Nickel 36-666 39-519 38-540 38-242 38-23 
 
 Phosphorus (13-619) 12-586 12*645 12-950 13-39 
 
 100-000 
 
 The specific gravity of several specimens of the prisms gave num- 
 bers varying from 6-326 to 6-78. 
 
 A few years ago Professor Daubree 1 pointed out the great resem- 
 blance which he had traced between the artificial phosphide of iron, 
 Fe 4 P, which M. Sidot had succeeded in preparing, and the rhabdite 
 of meteoric iron. I have to offer my hearty thanks to Professor 
 Daubree for permitting me to inspect some of M. Sidot's crystals, 
 which bore the closest resemblance to the above crystals. More 
 recently, in the spring of last year, M. E. Mallard 2 communicated a 
 
 1 G. A. Daubree, Comptes rendus, Ixxiv., 1427 ; and M. Sidot, Comptes rendus, 
 Ixxiv., 1425. 
 
 2 M. E. Mallard, " Sur la production d'un phosphure de fer cristallise et du feld- 
 spath anorthite, dans les incendies des houilleres de Commentry," Comptes rendus, 
 1881, xcii. 933. 
 
180 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 note to the Comptes Rendus, on phosphide of iron found among the 
 products of the spontaneous fires in the coal-mines at Commentry. 
 The crystals are square prisms, terminated by a pyramid, are 
 strongly magnetic, have a specific gravity of 6*71 and the composi- 
 tion indicated by the formula Fe 7 P 2 . They, of course, contain no 
 trace of nickel ; in all other respects, however, they bear the closest 
 resemblance to the above body. 
 
 When the crude nickel-iron of the meteorite was treated with 
 hydrogen chloride till action ceased, coarse insoluble particles, 
 mixed with a black powder, and the needles remained ; they could 
 both be removed by decantation and repeated washings. It was 
 then subjected to a thorough cleansing with hydrogen chloride, 
 with dilute nitric acid, with water, with a mixture of ether, alcohol, 
 benzol, and chloroform, and finally, when dried, with the magnet. 
 In this way the coarse powder was obtained in a pure state ; it 
 was very brittle, very magnetic, and dissolved easily in strong 
 hydrogen nitrate. Analyses gave the following results : 
 
 I. II. Mean. 
 
 Iron 56-245 ... 55-990 ... 56-117 
 
 Nickel 29-176 ... ... 29-176 
 
 Phosphorus 13-505 ... ... 13-505 
 
 98-798 
 
 This is, doubtless, the mineral schreibersite which appears to have 
 the composition indicated by the formula Fe 2 Ni P, or perhaps the 
 formula K 7 P 2 , the atomic proportion of the iron and nickel being as 
 two to one. The material, as already stated, consisted of a coarse 
 powder, of faceless irregular fragments of a very brittle constituent 
 of the meteorite. 
 
 Search was accordingly made for crystals, and occasionally, but 
 very rarely, larger bodies which might when broken up have 
 formed this powder were hit upon. One was met with, a large 
 brass-coloured oblique crystal which readily cleaved across the base ; 
 it was but slightly acted upon by hydrogen chloride or nitrate, both 
 of which, however, on long-continued boiling, dissolve it slowly ; in 
 aqua regia, on the other hand, it quickly disappears. When heated, 
 a fragment of one of these crystals quickly became dark brown. 
 Analyses of these crystals gave the following results : 
 
 I. IT. 
 
 Iron 69-251 69-843 69-547 -!- 28 = 2-484\ 9 Q79 
 
 Nickel 1 14-410 -r 29-5= 0-488) y '^ 
 
 Phosphorus ... 15-420 16-666 16-043 -f 31 = 0-517 
 
 100-000 
 
 which results point to Fe 9 Ni 2 P 4 or perhaps Fe 5 Ni P 2 as the true 
 representative of its composition. It does not accord very well with 
 the analysis of the powder, and the relation of one body to the 
 other must be left till fresh material comes to hand. 
 
 Mention should here be made of a curious crystal which on two or 
 
 1 Both determinations were lost. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 181 
 
 three occasions was met with while searching through the debris of the 
 meteorite. It consisted apparently of a square prism, which, while 
 the sides were quite bright and metallic, had a square centre of a 
 dull almost black colour ; it very readily broke across the prism. 
 
 In the paper there is represented such a prism broken across, 
 showing the dark centre. An analysis of this compound gave the 
 following results : 
 
 Iron 67-480 
 
 Nickel 20-318 
 
 Phosphorus 12-317 
 
 100-115 
 
 which numbers agree with the formula R 4 P, the atomic proportion of 
 the iron and nickel being as seven to two. 
 
 Graphite occurs occasionally, but rarely, as nodules ; sometimes 
 as nodules inclosing troilite, like the one already referred to ; some- 
 times in large sheet-like masses, in one case about four inches in 
 length and two inches wide. A specimen was carefully dried and 
 pounded and burnt in a current of oxygen and gave numbers which 
 show it to have the composition : 
 
 Carbon 89-661 
 
 Hydrogen 0-257 
 
 Residue (iron, etc.) 10-412 
 
 100-330 
 
 The nickel-iron was further examined for occluded gases. A 
 portion of the nickel-iron borings removed from the under surface 
 was selected, and was heated in a porcelain tube connected with a 
 Sprengel pump. Gas amounting in bulk to 3 - 59 times the volume 
 of the iron was extracted, and was found on analysis to have the 
 following composition : 
 
 Carbonic acid 0'12 
 
 Carbonic oxide 31*88 
 
 Hydrogen 45'79 
 
 Marsh gas 4 "55 
 
 Nitrogen 17'66 
 
 100-00 
 The paper is illustrated by a plate and several woodcuts. 
 
 Found 1858-59. Staunton, Augusta Co., Virginia. 1 
 
 In 1871 Mallet described three masses of meteoric iron which had 
 been found near Staunton (page 13) ; another has now been brought to 
 light, and examined. It was found by a negro in 1858 or 1859, who 
 brought it to Staunton, and endeavoured to sell it. He tailed to do so, 
 and threw it away behind a blacksmith's shop, where it lay several 
 years until it was used with other loose material to build a stone 
 fence. By reason of its irregular shape and great weight it soon 
 fell out of the fence, and was next used by a dentist as an anvil, on 
 1 J. W. Mallet. Amer. Journ. Scitnce, 1878, xv. 337. 
 
182 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 which to hammer metal plates, and for such base purposes as the 
 cracking of nuts; then it was again built into a wall round the 
 curbing of a cistern. In 1877 it was removed to Rochester, N.Y., 
 and a fragment of it came into Mallet's possession. It weighs 152 
 pounds, is 45-7 cm. in length, and 29-2 cm. in breadth, and in shape 
 somewhat resembles that of a shoulder of mutton. A sketch of the 
 mass is given in Mallet's paper. The specific gravity of the iron is 
 7-688, and the metal, when etched, exhibits the Widmannstiittian 
 figures " clearly and beautifully." The composition of the iron was 
 found to be : 
 
 Iron 91-439 
 
 Nickel 7-559 
 
 Cobalt 0-608 
 
 Copper 0-021 
 
 Tin trace 
 
 Phosphorus 0-068 
 
 Sulphur 0-018 
 
 Chlorine trace 
 
 Carbon 0-142 
 
 Silicium (reckoned as silicic acid) 0-108 
 
 99-963 
 
 There can be no doubt that the four specimens found in the same 
 neighbourhood represent different portions of the same meteoric fall. 
 
 1861, June 28th (June 16th, O.S.), 7 a.m. Grosnaja (Grosnja), Banks 
 of the Terek, Caucasus, Russia. 1 
 
 Sixteen years ago Abich, who was at the time in Tiflis, sent to 
 Gustav Eose, in Berlin, a short description of a large fall of meteor- 
 ites at Grosnaja on the morning of the above day. The greater 
 number appear to have fallen into the river Terek ; one fell in the 
 great square in the interior of the (? Staniza) barrack, and entered the 
 ground to the depth of If feet ; it pursued an oblique course through 
 the air, and was distinctly warm when dug out. The meteorite had 
 the form of a huge hailstone, and was covered with a black crust. 
 
 Abich, who had taken up his residence in Vienna, placed the stone 
 in the hands of Professors Tschermak and Ludwig for examination, 
 and the results of their investigations, together with a detailed 
 report of the circumstances attending its descent, have been incorpo- 
 rated in the paper by Professor Tschermak, referred to in the note. 
 
 It is stated in the report drawn up by General-Major Kundukof, 
 military commandant of the Tschetschensk district, that on the night 
 of the 15th-16th June (O.S.), a barely dark one, there was neither 
 thunder, wind, nor rain. On Friday, the 16th, the morning was 
 clear and bright ; light rain-clouds, which however brought no rain, 
 hung on the western horizon over the station Mekenskoi, the inhabi- 
 tants of which were startled at about seven o'clock by a deafening 
 sound, which continued a long space of time. A non-commissioned 
 
 1 G. Tschermak, Mineralogische und petrographische Mittheilungen, 1878, 153. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 183 
 
 officer of the Mosdok regiment, who was walking from the Navursky 
 to the Mekenskoi barracks (? Staniza), noticed that the sound ap- 
 peared to come from the west, where the rain-clouds were, and 
 describes it as resembling that produced when many cannon are 
 fired simultaneously, followed by a deafening noise like that caused 
 by battalion-firing. He observed the flight of one of the stones, which 
 descended at a low angle, and it was accompanied by lateral bands 
 of a bluish colour (welcher von Nebenstreifen von blaiilicher Farbe 
 begleitet war). The stone fell in the court-yard of a house about two 
 paces distant from a summer-house, and thirty paces from the bank of 
 the Terek. A soldier's wife, standing on the threshold of the house, 
 drew back in the greatest alarm as the meteorite struck the ground 
 two paces from her with all the violence of a bomb-shell, scattering 
 the earth over the wall of the house. A soldier soon probed the 
 hole with a ramrod, and found at a depth of rather more than a foot 
 fragments of the stone weighing in all ten pounds. Many heard a 
 second sound, as though the meteorite burst twice in its descent 
 through the atmosphere, and the noise attending the fall was observed 
 by persons eight versts distant on the other side of the Terek. A 
 woman who was occupied in washing clothes, at a spot about 1 050 
 feet distant from the point where the meteorite struck the ground, 
 heard fragments, which had been detached by the explosion, fall 
 into the river Terek. The water fizzed just as it does when 
 brought in contact with a large quantity of heated iron. 
 
 The meteorite has a longish rounded form, and has lost the greater 
 portion of its crust ; in fact, the crust, together with a thin layer of 
 the inclosed silicate, is very easily removed, and probably dropped 
 off at the time of the fall. Its actual thickness is much greater 
 than in the case of the stones which fell at Knyahinya, and about 
 equal to that of the Pultusk aerolites. 
 
 Professor Tschermak goes on to describe the Vandal treatment 
 to which the stone was subjected before it reached his house for in- 
 vestigation. A cast of it had been taken for the Academy of Sciences 
 of St. Petersburg, and it had subsequently been sawn in two. It 
 appears, in the first place, to have been rubbed down with fat, not 
 oil even, and, after the mould was taken, to have been soaked with 
 potash lye to remove the unctuous layer ; the carbonate of potash, 
 which penetrated the porous stone with scarcely any crust to protect 
 it, next began to effloresce, and the new danger to which it was 
 exposed had to be compassed by drenching it with water. It was 
 now ready to pass from the clumsy hands of the modeller to experi- 
 ence the yet more tender mercies of the lapidary, who, not to be out- 
 done by his fellow-workman, it is to be conjectured, proceeded to 
 close all the fissures and lines upon its surface with a black varnish. 
 Long treatment with alcohol and protracted drying in a steam bath 
 were the next operations which were made with a view to cleanse it. 
 
 A system of cracks and fissures, arranged like the branches of a 
 tree, traverses the whole stone, and gives the impression that they 
 are the result of the blow which the meteorite received on its 
 fall. The mass of the stone is brittle, the colour blackish grey with 
 
184 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 bright points. There are many inclosed mineral particles, some 
 almost invisible, others 1 cm. across, the greater part having a 
 diameter of less than 2 mm. The matrix is black and opaque even 
 when viewed in a microscopic section, and many of the inclosed 
 particles are opaque or only translucent in points. Most of them, 
 however, are transparent, and the majority have a circular or rounded 
 outline. A plate is appended to Tschermak's paper showing figures 
 of the inclosed minerals. Five distinct ingredients could be dis- 
 tinguished. The first is a clear greenish mineral, with incomplete 
 cleavage along two directions perpendicular to each other, and was 
 identified as olivine. A second in round tough spherules, brownish 
 in hue and not numerous, with a finely foliated or finely fibrous 
 structure, was found to be bronzite. Inclosed particles are some- 
 times made up of these two minerals, sometimes, but not very fre- 
 quently, of them together with a third silicate in long greenish 
 prisms which have the appearance and angles of augite. The me- 
 teorite also contains some magnetic pyrites (troilite?), a very little 
 nickel-iron and perhaps a little carbon, to which the dark hue of the 
 matrix is due. 
 
 Tschermak directs attention to two peculiarities observed in several 
 chondritic meteorites, 'and noticeable in this one. The first is the 
 occurrence of a crust over the surface of the bronzite spherules, 
 possessing fibrous structure. This crust is thin, and is distinguished 
 from the inclosed material by its paler colour; it has the same 
 fibrous structure, doubly refractive power, and, in fact, is optically 
 orientated like the inclosed silicate. It appears to be produced by 
 some agent acting from without, perhaps heat in conjunction with 
 a reducing gas. The agent has not caused fusion, but a slight 
 modification of the texture of the surface. The second point which 
 he has observed is the distribution in zones of the magnetic pyrites 
 in many of the granular inclosed masses. When a microscopic 
 section is examined by reflected light, it is found that many are 
 apparently surrounded by a crust of the metallic sulphide, in others 
 it occupies the centre of the mass, in all cases apparently filling up 
 interstices. It seems as if the sulphide had impregnated the rocky 
 mass ; and the absence of all magnetic pyrites in the very compact 
 inclosed particles, and the tough fibrous bronzite chondra, confirms 
 this view. This impregnation Tschermak believes took place after 
 the inclosed mineral particles attained their present form, and the 
 only explanation which can be suggested is that this must have 
 happened while the .whole tufaceous mass was strongly heated. 
 According to this theory, the inclosed granules coming in contact 
 with fused magnetic pyrites must have drawn it into the fine fissures 
 and interstices, in some instances into the cavities of the granules 
 themselves. 
 
 This argues the existence of two definite stages in the formation 
 of these and similar chondritic structures. First, the production of 
 the olivinous tuff by the splitting and attrition of the rock when the 
 tougher particles are rolled and rubbed together till they have a 
 roundish or spherular form ; and secondly, a subsequent application 
 
(Tat J2T, 
 
 TyJ. 
 
 JSy 2. 
 
 - 
 
 C fternam lici 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 185 
 
 of heat to the tuff, accompanied not unfrequently by the reducing 
 action of gases and vapours. 
 
 The Grosnaja meteorite appears to consist of 
 
 Silicic acid 3378 
 
 Alumina 3-44 
 
 Iron protoxide 28-86 
 
 Lime 3'22 
 
 Magnesia 23'55 
 
 Potash 0-30 
 
 Soda 0-63 
 
 Carbon. 0-68 
 
 .Hydrogen 0-17 
 
 Magnetic pyrites 5-37 
 
 100-00 
 
 Olivine appears to be the prevailing silicate in the meteorite ; in 
 addition to bronzite there appears to be a little augite and felspar, 
 although their presence could not be recognized. There is more- 
 over, a small amount of a carbonaceous ingredient, to which, as well 
 as to the magnetic pyrites, the blackish grey colour of the matrix is 
 probably due. 
 
 A plate showing six sections of this meteorite accompanies 
 Tscliermak's paper. 
 
 Found 1870. Ovifak, Disko, Greenland. 1 
 
 M. Daubree gives the name Lawrencite to the iron protochloride, 
 the presence of which he has detected in the curious meteoric irons 
 of Ovifak. It was earlier recognized in the Tennessee meteoric iron 
 by Dr. Lawrence Smith. 
 
 The Academy of Sciences of Paris appointed a commission to 
 report on a paper by Dr. Lawrence Smith on the supposed native 
 iron of Greenland, and their report has recently been presented by 
 M. Daubree. It is pointed out that the bodies which come from 
 beyond our atmosphere, and which are called meteorites, present, as 
 regards their mineralogical constitution, a most striking resemblance 
 to certain terrestrial rocks. The important fact that masses derived 
 from most widely separated regions of space should present such 
 resemblances was pointed out by Nordenskjold in 1870, when he 
 discovered large masses of native iron at Ovifak, on the island of 
 Disko, Greenland (p. 26). The first thought which suggested itself to 
 him was that they were of meteoric origin. In order to explain the 
 fact that these masses were fused into the basalt, he assumed that they 
 had fallen into it while it was still liquid. Many adopted this view, 
 and, among others, Nauckhoff and Tschermak. Steenstrup, on the 
 other hand, after visiting the locality twice, came to the conclusion that 
 they were masses of native iron, and that they had the same terres- 
 trial origin as the basalt itself. Not far from Ovifak, in the Waigat- 
 strasse, Steenstrup found evidence which supported this theory : in 
 the basalt of Igdlokungoak he hit upon a mass of metalliferous mag- 
 
 1 G. A. Daubree, Compt. rend. 1877, Jan. 8th, Ixxxiv. 66 ; Ibid. Ixxxvii. 911. 
 
186 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 netic pyrites weighing about 28,000 kilog., and again, in the basalt 
 of Assuk, small grains of native iron. The graphite associated with 
 this iron pointed to the probability that carbonaceous substances had 
 reduced this metal ; moreover, the rock enclosing the native iron 
 contained the silicate of ferric hydrate which has received the name 
 hisingerite. With these opposing views so plainly set forth, Dr. L. 
 Smith has gone over the whole question, and comes to the same 
 conclusion as Steenstrup, that the masses of metal are of terrestrial 
 origin. He finds that in the dolerite of Assuk, as well as that of 
 Ovifak, which it closely resembles, metallic iron is found enclosed 
 in labradorite ; anorthite is likewise found in certain parts of the 
 mass of the rock, and oligoclase also. 
 
 Iron has been obtained from seven localities in Greenland : from 
 Sowallick, Fiskernas, Niakornak, Jakobshavn, Fortune Bay, Ovifak, 
 and Assuk. The iron of Sowallick and Niakornak is found by Dr. 
 L. Smith to contain combined carbon, just as the Ovifak iron does ; 
 in fact, he states that all specimens of iron obtained from Greenland 
 are similar in this respect, and differ from meteoric iron, which con- 
 tains no combined carbon ; moreover, these masses all contain cobalt 
 in considerable quantity in relation to nickel. Dr. Smith next refers 
 to the constant geological character of the area where the iron has been 
 found, the iron being found only in the basalt region, which extends 
 from 69 to 76, and then disappears under a huge glacier. We shall 
 probably never know how far this volcanic area stretches towards 
 the north ; that, however, which has been seen has a length equal to 
 the distance of Gibraltar from Brest. We know that the terrestrial 
 rocks which present the closest resemblance to the meteoric rocks 
 belong to the lowest depths of the earth. Some are eruptive rocks 
 of a basic character, consisting of anorthite and augite, like certain 
 lavas from Iceland ; others are olivinous rocks, like Iherzolite, to 
 which the meteorites containing magnesia those, in fact, of the 
 ordinary type belong. The gangue of olivinous rocks accompany- 
 ing the platinum of the Urals, and the presence of nickel in the 
 ferriferous platinum, have confirmed these relations, which are of 
 interest alike for the geologist and the astronomer. It was expected 
 that among the aluminous and magnesian rocks some might be found 
 in which iron should begin to make its appearance, and this gap 
 has now been filled. In the Greenland beds layers of lignite are 
 found associated with the basalt, and this may have furnished the 
 material which has reduced the iron to the metallic state. 
 
 Found 1872. Nenntmannsdorf, near Pirna, Saxony. 1 
 
 This mass of meteoric iron was found in 1872 (p. 64), and a super- 
 ficial examination of it by Lichtenberger was made in the following 
 year (" Sitzungsber. der Isis," Dresden, 1873, p. 4). It is a rounded 
 block of malleable iron, weighing 25 pounds, and is covered with a 
 
 1 F. E. Geinitz, Jahrbuch fur Miner alogie, 1876, p. 608. 
 
HISTORY. OF METEORITES. 187 
 
 blackish-brown crust of oxide. Like the meteoric irons of Ovifak, 
 and many others, it contains chlorine, and in damp warm air rapidly 
 oxidises and exfoliates. The metal has the grey colour of iron, does 
 not exhibit the Widmannstattian figures, and has a specific gravity 
 of 6-21. Geinitz finds the composition of this iron to be 
 
 Iron 93-04 
 
 Nickel 6-16 
 
 Phosphorus 0*22 
 
 99-42 
 
 In the iron are many rounded, sometimes elongated, hollows filled 
 with a yellowish-brown mineral having the specific gravity 3-98. 
 This on analysis was found to consist of 
 
 Iron 63-82 
 
 Sulphur 37-36 
 
 101-18 
 
 which showed it to be troilite (iron monosulphide), and to accord 
 in composition with the sulphide found in the meteoric iron of 
 See-lasgen. One cavity was filled with what appeared to be the 
 same mineral in a crystalline form. This is the first occasion where 
 troilite has been met with otherwise than massive. 
 
 [Before 1875.] Butler, Bates Co., Missouri. 1 
 
 This iron has already been described by Broadhead 2 and Smith, 3 
 the latter finding it remarkable for the very large and regular 
 Widmannstattian figures which it displays. A specimen, weighing 
 1 kilog. 334 grammes, acquired by the Vienna Collection from Dr. 
 L. Smith, was found to have three etched surfaces nearly perpen- 
 dicular to each other. It was noticed that the greater part of the 
 iron had an even dull appearance, but in this lustreless iron grey 
 part lay numerous, in part individual, in part grouped together, 
 lamellae, of which four differently directed systems appear on the 
 sections. The lamella together form a skeleton an octahedral 
 skeleton : as is illustrated by Tschermak in fig. 5 accompanying his 
 memoir, 4 the crystal-structure of iron sometimes indicates a hexa- 
 hedral skeleton. 
 
 The ground-mass, though lustreless and structureless, shows a 
 peculiar play of light, to which later reference will be made ; its 
 hardness is remarkably low, a little below 4, being distinctly 
 scratched by fluor. The thin central part of the lamellae in several 
 respects (hardness, etc.) shows the greatest resemblance to the 
 ground-mass ; only in a few broader places a feebly indicated kernel- 
 like structure shows itself, and recalls the beam-iron of other meteoric 
 irons. The Iamella3 are covered with band-iron (tanite) which is 
 
 1 A. Brezina. Sitzber. Akad. Wiss. 1880, Ixxxii. Oct. Heft. 
 
 2 Broadhead. Amer. Journ. Sc. [3], x. 401. 
 
 3 Smith. Amer. Journ. Sc. [3], xiii. 211. 
 
 * Tschennak. Sitzber. Akad. Wits. Ixx. 1874, 458. 
 
188 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 recognized by its high lustre and pale isabel-yellow colour ; they 
 are very small, the nucleus and the two covers being in most cases 
 not more than - 6 \ of a millimetre, and the length usually 15 to 
 20 mm. (some are 30 mm.). Where lamellae differently directed 
 come together, one system is usually developed quite uninjured ; 
 sometimes, though rarely, nucleus lies on nucleus and cover on 
 cover, a proof of the simultaneous origin of the system. 
 
 From the main structure formed by the four systems of lamellse, 
 there project into the ground-mass not only numerous small 
 plates which are parallel to each other, but here and there one which 
 has an irregular orientation : and to this arrangement is due the 
 peculiar play of light of that part of the iron. Troilite occurs in 
 rounded or lenticular masses, about 2 cm. in diameter ; but none is 
 found in the lamellaa systems. 
 
 The largest of the sections does not differ much (about 13) from 
 the position of a leucitobedral face ; three distinctly marked lamellae 
 systems cross it and make angles with each other of 70, 61 and 
 49 : a fourth less distinctly marked system, making a very small 
 angle with the section, divides the angle of 61 into 44 and 17, the 
 larger angle being on the side nearest to the angle of 49. Hence 
 the adjacent angles of the series of lines are : 
 70, 17, 44, 49. 
 
 For the face (533) the corresponding values would have been : 
 65-4, 0, 65'4, 49-2. 
 
 The drawings of these sections are to be published later on. 
 
 1875, March 31st, between 3 and 4 p.m. Zsadany, Temesvar, 
 Hungary. 1 
 
 No luminous meteor appears to have been observed at the time 
 these stones fell ; the day was bright and sunny, and the sky cloud- 
 less. A sound as of platoon firing was heard, and a small shower 
 of black stones descended, some within the area of the village of 
 Zsadany in the court-yards of the inhabitants, others in the open 
 fields. They did not fall together, but at slight intervals, which 
 appear to have been at least one-third of a minute. Some were 
 picked up immediately they reached the ground, and were found to 
 be cold. [During a conversation with Prof. Szabo in the summer 
 of 1882, I learned that this was not the case.] It may be men- 
 tioned here that the stones which fell at Dhurmsala in India 2 
 (1860, July 14th) are stated to have been so cold that they could 
 not be held in the hand. 
 
 1 Egyetertes e's Magyar Ujsdg, 23rd April, and June 16th, 1875. 
 
 2 W. von Haidinger, Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, xlii. 305, xliv. 285. [It 
 was a subject of frequent remark in conversation by Professor Brayley that the 
 only foundation for this statement was a part of the native evidence collected on 
 the occurrence of this stonefall, that the meteorite came " from the abode of snow " 
 a phrase which, in the native dialect, signifies a " northern direction," by a simple 
 but direct allusion to the snow-topped summits of the Himalayas. Professor 
 Alexander Herschel.] 
 
HISTORY -OF METEORITES. 189 
 
 Sixteen stones in all have been found, the largest, having the size of 
 a goose's egg and weighing about 152 grammes, is preserved in the 
 National Museum at Pesth ; the remainder have an average size of a 
 walnut, and their aggregate weight is nearly 400 grammes. Memak 
 has sent a preliminary report describing the seven largest stones, 
 illustrated with photographs of the four most interesting masses, 
 to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The investigation of this 
 aerolite has been undertaken by Wartha and Krenner ; J the former 
 will subject it to analysis, the latter examine its mineralogical 
 characters. 
 
 I learn from an obliging letter, received from Prof. Szabo, that 
 these meteorites have a coarse-grained texture, and are somewhat 
 friable, and that they contain nickel-iron and scales of graphite. 
 
 Dr. Cohen, of Heidelberg, received some fragments of the stone 
 from Dr. Babesin, and he has recently published a paper on the 
 results of the physical and chemical examination of them. 2 
 
 The crust of the stone has a brownish black colour, and is ^ to ^ 
 mm. in thickness ; it presents the appearance of having been sub- 
 jected to a less intense heat than that usually developed during the 
 fall of a meteorite. The finely-grained light grey matrix encloses 
 granules of magnetic pyrites (troilite ?), granules and plates of 
 nickel-iron, and numerous dark grey crystalline spherules, averaging 
 ^ mm. in diameter; one little sphere had a breadth of 3J mm. 
 They have an excentric- radiate or contorted-radiate structure. A 
 freshly broken surface of the stone is studded with these chondra, 
 and they are easily removed from the matrix. As regards their 
 mineralogical aspects, the spherules are found to be of two kinds. 
 One consists of small prisms of a rhombic mineral, which has all the 
 appearance of a variety of enstatite ; others are found to possess all 
 the properties of olivine. These two minerals also constitute the 
 greater portion of the matrix. The enstatitic mineral occasionally 
 contains opaque granules and colourless microlites, the olivine pores 
 or cavities, some of which, the author states, appear to contain fluid. 
 Metallic particles are rarely, if ever, found in the spherules them- 
 selves. An accessory mineral, transparent, pure, and with well- 
 defined edges, is also to be found in the meteorite. It differs from 
 the enstatite in exhibiting no cleavage fissures, from the olivine in 
 the smoothness of its polished exterior, and from both of them in 
 exhibiting distinct pleochroism ; the one tone is colourless, the other 
 pale red with a faint tinge of brown. It appears to be rhombic, and 
 shows a close resemblance to a variety of hypersthene found by 
 Cohen in a gabbro from South Africa. The Zsadany stone resembles 
 those which fell on different occasions at Lance, Gopalpur, and 
 Pultusk. 
 
 By treatment with acid a considerable quantity of the silicate was 
 decomposed. The analysis of the portions thus separated gave the 
 following numbers : 
 
 1 Termeszettudomdnyi Kozlbny, 1875, p. 200. 
 
 2 E. Cohen, Verhandl. Naturhis. Med. Vereins ztt Heidelberg, 1878, II. Heft. 2. 
 
190 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 Soluble Portion Insoluble Portion. 
 
 Silicic acid 44-56 . . 56-71 
 
 Alumina trace . . 2-32 
 
 Iron oxide 17'54 . . 13-21 
 
 Lime trace . . 1'77 
 
 Magnesia 37*90 . . 25-99 
 
 100-00 100-00 
 
 The stone, therefore, appears to consist, to the extent of three- 
 fourths, of a bronzite, the remaining fourth being an olivine, in 
 which the equivalents of MgO : FeO are as 3-89 : 1, a ratio approxi- 
 mately that which is often met with in meteoric olivine. 
 
 Prof. V. Wartha was desired to analyse the stone, but he was 
 delayed by several causes which he mentions ; l and eventually Dr. 
 W. Pillitz undertook the examination. Wartha received 30 grammes 
 of the meteorite, a quantity which he considers very small, and he 
 was led to make a preliminary trial on another meteorite, that of 
 Knyahinya, of which he received some fragments from Prof. Szabo. 
 While the latter is very hard, finely-grained, and firmly held to- 
 gether, the stone of Zsadany is very friable and has a rough surface. 
 The numerous iron particles enclosed in the rock so rapidly oxidize 
 that they are covered with rust in a few hours, so that it was not 
 possible to prepare a microscopic section of it. There were plainly 
 visible with a lens, in addition to the iron particles, bronze-coloured 
 troilite, small white crystals, and a black non-metallic body, the 
 same as that found by Kenngott in the Knyahinya stone. These were 
 found to be fine, lustrous, octahedral crystals, and to be picotite, 
 originally found in the rock, from the neighbourhood of L. Lherz, 
 called Iherzolite by Delametherie ; it is a spinel. A fragment of the 
 stone heated in a tube connected with a Sprengel pump gave no 
 lines in the spectroscope, except a weak indication of hydrogen. The 
 iron sulphide appears to be present not as pyrites but as troilite, 
 and the same observation was made with regard to the Knyahinya 
 meteorite, contrary to the finding of Piribauer, who held it to con- 
 tain pyrites. 
 
 Pillitz 2 publishes full details of the methods which he employed 
 for the analysis which led to the following results : Silicates 
 = 78-53 per cent ; metals 22-26 per cent. 
 
 Or in 100 parts of the 
 
 Silicate. Metallic Portion. 
 
 Silicic acid 47'346 Iron 67'219 
 
 Chromium oxide 1-276 Nickel 10-177 
 
 Alumina 3*027 Cobalt trace. 
 
 Iron protoxide 15-054 Manganese 6*047 
 
 Magnesia 22-343 Copper and tin 2-323 
 
 Lime 4-683 Sulphur 9-734 
 
 Potash 5-850 Phosphorus 1-658 
 
 Soda 0-421 Carbon 0-774 
 
 Chromite 2*065 
 
 100-000 99-997 
 
 1 V. Wartha, Zeitschrift fur anal. Chemie, xvii., 1878, 431 ; Jour. Chem. Soc. 
 xxxvi., 1879, 210. 
 
 2 W. Pillitz, Zeitschrift fur anal. Chemie, xviii., 1879, 58. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 191 
 
 1875, April 14th, 0-30 a.m. Haddon, Grenville Co., Victoria, 
 Australia. 1 
 
 A very brilliant meteor appeared from a bank of cloud about 20 
 above the N.W. horizon : it became elongated and pear-shaped as it 
 traversed the heavens from W. to E., attaining an altitude of 50 
 on passing the zenith, where the nucleus appeared to break up and 
 roll on in misshapen spheres of various sizes. On reaching a point 
 within 20 of the N.E. horizon, the light became more intense and 
 then the meteor disappeared. Eight or ten seconds later, reverbera- 
 tions as of thunder were distinctly heard. An eye-witness stationed 
 at Haddon thought he saw matter fall near him, and the next day, 
 found a lump of melted matter, light in weight and of a nearly 
 black colour, a portion being "a yellowish-brown substance like 
 cinders from iron-smelting," as well as two fragments that were 
 black, like coke, and a smaller fragment of a yellow hue. This 
 great meteor, of which an engraving is given in The Illustrated 
 Australian News, was, it appears, observed in several parts of the 
 country ; but no other accounts of it indicating either the extent or 
 position of its real course have yet been received. 
 
 1875, August 16th (about noon). Feid-Chair, Cercle de la Calle, 
 Constantine, Algiers. 2 
 
 This meteorite fell about midday at a spot named Feid-Chair, 
 about 30 kilometres from La Calle, the descent being attended 
 with the usual luminous appearance. It weighs about 380 grammes ; 
 all search to discover other stones has proved of no avail. The 
 stone has a black crust and a grey interior, in which particles of 
 nickel-iron and troilite are imbedded. Spherules are recognized, but 
 the matrix likewise exhibits a brecciated structure ; grains of a dull 
 black hue are also distributed through the mass. The siliceous por- 
 tion acts on polarized light. The enclosed crystals are too small to 
 allow of their form being recognized. This portion of the stone is 
 acted upon by acid, and appears to consist of a mixture of olivine 
 and enstatite. The Feid-Chair meteorite closely resembles the 
 stones which fell at La Baffe, Dep. des Vosges (1822, September 13th), 
 Heredia, Costa Eica (1857, April 1st), Canellas, near Barcelona 
 (1861, May 14th), and Khetree, Kajpootana, India (1867, January 
 19th). This is the third occasion within the space of twelve years 
 that meteorites have been seen to fall in Algiers and have been pre- 
 served. 
 
 1875, September 14th, 4 p.m. Supino, circ. Frosinone, Rome. 
 
 The asserted fall of an aerolite on this date, as an authentic stone 
 fall, in the " Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 
 
 1 The Illustrated Australian News, May 17th, 1875, page 68. 
 
 2 G. A. Daubree, Compt. rend. 1877, Ixxxiv. 70. 
 
192 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 (vol. xxxvii. pp. 205-6), is entirely refuted by a letter from Padre 
 Secchi, in the latter volume of the "Monthly Notices" (p. 365), in 
 which the real circumstances of the supposed meteor and stonefall 
 are related and described. A flash of lightning which occurred in 
 the public square of Supino struck a neighbouring house with suf- 
 ficient violence to dislodge a stone from the roof, without doing any 
 more material damage to the house. The supposed "meteorite," 
 which fell in the courtyard of the house, is identified by the Padre 
 Secchi with the ordinary volcanic stones of the district, which is in 
 the neighbourhood of an extinct volcano, and it probably lay (as it- 
 is customary to protect them against the force of the wind) upon 
 the tiles of the roof until it was projected from its place by the 
 lightning-stroke. 
 
 1875, December 27th, 9 p.m. Kansas. 
 
 I have to thank Mr. Irish, C.E., of Iowa City, for two cuttings 
 from newspapers (the Kansas Chief of December 30th, and the 
 Kansas Evening Post of December 29th) recording the fall of a 
 detonating meteor of the above date. It traversed the heavens in 
 a direction from N.W. to S.E., leaving a lurid streak in its wake. 
 The whole heavens were lighted up, and " made all out of doors 
 almost as light as full moonlight." The meteor was of the usual 
 whitish-red colour, and when it exploded the fiery fragments were 
 scattered in all directions. " Perhaps two minutes later, and after 
 all appearance of the meteor had disappeared, the sound of the 
 explosion came like the discharge of a heavy cannon ; or rather one 
 loud explosion, immediately followed by a lighter one like an echo. 
 The explosion jarred houses and rattled windows. The size of the 
 meteor and the terrible force of the explosion may be imagined from 
 the fact that the distance was so great that it required about two 
 minutes for the sound to reach the earth, and that the concussion was 
 plainly felt and heard at that distance. The phenomenon was 
 witnessed over a large extent of country." An observer, writing 
 from Fort Leavenworth, states that it appeared to have its origin in 
 the constellation Cassiopeia, and its course was due east. Mr. Irish 
 states that he has made every effort to secure possession of the 
 meteorites which must have fallen, but has been unsuccessful. The 
 time of flight is estimated to have been from 12 to 15 seconds. 
 
 1875, December 27th, 9-20 p.m. State of Missouri, U.S.A. 1 
 
 I am indebted to Mr. Irish, C.E., of Iowa City, for an interesting 
 description of this detonating meteor, as well as for a map, on which 
 he has traced its course. The point where it was first seen in the 
 zenith is at Thayer, in Nebraska, near the borders of Kansas, and 
 about 120 miles W. of the Missouri River. It was seen by him at 
 
 1 See also G. C. Broadhead, Trans. Acad. Science of St. Louis, III. No. 3, 349. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 193 
 
 Iowa City first as a small meteor, which rapidly became brighter, 
 and was hidden from view when at an altitude of about 40 by a 
 building ; at this moment it gave out a very brilliant quivering 
 flash of light, which illuminated the whole heavens. It appears 
 from Mr. Irish's map to have been seen over a wide area, from Still- 
 water in Minnesota on the north, to Buffalo in Missouri on the south, 
 and as far west as the shores of Lake Michigan. Near the termina- 
 tion of the flight sounds were heard : over Archer, in Nebraska, a 
 rushing roaring sound, as of a mighty wind, was noticed ; at St. 
 Joseph, in Missouri, the first distinct explosion was remarked, and 
 between that town and Livingstone Co. frequent and very heavy 
 detonations occurred. In the last-mentioned district, and at places 
 as far as 60 miles distant, numerous red fragments were seen to fall. 
 He says, "I have had several persons looking for the meteorites 
 where the fall must have taken place ; but the whole district is 
 covered with dense forest, and is mountainous and broken, and the 
 ground was very soft from the long-continued rains preceding the 
 fall, so that no fragments have been found. All the observers of 
 the final explosion agree that the great bulk of the material was 
 thrown upward and backward upon the course of the meteor, as the 
 arrow-pointed dots in my sketch indicate. The luminous appearance 
 continued in sight for 15 minutes." 
 
 1876, January 5th, 10-30 p.m. Iowa and Missouri. 
 
 This meteor, according to Mr. Irish's letter and accompanying 
 map, was witnessed over an area extending from Cass, in Iowa, to 
 Grundy, in Missouri. It appeared to descend almost perpendicularly, 
 and was a very brilliant meteor, and a very noisy one also. A 
 series of reports, twenty-two in number, were heard during its 
 transit from Cass to Grundy. The rumbling thunder of its artillery, 
 together with its flashes of brilliant light, brought people from their 
 beds with an apprehension that the great Civil War had broken out 
 afresh. Its time of flight over the area indicated was not more than 
 five seconds, and the light it emitted is said to have equalled that of 
 noonday. None of the meteorites which must have fallen have been 
 found, for the reasons already referred to when speaking of the 
 detonating meteor of December 27th. 
 
 1876, January 31st, 5-30 p m. Louisville, Kentucky. 1 
 
 Dr. Lawrence Smith, of Louisville, observed a magnificent meteor 
 traversing the heavens on the afternoon of the above day. He first 
 saw it at an altitude of about 60 above the horizon, and it disap- 
 peared from view behind some houses at an elevation of about 20. 
 Its direction appears to have been from N.W. to S.E., and the angular 
 magnitude about one-sixth that of the disk of the moon. It was 
 
 1 J. L. Smith, Amer. Journ. So. 1876, [3], xi. 458. 
 
 13 
 
194 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 seen over an area 120 miles in diameter. A number of observers 
 witnessed an explosion which took place when the meteor was about 
 10 above the horizon ; all the fragments disappeared instantly, 
 except the largest, which also became invisible before it reached the 
 horizon. One or two of the eye-witnesses think they noticed a 
 whizzing noise, and at the time of bursting heard the explosion. 
 No fragments of a meteorite have yet been met with ; but it is the 
 opinion of Dr. Smith that they fell about the range of the Cumber- 
 land Mountains in Kentucky, or in the north-east of Tennessee. 
 
 1876, April 7th (evening). Eperjes, Hungary. 1 
 
 A fireball passed over Eperjes 8 [? E. or W.] from the meridian, 
 and detonated at an altitude of 38 above the horizon. It exploded 
 with a very loud noise, and broke into numerous fiery fragments. 
 
 1876, April 20th, 340 p.m. Rowton, near Wellington, seven miles 
 north of the Wrekin, Shropshire. 2 
 
 It is not a little curious that twice in five years the British Islands 
 have been visited with meteoric falls ; in each case a single specimen 
 has been found and, the one a small block of iron, the other a small 
 mass of rock, they constitute the prettiest little cabinet specimens 
 of the two chief typical classes of meteorites. The former fell at 
 Eowton, in April, 1 876 ; the other near Middlesborough, in Yorkshire, 
 on March 14th, 1881, and will be described later on (p. 218). The 
 Eowton iron weighs 7f Ibs. A strange rumbling noise was heard 
 in the air, followed almost instantaneously by a startling explosion 
 resembling a discharge of heavy artillery. Eain was falling heavily 
 at the time. About one hour after the explosion was heard a man 
 had occasion to go into a turf field, in his occupation and adjoining the 
 Wellington and Market Drayton Eailway, when his attention was 
 attracted to a hole cut in the ground. He probed it with a stick and 
 at a depth of eighteen inches, four inches being of soil and fourteen 
 of solid clay, he found the mass of iron. The hole was nearly per- 
 pendicular, but the meteorite appeared to have fallen in a S.E. direc- 
 tion. The mass was quite warm, it appears, when found. 
 
 The meteorite passed into the hands of Mr. Ashdown, the agent 
 of the Duke of Cleveland, who presented it to the Trustees of the 
 British Museum. The national collection contains 351 distinct 
 meteorites, and of these 118 are iron masses, the fall of only seven 
 of which has been witnessed ; nine stony meteorites have fallen in 
 the British Islands and the Eowton iron is only the second iron 
 meteorite known as having been found in Great Britain. Mr. 
 
 1 Egyetertes es Magyar Ujsag. Budapest, April 13, 1876. 
 
 3 Wolverhampton Chronicle, and Birmingham Daily Post ; Nafwre, April 7th, 
 1876, and Nature, July 27th, 1876. Walter Flight, Paper read before the Koyal 
 Society, February 9th, 1882. 
 

 METEORIC IRON, 
 
 WHICH FELL AT ROWTON, NEAR WELLINGTON, SHROPSHIRE.. 
 ON THE CT H APRIL, 1876, 3:40. P.M. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 195 
 
 Maskelyne pointed out the resemblance to be traced between this iron 
 and that of Nedagolla in India, both in its depth of penetration into 
 the soil as well as the direction of the little mass in space. 
 
 The iron of this meteorite is compact and bright, and the greater 
 part of the surface is covered with a thin film of magnetite : the 
 point where it struck the ground is worn bright (see plate) . The 
 composition of this iron was found to be : 
 
 I. II. 
 
 Iron 91-250 91-046 
 
 Nickel 8-582 Q ->- 
 
 Cobalt 0-371 I'" 
 
 Copper trace trace 
 
 100-203 100-123 
 
 The fragment of iron chosen for analysis contained half a nodule 
 of troilite, which was easily removed, and on analysis was found to 
 have the composition : 
 
 . Theory. 
 
 Iron 63-927 63-64 
 
 Sulphur 36-073 36-36 
 
 100-000 100-00 
 
 The occluded gases removed at a red heat with a Sprengel pump 
 consisted of: 
 
 Carbonic acid 5-155 
 
 Hydrogen '. ... 77*778 
 
 Carbonic oxide 7*345 
 
 Nitrogen 9*722 
 
 100-000 
 
 The gases extracted were 6-38 times the bulk of the iron taken for 
 experiment ; an unusually large quantity, due doubtless to the iron 
 being examined so soon after its fall. 
 
 1876, June 25th, 910 a.m. Kansas City, Missouri. 1 
 
 A small meteorite fell between nine and ten in the morning of 
 the above day, on the tin roof of the house, No. 556, Main Street, 
 Kansas City. It struck the roof with sufficient force to cut a hole 
 in the metal ; but it did not pass through, bounding back a few feet 
 and coming to rest on the roof. Two observers who were at a 
 window close by heard the sharp concussion when it struck the 
 roof, and one of them immediately picked up the meteorite as it lay 
 near her on the roof, but let it fall again, finding it too hot to retain 
 in the hand. It is described as of a plano-convex form, one inch 
 and three quarters along its greatest length and about one third of 
 an inch thick. "The convex surface possesses the usual crusted 
 appearance, while the inside or plane surface differs from ordinary 
 meteorites in possessing the appearance of sulphuret of iron, sub- 
 
 1 J. D. Parker, Amer. Journ. Sc. 1876, vol. xii. p. 316. 
 
196 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 jected to some degree of heat, instead of nickeliferous iron. One 
 might easily infer that the meteorite was shaled off from a large 
 bolide that passed over the city at that time." It is much to be 
 desired that this meteorite will pass into the hands of a scientific 
 expert for examination and description. 
 
 1876, June 28th, 11-50 a.m. Stalldalen, near Kopparberg, 
 Orebrolan, Dalecarlia, Sweden. 1 
 
 A meteor traversed a part of Central Sweden in a W.N.W. 
 direction, and was plainly visible in the very bright sunshine. It 
 was observed at Stockholm and Sodermanland ; at 13 English 
 miles S.W. of Linkoping it was seen first in a N.W. direction, and 
 at a considerable altitude, and it descended almost to the horizon 
 in the west. A loud whistling noise was heard in the air from 
 E. to W., followed by two sharp reports, and others less loud 
 resembling thunder. The fall of the meteorites was witnessed by 
 eight or ten persons, and three or four fragments have been secured 
 by Dr. Lindstrom. The largest, about the size of two fists, weighs 
 4J skalpund [1 Ib. av.= 1-068 Itt. or skalpund]. Stalldalen is a 
 station on the Swedish Central Railway, on the northernmost part 
 of Orebrolan. Some of the meteorites fell in water and have been 
 lost. 
 
 It was subsequently ascertained that the total number of stones 
 found is eleven, and they weigh collectively 34 kilog. Lindstrom 
 finds the total composition of a portion of one of these stones to be 
 
 Silicic acid 35'7l 
 
 Phosphoric acid 0-30 
 
 Alumina 2'11 
 
 Chromium oxide 0-40 
 
 Iron protoxide 10-29 
 
 Manganese protoxide 0-25 
 
 Nickel protoxide 0'20 
 
 Lime 1-61 
 
 Magnesia 23'16 
 
 Soda 0-62 
 
 Potash 0-15 
 
 Iron 21-10 
 
 Nickel 1-61 
 
 Cohalt 0-17 
 
 Phosphorus O'Ol 
 
 Sulphur 2-27 
 
 Chlorine... , 0-04 
 
 100-00 
 
 1 A. E. Nordenskjold, Foredrag i Mineralogi vid Akademiens arshogtid den 
 3 April, 1877. ('Aftonbladets Aktiebolags Tryckeri,' Stockholm, 1877.) [See 
 also Nature, July 19th, 1877.] G. Lindstrom, 'Ofversigt af Kongl. Yetenskaps 
 Akad. Forhandl.,' No. 4, 1877, p. 35. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 197 
 
 Of these ingredients, 4-51 per cent, constitute magnetic pyrites, and 
 14*65 per cent, nickel-iron, the composition of which appears to be 
 
 Iron ... 90-78 
 
 Nickel 8-29 
 
 Cobalt 0-88 
 
 Phosphorus 0-05 
 
 100-00 
 
 The portions (I.) gelatinisable with, and (II.) unacted upon by, 
 acid have the following composition : 
 
 I. II. 
 
 Silicic acid ..36-76 57'37 
 
 Phosphoric acid 0*83 
 
 Alumina 0-13 
 
 Iron protoxide 20-35 
 
 Nickel oxide 0-60 
 
 Manganese oxide 
 
 Lime 0-64 
 
 Magnesia 40-47 
 
 Soda 0-18 
 
 Potash 0-16 
 
 Chlorine , 0-13 
 
 0-07 
 5-07 
 8-03 
 
 0-63 
 3-41 
 23-54 
 1-38 
 0-23 
 
 100-25 99-73 
 
 In the soluble portion the oxygen ratio of acids to bases is 
 20-08 : 21-16, and in the insoluble part 30-64 : 15-08. In addition 
 to olivine and bronzite, this meteorite appears to contain an insoluble 
 felspar and a little apatite. 
 
 1876, December 21st, 8 40 p.m. Rochester, Fulton Co., Indiana. 
 [Lat. 41 8', Long. 86 12'.] l 
 
 This remarkable meteor passed over the States of Kansas, Mis- 
 souri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, a distance from E. to W. of about 
 800 miles. It burst into numerous fragments during its passage, 
 producing " a flock of brilliant balls chasing each other across the 
 sky, the number being variously estimated from twenty to one 
 hundred." Over all the regions of Central Illinois a series of 
 terrific explosions was heard. Over the northern part of Indiana 
 the passage of the body was followed by loud explosions. A piece 
 of the meteorite, a few ounces in weight, fell near Eochester, la. A 
 portion, now in the possession of Prof. Shepard, was discovered on the 
 following day lying in the snow. Two places were noticed where it 
 had previously struck, whence it had bounded to its resting-place. 
 It is stated by Prof. Shepard to closely resemble the meteorite of 
 Pegu, India (27th December, 1857), and to consist of dark ash-grey 
 spherules (boltonite), imbedded in a nearly white pulverulent 
 
 1 H. A. Newton, Amer. Journ. Sc. 1877, xiii. 166 ; J. L. Smith, Amer. Journ. 
 Sc. 1877, xiii. 243, and xiv. 219 ; C. U. Shepard, Amer. Journ. Sc. 1877, xiii. 207 ; 
 Prof. Kirkwood, Amer. Journ. Sc. 1877, xiv. 75 ; Western Review of Science and 
 Industry, 1877, i. Xo. 1, Kansas City, Mo. 39. 
 
198 
 
 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 matrix, "chladnite," olivine in distinct grains, nickel-iron, and a 
 little troilite. The specific gravity of a fragment partially covered 
 with crust was 3-65. 
 
 According to Prof. Kirkwood its elevation at Bloomington, where 
 it was well noticed, was fifteen degrees, and it is calculated that the 
 length of the observed track was from 1000 to 1100 miles, one of 
 the longest on record. Its height is supposed to have been thirty- 
 eight miles above the place where the small fragment fell from it. Its 
 velocity in reference to the earth's surface appears to have been 
 from eight to twelve miles per second. The pyrotechnical display 
 is said to have been transcendently beautiful. 
 
 The entire fragment did not weigh 400 grammes, and it is reason- 
 able to suppose that the stone itself was dissipated into very minute 
 fragments and dust, as appears to have been the case in the Hessle 
 fall and in other similar instances. The stone, according to Dr. L. 
 Smith, is markedly pisolitic (highly chondritic), very friable, of a 
 grey colour, is easily crushed between the fingers partly into a light 
 powder, or fine dust, and partly to small globules, some of which are 
 perfectly spherical. In many respects it appears to bear a close resem- 
 blance to the Ornans meteorite. Dr. L. Smith found it to resemble 
 most closely the Aussun stone. The coating is dull black and quite 
 rough, and the specific gravity is 3-55. The stone contained 3-31 per 
 cent, of troilite, and on treatment with hydrochloric acid was found 
 to consist of : 
 
 A. Soluble silicates 47'80 
 
 B. Insoluble silicates .. .52-20 
 
 which contained respectively : 
 
 100-00 
 
 Silicic acid 
 Iron protoxide... 
 
 A. 
 
 ... 34-55 
 
 ... 27-75 
 
 Alumina trace 
 
 Chromium oxide 
 
 Lime trace 
 
 Magnesia 36-38 
 
 Soda... 0-46 
 
 99-14 
 
 100-30 
 
 Some of the globules, when picked out and analyzed, were found 
 to possess the same composition as that of the complete rock itself, 
 which showed them to be merely concretions of the matrix. The 
 nickel-iron contained : 
 
 Iron = 94-49 ; Nickel = 4-12 ; and Cobalt = 0-51 : total 99-12. 
 The mineral constituents of the Eochester meteorite are : 
 
 Bronzite and pyroxene minerals 46-00 
 
 Olivine 41-00 
 
 Nickel-iron 10-00 
 
 Troilite 3-00 
 
 Chrome iron ... 0-15 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 199 
 
 1877, January 3rd (Sunrise). Warrenton, State of Missouri. 
 [Lat. 38 5{y ; Long. 91 10'.] l 
 
 A sound like that of a cannon ball passing through the air was 
 heard by four observers near Warrenton. On looking up they saw 
 an object falling, which struck a tree, breaking off the limbs and 
 then coming to the ground with a crash. The observers were fifty 
 or sixty metres distant from the spot. The snow was melted where 
 the meteorite fell. From the fragments found, it appears to have 
 had a conical form, and to have been about eighteen inches in length. 
 The pieces, although warm, were easily handled. It is estimated 
 that the stone weighed about one hundred pounds, but only about 
 from ten to fifteen pounds weight have been preserved. 
 
 In one specimen the fibres of some of the branches are found 
 adhering to the rough crust of the stone, and though delicate 
 show not the slightest sign of having been heated. No luminous 
 phenomena attended the fall, which appears to have been slow ; 
 '' it was no doubt a meteorite well spent in its rapid motion through 
 the atmosphere." Its direction, as far as could be ascertained, 
 was from N.W. to S.E. 
 
 The stone differs in a marked degree from that of Rochester, 
 although it also is pisolitic and fell only a few days previously. In 
 chemical composition it closely resembles the Ornans meteorite, 
 which fell llth July, 1868, and the results of Dr. Smith's analysis 
 closely accord with those found by Pisani 2 on analyzing that stone. 
 
 The crust in this case is unusually thick, being in some places 
 from two and a half to three and a half millimetres in thickness. 
 The interior has a very dark uniform ash colour, is soft, and is easily 
 crushed. The density of the stone is 3'47 ; the troilite forms 3-51 
 per cent, of the stone and the nickel-iron 2-01 per cent. 
 
 By treatment with acid it was found that there were present : 
 
 A. Soluble silicates 80-40 per cent. 
 
 B. Insoluble silicates . . 19-60 
 
 100-00 
 
 which contained respectively : ^ B 
 
 Silicic acid . 33-02 56-90 
 
 Iron protoxide 37*57 
 
 Alumina 0-12 
 
 Chromium oxide 
 
 Lime trace 
 
 Magnesia 28-41 
 
 Soda 0-07 
 
 Nickel oxide 1 '54 
 
 Cobalt oxide . 0-31 
 
 10-20 
 0-20 
 0-33 
 7-62 
 
 22-41 
 1-00 
 
 101-04 .. 97-66 
 The chromium appears to be in the form of chromite, amounting 
 
 1 J. L. Smith, Amer. Jour. Sc. 1877. xiii. 243 ; and xiv. 222. 
 
 2 Compt. rend. 1868, Ixvii. 663. 
 
200 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 to 0'5 of that mineral ; and the nickel oxide to be a constituent of 
 
 the soluble silicates. The nickel-iron, which is present in very 
 
 small quantity, contained 
 
 ' Iron = 88-51 ; Nickel = 10-21 ; and Cobalt = 0-60: total 99-32. 
 The mineral constitution of this meteorite was calculated to be 
 
 as follows : 
 
 Olivine minerals 76-00 
 
 Bronzite and pyroxenic minerals 18*00 
 
 Nickel-iron 2-00 
 
 Troilite 3-50 
 
 Chrome-iron 0'50 
 
 The proportion of olivine present in this stone is unusually high. 
 
 1877, January 23rd, 4 p.m. Cynthiana, Harrison Co., Kentucky. 1 
 At the date given above a brilliant meteor was seen traversing 
 Monroe County, Indiana, in a S.E. direction, about thirty-five degrees 
 above the horizon ; it was also seen by several persons in Decatur 
 County of the same State, lat. 39 27', long. 85 28', where it dis- 
 appeared just as it seemed to touch the earth, not more than a 
 quarter of a mile distant. It really fell about sixty miles away. 
 Apparently it was not seen in the State of Ohio, but in the State of 
 Kentucky it was observed over a considerable territory. The 
 phenomenon culminated in the usual noises heard in the heavens. 
 Fortunately one observer, an intelligent farmer, heard a solid body 
 strike the ground ; he walked immediately to the spot and dug the 
 stone out from a depth of thirteen inches. 
 
 The stone weighs six kilogrammes ; it is wedge-shaped, with one 
 portion of it very extensively and regularly pitted, while the rest is 
 comparatively smooth. The crust is dull black and is as perfect as 
 when the stone fell. There was a fresh broken spot of two or three 
 square centimetres which was evidently made prior to the fall, for a 
 few small specks of the melted matter adhered to the surface. In 
 texture the meteorite belongs to the harder brecciated variety ; and 
 when broken presents a mottled surface, identical with that of the 
 Parnallee stone, which it resembles in every other particular. The 
 specific gravity of the two meteorites is identical, viz. 3-41. 
 
 The Cynthiana stone, when treated with hydrochloric acid, gave : 
 
 A. Soluble" silicate 56-50 
 
 B. Insoluble silicate 43-50 
 
 which were found to have the following composition : 
 
 A. B. 
 
 Silicic acid , 33-65 57'60 
 
 Iron protoxide 30-83 
 
 Alumina O'll 
 
 Chromium oxide 
 
 Lime trace 
 
 Magnesia 34-61 
 
 Soda... 
 
 11-42 
 0-43 
 0-38 
 5-70 
 
 23-97 
 1-24 
 
 99-20 100-74 
 
 1 J. L. Smith, Amer. Jour. Sc. 1877, xiii. 243 ; and xiv. 225. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 201 
 
 The troilite amounted to 5-50 per cent, and the nickel-iron to 5-93 
 per cent., which had the composition : 
 
 Iron = 90-64 ; Nickel = 8-35 ; and Cobalt = 0-73 : total 99-72. 
 The mineral constituents are easily distinguished by the eye, and 
 consist of : 
 
 Olivine minerals 50-00 
 
 Bronzite and pyroxenic minerals 30-00 
 
 Nickel-iron 6-00 
 
 Troilite 5-50 
 
 Chrome-iron 0-52 
 
 In recording the three interesting falls at Eochester, Warrenton 
 and Cynthiana, Dr. L. Smith draws attention to the remarkable fact 
 that during a period of eighteen years there have been twelve falls 
 of meteorites in the United States, of which specimens have been 
 collected. Eight of these falls, with over one thousand kilogrammes 
 of matter, have occurred over the prairie regions of the West, not far 
 from his home ; and the extreme limit of these falls is within a 
 region not exceeding one-eighth of the surface of that part of the 
 United States which is east of the Rocky Mountains. The population 
 of this area is not much above the average of that country. The 
 four other falls in the United States during the same period were 
 attended with the descent of less than two kilogrammes. 
 
 1877, March 16th, 8 p.m. TTitenhage, Cape of Good Hope, 
 
 South Africa. 1 
 
 A magnificent fireball, such as few would ever see in a lifetime, 
 made its appearance in the East, "coming out of the eastern horizon" 
 at Uitenhage, " and travelling slowly across the firmament in an 
 oblique direction to the westward, when it burst, sending forth 
 streams of fire, as if from a hundred rockets, and then was heard a 
 low rumbling noise as of thunder in the distance. The meteor 
 appeared to be nearly if not quite as large as the full moon, but not 
 round, more of an oblong shape, and while travelling through the 
 air it very much resembled a large turpentine ball. It gave forth a 
 bright bluish light, which lit up the whole sky, and you could dis- 
 tinguish everything around you for miles as plainly as in the day- 
 time." Native Hottentots and Kaffirs, the account adds, were so 
 terrified that they sought refuge in the nearest houses, and the 
 apparition of the fireball was regarded by them as a warning of 
 approaching famine, drought, or some other calamity. None of 
 them had ever seen a meteor of anything like the size or half so 
 brilliant as the present one. The oxen in the wagons stopped on 
 the road and could not for some time be got to start again, others 
 turned round, snapped off the disselbooms of the waggons, and 
 bolted for some distance into the bush. The consternation was 
 general in the country round Uitenhage. The illumination lasted 
 nearly a minute, and the light was such that it dazzled the eyes of 
 all who saw it. The events recorded took place on a beautiful 
 starlight evening. 
 
 1 The Times, London, May 21, 1877. 
 
202 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 1877, May 17th, 7 a.m. Hungen, between Steinheim and Borsdorf 
 Provinz, Oberhessen. 1 
 
 An eye-witness of the fall of one of these meteorites states that, 
 as he was passing through a wood, on his way from Steinheim to 
 Borsdorf, he heard a noise as of thunder, although the sky was 
 cloudless, followed by a humming, hissing, whistling sound, such as 
 would be caused by a number of stones rapidly rushing among the 
 trees. One stone struck a pine tree close by him, severed a branch 
 about the thickness of the finger, and fell at his feet. It was some 
 time before he could convince himself that the object before him 
 was not alive, but when he at last ventured to raise it from the 
 ground he found it was cold. 
 
 Buchner visited the locality five months later and found a second 
 stone, weighing 26 grammes. The first must have weighed more 
 than 86 grammes, and a portion of it weighing 73-26 grammes has 
 been deposited in the mineral ogical collection of the University of 
 Griessen. It has an irregularly triangular and flattened form, and 
 less than one quarter of the stone has apparently been removed. It 
 should be stated here that Buchner learned from several who were 
 able to bear witness to the occurrence, that the sound attending the 
 descent of the meteorites proceeded in a direction from N.W. to S.E. 
 The freshly fallen leaves of mid-October rendered hopeless further 
 search for the other stones which must have fallen. 
 
 The crust of the meteorite is dull black and thin, and exhibits 
 here and there granules of nickel-iron. The fractured surface dis- 
 plays a grey, occasionally brownish, matrix, which is traversed by 
 a very tbin but very conspicuous brilliant black band of material ; 
 it runs obliquely to the flattened side of this stone, and is also found 
 in the smaller mass, picked up five months later, which evidently 
 never formed part of a larger meteorite. On another part of the 
 fractured surface of the larger stone, a second black line, parallel to 
 the first, but less brilliant, is to be seen. Abundant particles of 
 nickel-iron and troilite are met with ; and the crust appears to 
 consist, to the extent of one-half, of the metallic alloy. Examination 
 under the microscope shows the ground mass to be colourless and 
 transparent, and to be fissured in every direction. It appears to 
 consist of olivine. Some olivine spherules are quite conspicuous, 
 surrounded either by the black material or nickel-iron ; other 
 chondra have a banded or radiate structure, like those observed by 
 Tschermak in the aerolites of Sherghotty or Gopalpur, and appear to 
 be bronzite ; and lastly there are spherules of a homogeneous grey 
 translucent substance, devoid of or rarely traversed by fissures. 
 Buchner states that the meteorite of Hungen, while a member of the 
 most common class of meteorites, can easily be distinguished from 
 those which fell at Agen, Girgenti, New Concord, Knyahinya, 
 Krahenberg, Pultusk, and many others which he mentions. 
 
 The smaller stone was presented to the Vienna Collection, and 
 
 1 0. Buchner and G. Tschermak, Mineralogische Mittheilungen, 1877, 313. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 203 
 
 forms the subject of a few notes by Tschermak in an appendix to 
 Buchner's paper. He describes its characters, which nearly approach 
 those of the Pultusk stones. The black crust has the unusual 
 thickness of 1/5 mm., and incloses particles of nickel-iron, granules 
 of magnetic pyrites (troilite ?), and even lustreless chondra, which 
 may consist of chromite or picotite. The transparent minerals con- 
 stituting the chief mass of the stone are of three kinds : 1. Olivine, 
 recognized by its rectangular cleavage and few included minerals, 
 and by its contributing but little to the chondritic character of the 
 stone ; 2. Bronzite, in granules and aggregated crystals, showing 
 a prismatic cleavage, the latter being either barred or radiate, or 
 contorted and forming the greater number of the chondra ; and 
 3. Diallage, for such Tschermak believes to be a brown mineral, 
 forming angular fragments, which are found not to be rhombic, and 
 to resemble an augite. Chromite occurs in granules, and in larger 
 crystals than are met with in other meteorites. 
 This interesting stone has not yet been analyzed. 
 
 1877, October 13th, about 2 p.m. Soko-Banja, N.E. of Alexinatz, 
 Servia. 1 [Long. 20 53' E. of Greenwich ; Lat. 43 38' N.] 
 
 Doll's paper, which appears in the " Transactions of the Austrian 
 Geological Society," contains two descriptions of the fall of meteor- 
 ites at Soko-Banja, drawn from two different sources. The first, 
 taken from the Servian weekly literary journal *' Javor," published 
 at Neusatz, is written by an eye-witness of the occurrence, who 
 states that the 13th October was fine, and the sky clear, and that 
 about two in the afternoon a noise as of thunder was heard resem- 
 bling batteries of cannon firing briskly. The sound was followed 
 by a violent concussion of the air, and then a number of aerolites 
 were strewn over the adjacent region. One weighing 10 okas (22J 
 Austrian pounds), fell in front of a house in Soko-Banja, and was 
 driven deep into the earth ; a second, which struck the ground at 
 Scherbanowaz, near the Rtanj Berg, weighed 30 okas (67J Austrian 
 pounds), and is the largest mass which was collected. The peasants 
 at Eeanj state that one which fell in that locality was of the size of 
 a sack of flour, and that by striking the rocky surface it was dashed 
 to fragments. From the second and later report, provided by Ritter 
 von Stefanowitsch, of an inquiry instituted by some scientific men 
 from Belgrade, it appears that two explosions like salvoes of artillery 
 were heard, accompanied by a brilliant display of light such as 
 attends the bursting of shells. A dense black smoke was observed 
 at a considerable altitude, which broke up into three columns, and 
 gradually changed to a white smoke. The noise lasted for some 
 time, and then the sound resembled the firing of musketry. The air 
 appeared to be shaken. Soon after the explosion commenced a 
 number of meteorites fell to the ground over an area of a mile and 
 
 1 E. Doll, Verhandl. der K.K. Geolog. Reichsanstalt, 1877, No. 16, 283. S. M. 
 Losanitch, Berichte der deutschen chemischen Geselkchaft, 1878, xi. 96. 
 
204 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 a half in length and half a mile in breadth. The following masses 
 have been collected : 
 
 1. One, weighing 23 okas, fell in the village of Scherbanowaz, 
 and penetrated the soil to the depth of four feet. This is the one 
 mentioned in " Javor." 
 
 2. One, weighing 15 okas, fell near the vineyard at Soko-Banja, 
 and reached the depth of three feet. This appears not to be the 
 mass referred to in " Javor." 
 
 3. Two stones found at Blandija. 
 
 4. A fragment, weighing 2 okas, was found at Prevalac. 
 
 5. A meteorite of small size fell at Gradic (Prevalac and Gradic 
 are hamlets, west of and close to Soko-Banja). 
 
 6. A number of pieces of various sizes fell at Dugopolje, and 
 several very small stones are reported to have fallen on the Djeviza 
 Planina. 
 
 One fragment, 2 okas in weight, fell on a pear tree, and then 
 descended to the ground ; a man who was under the tree took it in 
 his hands, and received the impression that the mass was still warm. 
 
 The meteorites were sent to the Natural History Museum at 
 Belgrade. Doll's paper contains two little maps indicating the area 
 over which the stones were strewn. He describes a small specimen 
 which came into his possession : the matrix is bluish grey and com- 
 pact, inclosing spherules which vary in size from that of a millet- 
 seed to that of hare-shot, and which project from the fractured 
 surface. But little nickel-iron or magnetic pyrites (troilite ?) could 
 be seen. He noticed patches of a brown colour, which he considers 
 characteristic of this meteorite. 
 
 Losanitch, in his communication to the Berlin Chemical Society, 
 which appeared subsequently, states that an interval of 25 seconds 
 elapsed between the appearance of the meteor and the first explo- 
 sion, which was followed by two others. The explosion occurred at 
 an altitude of 7000 metres. The path of the meteor made an angle 
 of 220 50' with the magnetic meridian, and was thus directed from 
 N.E. to S.W. ; it was inclined at a large angle to the horizon. The 
 track of the meteor has been calculated by Kleritj, and the details 
 are to be found in " Glasnik," the journal of a Servian learned 
 society. He makes the entire weight of the stones, whole and in 
 fragments, to reach 80 kilog. 
 
 All the meteorites are coated with a black rough vitreous crust 
 0*5 mm. in thickness, exhibiting numerous depressions. The interior 
 consists of spherules of various sizes, some brown, some yellow, 
 cemented together by an ash-grey material, and presents the appear- 
 ance of a trachytic lava. In polished sections, prepared for micro- 
 scopic examination, nickel-iron in granules, hackly fragments and 
 filiform particles, is to be recognized. The specific gravity of the 
 meteorite is 3-502. The meteorite consists of: 
 
 I. IT. 
 
 Nickel-iron 3-8 3-7 
 
 Silicates 96-2 96-3 
 
 100-0 100-0 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 205 
 
 and a little iron sulphide. A fragment of the nickel-iron, which was 
 separated from all adhering silicate, possessed the composition : 
 
 Iron 78-13 
 
 Nickel 21-70 
 
 Copper 0-17 
 
 100-00 
 
 This is a high per-centage of nickel ; the ratio of the metals is 
 Fe : Ni as 4 : 1. The iron sulphide was found to be the mono- 
 sulphide, and to contain 63-84 per cent, of iron ; theory requires 
 iron=:63-64 per cent. Analyses of the complete meteoric rock, 
 containing the metallic alloy and iron sulphide, but freed from all 
 trace of crust, were made (1) by treating it with hydrochloric acid 
 and caustic potash, which removed constituents amounting in three 
 cases to 60-50 per cent., 6144 per cent., and 61-79 per cent. ; and 
 (2) by determining the ingredients of the portions (I.) acted upon 
 by, and (II.) withstanding these reagents. They are as follow : 
 
 I. 
 
 Silicic acid 32-24 
 
 Iron protoxide 28-41 
 
 Manganese oxide 0-20 
 
 Magnesia 30-53 
 
 Soda 0-43 
 
 Potash 0-09 
 
 Iron 0-70 
 
 Nickel 0-17 
 
 Iron monosulphide = 6 '78 j g 6 II 2-47 
 
 Chromite 
 
 Phosphorus 
 
 II. 
 
 56-66 
 23-55 
 
 0-003 
 20-84 
 
 0-11 
 trace 
 
 99-55 101-63 
 
 Neither alumina nor lime appears to be present in this meteorite, 
 and augitic and felspathic constituents are consequently absent. The 
 oxygen present in the two silicates amounts to 
 
 I. II. 
 
 (Silicic acid) ... 17'19 30-20 
 
 (Iron protoxide) 6*31) , Q K0 (5-23) ,. , c 
 
 (Magnesia)... ... 12-21J = ! ' 52 "' \ 9-33 ) = 
 
 The soluble portion, therefore, is an olivine, having approximately 
 the composition represented by the formula 2(f MgO, J FeO), Si0 2 ; 
 and the insoluble part a bronzite of the form (-| MgO, \ FeO), Si0 2 ; 
 the ratio of iron oxide to magnesia being the same in both silicates. 
 
 1877, Nov. 9. Cronstadt, Orange River Free State, S. Africa. 
 
 All that I have yet been able to gather respecting this occurrence 
 is, that a shower of stones fell near Cronstadt on Nov. 9, 1877, in a 
 wooded district, so that few of them could be collected. One of 
 them, weighing 346 grammes, is preserved in the British Museum. 
 
206 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 1877, December 26th, 8 a.m. Between Hohr and Ballendar, near 
 
 Coblentz. 
 
 A correspondent of the " Coblenzer Zeitung," dating from " Hohr, 
 27th December," writes that on the preceding day two meteorites fell 
 near the road leading to the former frontier, in the direction of Bal- 
 lendar, and that the fall was attended by a very characteristic explo- 
 sion. The editor of the above journal has been unable to gather any 
 further particulars of the occurrence beyond the fact that the stones 
 fell in a wood, and could not be discovered. 
 
 1877. Casey County, Georgia. 1 
 
 A fragment of this iron in the Vienna Collection is stated by the 
 writer to exhibit broad and very regular Widmanstattian figures. 
 The beam-iron averages 2 mm. across; it is almost exclusively 
 developed, and presents unusually sharp lines of etching. Band-iron 
 and interstitial iron are only present in traces, and schreibersite and 
 troilite are not recognizable. 
 
 Found 1877 9. Whitfield County, Georgia. 2 
 
 A fragment in the shape of a wedge was found to exhibit Wid- 
 manstattian figures of average size, which in certain places by the 
 massive development of schreibersite were broken through : the 
 band-iron is of average breadth, the interstitial iron distinguished by 
 its unusual dark colour. In many places the magnetite fills partings 
 which penetrate from the natural surface to a depth of 2 to 3 
 centimetres into the iron. 
 
 The original specimen, 3 weighing 13 Ibs., was found in 1877 
 on a farm about 20 miles N.E. of Dalton, near the Tennessee and 
 North Carolina State lines ; it is now in the State Museum at Atlanta. 
 
 In 1879 a second specimen 4 of meteoric iron, weighing 11 7 Ibs., 
 was found about 14 miles N.E. of Dalton : it is now in the possession 
 of C. U. Shepard, junr., of Charleston, North Carolina. " Some time 
 during the year 1860 an unusual atmospheric phenomenon occurred 
 in the region. A bright light shot across the heavens, followed by 
 a loud report, creating great alarm among the people, many of whom 
 supposed the end of the world had arrived. A large mass of iron 
 was found half a mile from this one, about the year 1862 : it was 
 sent to Cleveland, Tennessee, where it appears to have been lost 
 sight of." 
 
 1 A. Brezina, Sitzber. AJcad. Wiss. 1880, Ixxxii. Oct. part. 
 
 2 A. Brezina. Sitzber. Akad. Wiss. 1880, Ixxxii. Oct. part. 
 
 3 Amer. Jour. Sc. 1881, [3], 21, p. 286. 
 * Amer. Jour. Sc. 1883, [3], 26, p. 336. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 207 
 
 1878, July 15th, 245 p.m. TiescMtz, in Moldavia. 1 
 
 A stone fell at this date, with the usual accompanying noise, within 
 100 paces of some people whose attention was directed by a child 
 four years of age to a small dark cloud, from which a peculiar and 
 increasing sound proceeded. This cloud was suddenly seen to become 
 incandescent, but in no very high degree, and the noise became still 
 more intense when a body was seen to fall from the cloud. The 
 stone was warm when found. The noise was heard about the neigh- 
 bourhood two miles around. The stone was secured and sent on the 
 29th to the Museum of the Technical High School, of Briinn. The 
 meteor appears to have passed over Daubrawic and Sloup, and the 
 path to have been directed from azimuth 108 altitude 40, or from an 
 apparent radiant point in R.A. 68, N. declination 40. 
 
 One stone only was found, and all search for other specimens of 
 the fall was in vain. The stone weighs 27-4 kilogrammes, and has 
 the form of an irregular pyramid with an almost square base. 
 
 The entire surface is covered with a black crust, which in some parts 
 is of about the same thickness as that of the Pultusk stones ; on the 
 large convex side, which is called the " breast-side," it is much thinner, 
 and exhibits a radiated character. On the back it is thicker and 
 rougher, and without a trace of the radiated structure. The " breast- 
 side " is free from all great depressions, while the others show them, 
 due probably in part to the original form of the stone, partly to the 
 action of currents of air on the melting surface. The freshly broken 
 surface of the stone is dull ash-grey in hue, darker than the Pultusk 
 stones, the texture finer and more sharply marked than in the case 
 of most of the chondrites. We see many small dull grey or dark- 
 coloured chondra, and splinters and fragments of the same kind, 
 many larger dull grey chondra, also white small chondra and white 
 fragments, the latter far fewer than the former. Between them an 
 ash-grey earthy matrix, and very few yellow metallic lustrous par- 
 ticles. Most of the dark chondra are less than 1 mm. in diameter, 
 those which have a diameter of 1 mm. are fewer, and there are occa- 
 sional chondra which exceed 1 mm. in size ; the largest one had a 
 diameter of 5 mm. 
 
 The microscopic examination of sections of this meteorite dis- 
 played many curious features, and appears to confirm the views 
 already expressed by Professor Tschermak regarding the origin of 
 the chondritic structure. 
 
 Some chondra presented an appearance which has not hitherto been 
 observed. They have round depressions, which point to a plasticity 
 of the chondra during contact, as if the spherules which form the 
 splintered fragments had acquired their form during the act of rub- 
 bing. Others again have projections of a rounded form, or an almost 
 pointed end. These chondra are the result of volcanic eruptions or 
 explosion. 
 
 Olivine. Both in the matrix, and in many chondra, well-developed 
 crystals of olivine were met with. They have the same crystalline 
 
 1 Denkschrifte der math. Naturwissenschaften-Classe, Akad. der Wissenschaften, 
 "Wien. xxxix. November 21, 1878. 
 
208 
 
 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 form as the olivine in basalt. Many of the chondra consist of indi- 
 vidual crystals. Many crystals have cavities inclosing black angular 
 grains, or a black impregnation of the crust, or black slightly trans- 
 lucent spherules or inclosures of ' glass" ; some exhibit a most dis- 
 tinct surface of the inclosed material. 
 
 Bronzite. Barred and fibrous individuals of a brown colour are 
 regarded as bronzite. Some of the barred chondra shown in the 
 plate accompanying the paper of Makowsky and Tschermak are very 
 perfectly developed and very curious. Some have a darker border, 
 others a lighter rim. In these chondra also the inclosed material 
 already referred to is met with. 
 
 Enstatite. Many of the chondra of this mineral are distinguished 
 by their marked foliated structure, and specimens of such are shown 
 in the plate. Enclosed " glass " is also found in them. Many 
 spherules, and fragments of spherules, of a crystallized mixture of 
 bronzite and olivine or of enstatite and olivine, were noticed, none 
 however of a crystallized mixture of bronzite and enstatite, and it 
 appears therefore as if this meteoric tuff originated from two sorts 
 of stony mixtures. 
 
 Augite. A few small chondra with a compact pale-coloured crust 
 have a texture and colour which differs from all the foregoing. The 
 entire spherule is shown by polarized light to be one individual ; the 
 crust is almost colourless, the interior has a brownish-green hue. 
 Their reaction with light points to their being augite. 
 
 Magnetic Pyrites and Nickel-iron. Magnetic pyrites occurs as grains 
 inclosed in the other chondra and splinters of chondra, as well as 
 free in the matrix. The nickel-iron is for the most part in the form 
 of irregular particles with a hackly surface in the matrix. In some 
 of the spherules both magnetic pyrites and nickel-iron have a distinct 
 concentric arrangement. 
 
 The stone of Tieschitz belongs to that division of the chondritic 
 meteorites which Tschermak some years since classified as remark- 
 able for " many brown finely fibrous chondra." The specific gravity 
 of the stone is 3-59: It contains about 85-0 per cent, of non-metallic 
 minerals. No trace of any mineral resembling a felspar could be 
 detected. The percentage composition of the stone was as follows: 
 
 
 Olivine 
 
 Bronzite 
 and 
 Enstatite 
 
 Augite 
 
 Magnetic 
 Pyrites 
 
 Nickel- 
 iron 
 
 Total 
 Calculated 
 
 Total 
 
 Analysis 
 
 Si0 2 . . 
 
 13-99 
 
 18-84 
 
 7-90 
 
 
 
 __ 
 
 40-73 
 
 40-23 
 
 A1 2 3 
 
 
 
 _ 
 
 2-09 
 
 
 
 
 
 2-09 
 
 1-93 
 
 FeO . 
 
 13-86 
 
 5-47 
 
 0-73 
 
 
 
 
 
 20-06 
 
 19-80 
 
 MgO. 
 
 10-94 
 
 9-53 
 
 0-61 
 
 
 
 
 
 21-08 
 
 20-55 
 
 CaO.. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1-42 
 
 
 
 
 
 1-42 
 
 1-54 
 
 Na 2 0. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1-26 
 
 
 
 
 
 1-26 
 
 1-53 
 
 Fe .. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2-46 
 
 7-97 
 
 10-43 
 
 10-26 
 
 Ni .. 
 
 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 
 
 1-31 
 
 1-31 
 
 1-31 
 
 g 
 
 
 
 
 1-62 
 
 
 1-62 
 
 T65 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 38-79 
 
 33-84 
 
 14-01 
 
 4-08 
 
 9-28 
 
 100-00 
 
 98-80 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 209 
 
 or, Olivine 3879 
 
 Bronzite and enstatite 33-84 
 
 Augite 14-01 
 
 Magnetic pyrites 4-08 
 
 Nickel-iron 9-28 
 
 100-00 
 
 1879, May 10, 5 p.m. Esther/villa, Emmet Co., Iowa. 1 
 This curious meteorite fell near Estherville in lat. 43 30' N., 
 long. 94 50' W., within that region of the United States which has 
 been remarkable for falls of meteorites, three having fallen atEochester 
 in Indiana, Cynthiana in Kentucky, and Warrenton in Missouri, 
 within the space of a month. The phenomena attending this fall 
 were of the usual character, but on a grander scale. It occurred 
 about five o'clock in the afternoon of May 10, 1879, with the sun 
 shining brightly. In some places the meteorite was plainly visible 
 in its passage through the air, and looked like a ball of fire with a 
 long train of vapour or cloud of fire behind it ; and one observer saw 
 it one hundred miles from where it fell. Its course was from N.W. to 
 S.E. The sounds produced in its course are described as being 
 " terrible " and " indescribable," at first louder than the loudest 
 artillery, followed by a rumbling noise, as of a train of cars crossing 
 a bridge. Two persons were within two or three hundred yards of 
 the spots where the two larger masses struck the earth. There were 
 distinctly two explosions : the first took place at a considerable height 
 in the atmosphere, and several fragments were projected to different 
 points over an area of four square miles, the largest going farthest to 
 the east. Another explosion occurred just before reaching the ground, 
 and this accounts for the small fragments found near the largest 
 mass. This latter fell within 200 feet of a dwelling-house, at a spot 
 where there was a hole, six feet deep, filled with water. The clay 
 at the bottom of the hole was excavated to a depth of eight feet 
 before the meteorite was reached. The second largest mass pene- 
 trated blue clay to a depth of five feet, at a spot about two miles 
 distant from the first. The third of the larger masses was found on 
 the 23rd February, 1880, at a place four miles distant from the 
 first, in a dried-up slough. On digging a hole the stone was met 
 with at a depth of five feet. The fragments thus far obtained 
 weigh respectively 437, 170, 92 J, 28, 10J, 4 and 2 pounds. The 
 height of the meteor is calculated to have been 40 miles, and its 
 velocity from 2 to 4 miles per second. The masses are rough and 
 knotted, like mulberry calculi, with rounded protuberances project- 
 ing from the surface on every side. The black coating is not uniform, 
 being most marked between the projections. These projections have 
 sometimes a bright metallic surface, showing them to consist of 
 nodules of iron ; and they also contain lumps of an olive-green 
 mineral, having a distinct and easy cleavage. The greater part of 
 the stony material is of a grey colour with the green mineral irregu- 
 
 1 J. L. Smith. Amer. Jour. Sc. June, 1880, xix. 459. 
 
 14 
 
210 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 lady disseminated through it. The masses vary very much in 
 density in their different parts ; the average cannot be less than 4*5. 
 When a mass is broken one is immediately struck with the large 
 nodules of metal among the grey and green stony substance ; some 
 of these will weigh 100 grammes or more. In this respect this 
 meteorite is unique ; it differs entirely from the siderolites of Krasno- 
 yarsk, Atacama, etc., or the known meteoric stones rich in iron, for in 
 none of them has the iron. this nodular character. The large nodules 
 of iron appear to have shrunk away from the matrix ; an elongated 
 fissure of from 2 to 3 millimetres sometimes intervenes, separating 
 the matrix and nodules to the extent of one-half the circumference 
 of the latter. The only mineral which could be picked out sepa- 
 rately has a slightly green colour; it occurs in masses, from one 
 half-inch to one inch in size, has an easy cleavage in one direction, 
 and was found to be olivine. The same mineral occurs in minute 
 rounded condition in other parts of the material ; and minute, almost 
 colourless, crystalline particles in the cavities are supposed to be 
 olivine. Troilite exists in small quantity. A quantity of the sili- 
 cates was picked out, separated as far as possible from iron, and 
 treated with hydrochloric acid. The ratio of soluble to insoluble 
 silicates varies very much in different parts of the meteorite, varying 
 from 16 to 60 per cent, for the soluble part. The insoluble consisted 
 of : Oxygen. 
 
 Silicic acid , 54-12 29-12 
 
 Iron protoxide 21-05 
 
 Chromium oxide trace 
 
 Magnesia 24-50 
 
 Soda with traces of K and Li ... '09 
 
 Alumina... -03 
 
 4-67 
 
 9-80 
 
 0-023 
 
 0-013 
 
 99-29 
 
 This is evidently the bronzite commonly found in meteorites. 
 The green mineral is the soluble part of the meteorite ; its cleav- 
 age in one direction is very perfect ; its specific gravity is 3 '35 ; it 
 has a hardness of almost 7, and is readily and completely decom- 
 posed by hydrochloric acid. On analysis it was found to have the 
 composition : 
 
 Oxygen. 
 
 Silicic acid 41-50 22-13 
 
 Iron protoxide 14-21 3-12 
 
 . 44-64 , 17-86 
 
 100-35 
 
 The mineral, therefore, is olivine. Dr. L. Smith, who has ex- 
 amined this meteorite, describes a third silicate which is opalescent 
 and of a light greenish-yellow colour, and cleaves readily. It was 
 a difficult matter to obtain enough of the silicate for analysis, but an 
 examination of 100 milligrammes gave the following numbers : 
 
 Oxygen. 
 
 Silicic acid 49-60 26-12 
 
 Iron protoxide 15-78 ... ... 3-50 
 
 33-01 13-21 
 
 98-39 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 211 
 
 This is equivalent to one atom of bronzite and one atom of olivine, 
 which, he says, is "a form of silicate that we might expect to find in 
 meteorites." The nickel-iron, as has already been stated, is abundant, 
 sometimes in large nodules of from 50 to 100 grammes. It displays 
 the Widmanstattian figures beautifully, and possesses the following 
 composition : 
 
 Iron 92-001 
 
 Nickel 7-100 
 
 Cobalt ... 0-690 
 
 Copper Minute quantity 
 
 Phosphorus 0-112 
 
 99-903 
 
 A careful examination for felspar and schreibersite was made, but 
 with a negative result. 
 
 1879, July 1. Province Entre-Eios, of the La Plata State, between 
 Nagaya (S.E. of Santa Fe, north of the River La Plata) and 
 Concepcion on the River Uruguay. 1 
 
 Websky reports the arrival of a stone which fell at the place 
 mentioned above, and had been sent as a present to the Berlin 
 Academy. Further particulars are expected to arrive shortly. 2 It 
 fell in the evening and developed a light as bright as day. The 
 piece sent to Europe constitutes one-half of the original aerolite. A 
 crack, started when the stone was broken, has since led to the stone 
 falling into two pieces, weighing 1239 grammes and 974 grammes. 
 The meteorite belongs to the very rare class of carbonaceous stones ; 
 it is dark grey in structure, has little lustre and is soft ; it contains no 
 visible meteoric iron, but an abundance of light grey rounded bodies ; 
 among which are occasionally some with a dull metallic lustre and 
 of a greenish yellow colour, and others of a dark grey compact sub- 
 stance and of earthy character. 
 
 The meteoric nature of the stone is placed beyond doubt by the 
 crust still adhering to the smaller fragment. When the two pieces 
 are held together, it is easy to recognize which side of the stone was 
 in front during its passage through the atmosphere. The entire 
 stone appears to have had the form of a spheroid 150 mm. in the 
 smallest and 180 mm. in the longest diameter. 
 
 Found 1879, July 19. Lick Creek, Davison Co. 3 
 
 In this paper is given an engraving, actual size, and a short 
 account of a small metallic mass, weighing rather more than two 
 pounds, and found at the above date in Davison county. When 
 found it was covered with a thick scaly crust of oxide. It weighs 
 
 1 H. Websky. Sitzungsber. K. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1882, xviii. and xix. 395. 
 
 2 A. Brezina. Die Meteoritensammlung in Wien, 1885, p. 185. 
 
 3 Illustrated Scientific Ntws, New York, March 15, 1880, iii. No. 6, pp. 62 and 66. 
 Amer. Journ. Sc. xx. 1880, 324. 
 
212 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 1-24 kilogrammes or 43f ounces avoirdupois. It is one of the 
 rare class that do not show the Widmanstattian figures. It con- 
 tains iron, nickel, cobalt, and phosphorus. A complete analysis of 
 the meteorite is being prepared. It is the property of Mr. W. 
 E. Hidden, of the New York Academy of Sciences. Mr. Hidden 
 has in his cabinet three other undescribed meteorites from the 
 Southern States, one of which weighs 1/45 kilogrammes, or 51 oz. 
 avoirdupois. 
 
 1879, November 4. Kalumbi, Wayee (Wai, Jaluca), Sattara, 
 Presidency of Bombay, India. 1 
 
 Brezina records the presentation to the Vienna Collection of a 
 piece of a meteorite weighing 165 grammes by Mr. M. Wood, of the 
 Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. The fall occurred at 
 the above place and date, and the stone has the form of a four-sided 
 wedge, with a nearly square base. Its weight is lOJlbs. and 197 
 grains, and its density is 3-45. According to an incomplete analysis, 
 58-75 per cent, was insoluble in hydrogen chloride (consisting of 
 silicates, and the silicic acid of the decomposed portion), and in ad- 
 dition, there was iron oxide, or rather iron protoxide with alumina 
 27-62, nickel 1-55, lime 0-83, and magnesia 11-88 per cent. The 
 meteorite resembles Forsyth, has a light yellowish ground-mass ; 
 the chondra are firmly inclosed in the ground-mass, and for the most 
 part white and felspathic. This stone is to be classed with the 
 white chondrites. 
 
 1880, February 18, early in the Morning. Kuritawaki-mura, 
 (Toke-uchi-mura), Yosa-no-gori, Tango, Japan. 2 
 
 An eye-witness of the fall of this stone states that in the early 
 morning he was washing his face, when he saw a ball of fire cross 
 the sky from north-east to south-west. He was much astonished 
 when a small stone fell before him from the sky. He caught it up 
 and found it was very hot, and gave forth a smell like that of 
 gunpowder. The stone is about 1 \ inches long and three-quarters 
 of an inch wide, and weighs about 100 grains Troy. It is com- 
 pletely covered with a hard black glaze. It appears to be a stone 
 and not a meteoric iron. 
 
 The same correspondent mentions a meteoric stone of large size, 
 preserved at Toji, which is said to have fallen from the heavens in 
 ancient times ; and reports another at Chionin. He also says : " I 
 learn that a stone of several pounds weight fell at Tamba a few 
 years ago." 
 
 The same number of the Japan Gazette contains a short reference 
 to another aerolite. The mineral stone which fell some time ago 
 at the front of a gate of Iwata, of Takeda-mnra, Yabe-gori, Tajima, 
 with a brilliant light and report, is about 1J sun thick and 9 sun in 
 
 1 A. Brezina, Sitzber. Akad. Wiss. 1880, Ixxxii. Oct. part. 
 
 2 The Japan Gazette, April 19, 1880. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 213 
 
 circumference, and weighs about 200 momme. This stone has been 
 sent to the Bureau of Agriculture of the Home Department, and will 
 be investigated by Prof. Kinch. 
 
 1880 (early in). Colorado Basin, Ivanpah, Southern California. 1 
 
 This block of iron was found in the Colorado Basin, within eight 
 miles of Ivanpah, which is about 200 miles north-east of San 
 Bernardino in Southern California, by a Mr. Goddard, who while 
 crossing a wash had his attention arrested by a singular-looking 
 boulder. The block is oval in shape, having a side somewhat 
 flattened ; its surface is covered with depressions and dents, as if 
 it had been pelted all over with pebbles while soft or plastic. These 
 concavities are from 1 to 4 inches across, and, in addition, there are 
 three round holes an inch deep, as if made by the little finger. 
 The mass is supposed to weigh 120 Ibs., and it is 14 inches long, 
 9 inches broad, and 7 inches deep. The examination of a fragment 
 shows it to be highly crystalline, requiring no etching to reveal the 
 Widmanstattian figures ; the cleavage appears to be octahedral. 
 The schreibersite is very thin, and, according to Shepard, of two 
 kinds : one in flat leaves, the other in wavy semi-cylinders or 
 irregular prisms ; the latter, he says, may be the rhabdite of 
 Eeicheubach. The density of the iron is 7-65, and its composition : 
 
 Iron 94-98 
 
 Nickel 4-52 
 
 Phosphorus 0-07 
 
 Graphite 0-10 
 
 99-67 
 
 Specimens of Supposed Meteoric Dust which fell in the South of 
 Europe and Algiers, between the end of March and beginning 
 of May, 1880. 2 
 
 In Sicily showers of supposed meteoric dust are often observed, 
 sometimes with, sometimes without rain. During such a shower 
 the air becomes murky and of a reddish-yellow colour, and the 
 barometer falls rapidly. A heavy rain leaves a characteristic 
 yellowish-red residue. Dust fell on the night of March 29, 1880, 
 at Catania, containing, in addition to the ordinary constituents 
 (siliceous, calcareous, and argillaceous minerals, and small organisms), 
 particles of metallic iron. It had a reddish-yellow colour, became 
 black and gave off an empyreumatic odour when heated, and after- 
 wards recovered its original colour. The specific gravity was 
 2-92. The blowpipe showed the presence of nickel, and phosphoric 
 acid was found to the amount of 0-1456 per cent. (P 2 5 ). Under the 
 
 1 C. U. Shepard, Amer. Journ. Sc. 1880, xix. 381. 
 
 2 0. Silvestii, R. Ace. del Llncti, iv. ser. 3, 1880. Johrbuch fur Min. 1881, i. 
 200. A. Daubree, Comptes rendus, May 10, 1880, xc. 1098. 
 
214 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 microscope small particles of dust were observed, some opaque, 
 others surrounded with a red border, others steel-grey with a metallic 
 lustre. These particles were easily separated by a magnet from the 
 non-metallic more or less transparent particles. The former had a 
 diameter of 0-01 to O08 mm. Some were regularly spherical. The 
 dust therefore contains nickel-iron, whence it is probably of cosmic 
 origin. Silvestri insists especially on the fact that it did not contain 
 any constituents which might lead to the conclusion that it came 
 from Etna. M. Daubree examined the dust which fell from April 
 21st to 25th, 1880, in the Dep. des Basses-Alpes, Isere, and 1'Ain. It 
 effervesced with acid, as did the dust of Catania, contained hydrated 
 iron peroxide, spangles of mica, and felspar. It was considered to 
 be dust of terrestrial origin, not volcanic, nor Saharan. About this 
 time, I received from my friend, Dr. Eeginald Thompson, of Chelsea, 
 a specimen of reddish powder which had fallen in Algiers in May, 
 1880. His correspondent, Mr. A. L. Smith, writing under date 
 " Algiers, May, 1880," says : " We have had torrents of rain 
 coming after falls of a red powder in great quantities, of which I 
 send you a little ; they say it is meteoric. The sky was yellow : 
 the air quite still. I never saw anything like it." The sand 
 answered in all respects to that examined by Silvestri and Daubree ; 
 it certainly contained particles which were readily removed by the 
 magnet. They were however without action on copper sulphate or 
 mercury bichloride, and the dust did not contain nickel-iron. 
 
 1880, April or May (first half of). Karand, 12 miles east of 
 Teheran, Persia. 1 
 
 " The fall of a meteorite which was actually seen to descend, and 
 which is not an event of every-day occurrence, deserves, on account 
 of its mineralogical interest, some notice. It is not possible here to 
 ascertain with certainty the constituent minerals ; it is therefore 
 possible at present only to give a short sketch of the stone ; later 
 on, when we have the material to work with and the help of an 
 authority in this branch, we may return to the subject. In the 
 first half of the month of May, 1880, we were called before the 
 Shah, who handed to us a metallic shining mineral, weighing about 
 400 grammes, which, from the outer crust still adhering to it, we at 
 once recognized as a meteorite. We saw that the Shah took the 
 shining metal in it for silver, for he asked the value of it. But 
 when we spoke of the iron, and its probably containing nickel, and 
 that the mineral had more scientific than intrinsic worth, it was 
 permitted to us to take the stone away, and to break off a piece for 
 closer examination. 
 
 The Shah made himself acquainted with the origin and cause of 
 meteorites, and informed us that the stone in question weighed 
 
 1 Mining engineer Ferd. Dietzsch, in Teheran ; in a paper intituled ' Geologisches 
 Berg- und Hiittenmannisches aus Persien,' in Berg- und Hiittenmannische Zeitung, 
 March 18, 1881. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 215 
 
 45 kilogrammes, and fell in the neighbourhood of the village of 
 Karaud, twelve miles east of Teheran, with an explosive noise like 
 thunder. 
 
 Half of the stone was covered with a thin, blackish, fused crust, 
 while the fresh lustrous fractured surface showed it to have formed 
 a portion of a much larger stone. A fragment weighing 3'66 
 grammes was found to possess a density of 4-36. The fractured 
 surface showed a grey, passing into green ground- structure, with, in 
 places, single pieces of an oil-green mineral, with a lustre of glass, 
 probably olivine. In the mass lay, closely strewn together, small 
 and large granules of white iron ; also little plates of this metal lay 
 inclosed in it, and violet-blue tinted grains, similar in their play of 
 colour to copper pyrites. 
 
 The pulverized mineral is pretty light, and almost entirely soluble 
 in hydrochloric acid. The fractured surface was covered in a few 
 days with a thin oxidized crust, although some portions of it are as 
 fresh after five months as at first." 
 
 In his note on this meteorite Brezina 1 states that the fall took 
 place at Veramin in the month of April, not May. He received a 
 fragment from Baron Godel-Lannoy, Secretary of the Legation at 
 Teheran ; the portion which Dietzsch received appears to have been 
 lost. Brezina's piece weighs about 16 grammes, the meteorite itself 
 weighs 20 to 25 kilogrammes, and is preserved by the Shah in 
 a garden. This stone, it appears, belongs to the rare group of 
 mesosiderites, of which very few members have been seen to fall. 
 The remaining members of this group, Hainholz (1856), Janacera 
 Pass (1860), Newton Co. (1860), Sierra de Chaco (1862) and Sierra 
 de Deesa (1865), have no crusts. The Persian stone has a fused 
 crust of a lustreless, granular, dull grey colour, with, in places, 
 rusted spots; the crust closely resembles that of Daniel's Kuil (1868), 
 it is exceedingly thin, from 0'05 to 0-08 mm. On the freshly- 
 fractured surface the Persian stone bears the greatest resemblance to 
 that of Newton Co. ; numerous crystals of olivine, some 2 mm. in 
 diameter, in one case a mass 7 mm. across, are inclosed in a highly 
 crystalline ground-mass, which appears to consist for the most part 
 of olivine. 
 
 1880, Found in May. Lexington County, South Carolina. 
 
 A mass of iron, weighing 10J Ibs., was found at this locality, in 
 May, and sent to the Shepards, father and son, for examination. It 
 has the form of a cylinder with two flattened edges ; the surface is 
 nearly free from yellow hydrated peroxide of iron, being mostly 
 enveloped with a black and brittle coating, which, though containing 
 some troilite, is yet almost entirely formed of magnetite. Amyg- 
 daloidal masses of troilite, of the size of filberts, are met with. 
 Magnetite and graphitoid are found coating the troilite. The Lex- 
 
 1 A. Brezina, S'tzber. E. Akad. Wiss., 1881, Ixxxiv. July part. 
 
 2 C. U. Shepard, Amer. Jour. 6V. 1881, xxi. 117. 
 
216 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 ington iron closely resembles the Bobumilitz iron found in 1829, 
 and preserved at Prague, especially in the two etched surfaces : they, 
 in fact, are the only two which strikingly show the moire metallique 
 lustre ; the crystalline bars in the Lexington iron are nearly twice 
 as large as those in the Bohemian specimen. The included spaces 
 are filled with extremely minute lines of tanite, crossing each other 
 at all angles from 90 to 150. Its density is 7 ; that of homogeneous 
 fragments being 7*405, and that of the troilite 4-77. Analysis 
 showed it to consist of : 
 
 Iron 92-416 
 
 Nickel 6-077 
 
 Cobalt 0-927 
 
 Insoluble matters 0-264 
 
 Tin a trace 
 
 Phosphorus a trace 
 
 99-684 
 
 Supposed Organic Remains in Meteorites, 1880-1882. 
 
 At the end of the year 1880, Dr. 0. Hahn, of Keutlingen, a lawyer 
 by calling, published a big work entitled Die Meteoriten (Chondrite) 
 und ihre Organismen mil 32 Tafeln pJiotograpJiisclier Abbildungen 
 (1880, Tubingen : H. Laupp), by which he claimed to have shown 
 the presence of sponges, corals, and crinoids in meteoric rocks. 
 A statement of his views was read before a meeting of the Geolo- 
 gical Society the same summer. Afterwards Dr. D. F. Weinland 
 published a paper in support of these views, Ueber die in Meteoriten 
 entdeckten Thierreste. Illustrated with two woodcuts. (1882, 
 Esslingen : G. Frohner). The question was thoroughly gone into 
 in a scientific way by Prof. Carl Vogt, of Geneva, and the conclusions 
 at which he arrived are contained in a paper entitled Les pretendus 
 Organismes des Meteorites, published 1882, Geneve : H. Georg. It 
 is shown that Dr. Hahn had no foundation for his conclusions ; that 
 all the pretended organic structures are purely inorganic ; and that 
 in no single case do they present the microscopic structure of the 
 organisms for which they have been mistaken. See also Dr. 
 Lawrence Smith on the subject in the Amer. Jour. Sc. 1882, February, 
 156. 
 
 Meteoric Deposits on Arctic Snow, off the Taimur Coast, 1880. 1 
 
 Immediately after the " Yega " lay-to, Baron Nordenskjold went 
 down on the ice, in order to see whether here too some such 
 metalliferous dust, as he had before found north of Spitzbergen (p. 41), 
 was not to be found on the surface of the ice. Nothing of the kind, 
 however, was to be seen. On the other hand, Lieutenant Nordquist 
 observed small yellow specks in the snow, which he collected and 
 
 1 A. E. Nordenskjold, The Voyage of the "Vega," vol. i. pp. 327-331, 
 Macmillan, 1881. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 217 
 
 handed over for investigation to Dr. Kjellman. Nordenskjold 
 supposed that the specks consisted of diatom ooze. After examining 
 them Dr. Kjellman, however, declared that they did not consist of any 
 organic substance, but of crystallized grains of sand. Nordenskjold 
 too examined them more closely, but unfortunately not until the 
 morning after they had left the field, and then found that the supposed 
 ooze consisted of pale yellow crystals (not fragments of crystals), 
 without mixture of foreign matter. " The quantity of crystals, which 
 were obtained from about three litres of snow, skimmed from the 
 surface of the snow on an area of at most 10 square metres, amounted 
 to nearly 0-2 gram. The crystals were found only near the surface 
 of the snow, not in the deep layers. They were up to 1 mm. in 
 diameter, had the appearance shown in the accompanying woodcut, 
 and appeared to belong to the rhombic system, as they had one 
 perfect cleavage, and formed striated prisms terminated at either 
 end by truncated pyramids. Unfortunately actual measurements of 
 them could not be made, because after being kept for some time in 
 the air they weathered to a white non-crystalline powder. They 
 lay, without being sensibly dissolved, for a whole night in the water 
 formed by the melting of the snow. On being heated too, they fell 
 asunder into a tasteless white powder. The white powder that was 
 formed by the weathering of the crystals was analyzed after our 
 return, 21 months after the discovery of the crystals and was 
 found to contain only carbonate of lime. 
 
 Form of the Crystals found on the Ice off the Taimur Coast. 
 Magnified thirty to forty times. 
 
 The original composition and origin of this substance appears to 
 me exceedingly enigmatical. It was not common carbonate of lime, 
 for the crystals were not rhombohedral, nor did they show the cleav- 
 age of calcite. Nor can there be a question of its being aragonite, 
 because this mineral might indeed fall asunder " of itself," but in 
 that case the newly-formed powder ought to be crystalline. 
 
 Were the crystals originally a new hydrated carbonate of lime, 
 formed by crystallizing out of the sea-water in intense cold, and did 
 they lose their water of crystallization at a temperature of 10 or 20 
 above the freezing-point? In such a case they ought not to have 
 been found on the surface of the snow, but lower down on the sur- 
 face of the ice. Or did they fall down from the inter-planetary 
 
218 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 spaces to the surface of the earth? And before crumbling down had 
 they a composition differing from terrestrial substances in the same 
 way as various chemical compounds found in recent times in meteoric 
 stones ? The occurrence of the crystals in the uppermost layer of 
 snow and their falling asunder in the air, tell in favour of this view. 
 Unfortunately there is now no possibility of settling these questions, 
 but at all events this discovery is a further incitement to those who 
 travel in the High North to collect with extreme care, from snow- 
 fields lying far from the ordinary routes of communication, all 
 foreign substances, though apparently of trifling importance." 
 
 Baron Nordenskjold then refers to the metallic particles found by 
 him on the snow during previous years (see GEOL. MAG. Dec. II. 
 1875, Vol. II. pp. 157-162), and says in conclusion : 
 
 It may appear to many that it is below the dignity of science to 
 concern one's self with so trifling an affair as the fall of a small 
 quantity of dust. But this is by no means the case. For it is esti- 
 mated that the quantity of the dust that was found on the ice north 
 of Spitzbergen amounted to from O'l to 1 milligram per square 
 metre, and probably the whole fall of dust for the year far exceeded 
 the latter figure. But a milligram on every square metre of the 
 surface of the earth amounts for the whole globe to five hundred 
 million kilograms (say half a million tons) ! Such a mass collected 
 year by year during the geological ages, of a duration probably in- 
 comprehensible by us, forms too important a factor to be neglected 
 when the fundamental facts of the geological history of our planet 
 are enumerated. A continuation of these investigations will perhaps 
 show, that our globe has increased gradually from a small beginning 
 to the dimensions it now possesses ; that a considerable quantity of 
 the constituents of our sedimentary strata, especially of those that 
 have been deposited in the open sea far from land, are of cosmic 
 origin ; and will throw an unexpected light on the origin of the fire- 
 hearths of the volcanoes, and afford a simple explanation of the 
 remarkable resemblance which unmistakably exists between plutonic 
 rocks and meteoric stones. 1 
 
 1881, March 14, 3-35 p.m. Penny-man's Siding, Middlesborough, 
 
 Yorkshire. 2 
 
 During the past year a very beautiful specimen of a meteorite fell 
 near Middlesborough, at a spot called Pennyman's Siding on the 
 North-Eastern Railway Company's branch-line from Middlesborough 
 to Guisborough, about one mile and three-quarters from the former 
 town. Its descent was witnessed by W. Ellinor and three plate- 
 layers, who heard a whizzing or rushing noise in the air, followed 
 
 1 Namely, by showing that the principal material of the plutonic and volcanic 
 rocks is of cosmic origin, and that the phenomena of heat, which occur in these layers, 
 depend on chemical changes to which the cosmic sediment, after being covered by 
 thick terrestrial formations, is subjected. 
 
 2 A. S. Herschel, Newcastle Daily Chronicle, March 30, 1881, Newcastle-on- 
 Tyne. Walter Flight, Proc. R. S. 1882, p. 346. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 219 
 
 in a second or two by a sudden blow of a body striking the ground 
 not far from them ; the spot was found to be 48 yards from where 
 they stood. The fall took place at 3-35 P.M. on the 14th March, 
 1881. No luminous or cloud-forming phenomena are reported. 
 According to Prof. Alexander Herschel, who at once visited the spot, 
 the fall appears to have been nearly vertical. The stone was " new- 
 rnilk warm " when found, and weighed 3 Ib. 8J oz. ; the crust is very 
 perfect and of an unusual thickness, and has scarcely suffered by the 
 fall. The stone forms a low pyramid, slightly scolloped or con- 
 choidal-looking, 6J inches in length, 5 inches wide, and 3 inches in 
 height. The rounded summit and sloping sides are scored and 
 deeply grooved, with a polish like black lead in waving furrows 
 running to the base, showing that this side came foremost during 
 the whole of the fusing action of the atmosphere which the meteorite 
 underwent in its flight. The base is equally fused by heat, but is 
 rough, dull brown in colour, and not scored or furrowed. The stone 
 penetrated the soil to a depth of eleven inches. From experiments 
 made by Professor Herschel, he calculates that it struck the ground with 
 a velocity of 412 feet per second. As it would acquire this velocity 
 by falling freely through half a mile, it is evident that little of the 
 original planetary speed with which it entered the atmosphere can 
 have remained over. 
 
 The stone contains 9-379 per cent, of nickel-iron, the composition 
 of which was found to be 
 
 Iron 76-99 
 
 Nickel 21-32 
 
 Cobalt 1-69 
 
 100-00 
 
 The percentage of nickel is high. The remaining constituents consist 
 of rocky matter, amounting to 90-621 per cent., and are soluble silicate 
 54-315 per cent, and insoluble silicate 36-306 per cent. The soluble 
 silicate appears to be an olivine of the form 2(J Fe, f Mg) 0, Si0 2 , 
 or one closely resembling that which occurs in the Lance stone, 
 which fell July 13th, 1872, and was examined by Daubree. The 
 insoluble part is chiefly bronzite, and most closely, resembles that 
 which is to be found in the meteorites of Iowa co., Iowa, east of 
 Marengo, which fell 12th February, 1875, and were examined by 
 Dr. L. Smith. The aluminium constituent is doubtless labradorite 
 and is probably the material of some of the occasional chondra which 
 are seen in a microscopic section. 
 
 1882, January 31, 23 p.m. Skaufs, Canton Graubiindten, 
 Switzerland. 1 
 
 A meteor of rare size and unusual brilliancy was seen in the 
 bright sunshine at several places in the east of Switzerland. A 
 rushing noise was heard at Zurich, at Einsiedeln, and at St. Gallen, 
 and a snow-white lump was seen moving in the air overhead. It 
 
 1 "M." in Der Naturforscher, 1882, xv. 87. 
 
220 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 threw out a thin yellow band in a north-westerly direction, which 
 appeared to close together again, and break up in a ball-like structure; 
 then it turned red, white, and green, and suddenly vanished. It is 
 said to have fallen to earth at Skaufs with loud detonation. 
 
 1882, February 3rd, 3-45 p.m. Mocs, near Klausenburg, Kolos, 
 Siebenbiirgen. 1 
 
 To eye-witnesses at Klausenburg an intensely brilliant meteor 
 was visible at this hour in a north-easterly direction ; the sky was 
 cloudless : at once a rolling noise, and intense detonations were 
 heard. At the spot where the light was observed, a white cirrus- 
 like cloud extended in the form of a white stripe from west to east. 
 The next day it became known that meteorites had fallen at Mocs, 
 five (German) miles eastward of Klausenburg. Dr. Herbich at 
 once went there, and was fortunate enough to receive one weighing 
 35 kilogrammes, which, after striking an oak tree and lopping off 
 several branches, had penetrated the soil to a depth of 68 centimetres 
 in the frozen ground. Later on a block weighing 70 kilogrammes 
 was found, and a number of other masses. They were spread over 
 an area three miles in length. 
 
 Brezina traces the closest resemblance between them and the 
 numerous meteorites which fell 30th November, 1822, at Futtehpur 
 (Rouspur and Bithur) ; they are white friable chondrites. Like 
 them they are traversed by a whole system of black veins, con- 
 sisting for the most part of nickel-iron and troilite. 
 
 Later on Koch concluded that about 2000 stones had fallen, the 
 total weight being 245 kilogrammes. A great number were sent 
 to the National Museum at Klausenburg. The density of the stone 
 appears to be 3-67. 
 
 The meteor was seen as far as Verespatak. and traces of the cloud 
 were visible for 15 to 18 minutes. The sun was shining brightly at 
 the time, and the light was strengthened by the reflection of the 
 snow ; still the light of the meteor was dazzling. One stone was 
 picked up quite warm. As is usual, the smaller masses reached the 
 earth first, the heavier being carried further to the south-east. A 
 map accompanying Koch's paper shows the way in which the stones 
 were distributed over the area. 
 
 Those meteorites which fell on the snow, and were quite uninjured, 
 have a perfect crust which has the lustre of varnish ; the average 
 thickness of this crust is -J to -| mm. The large stone has the 
 usual depressions and hollows on its surface. The fresh surface is 
 ash-grey, in places traversed by^ brown or black cracks and veins, 
 and sparsely scattered small metallic granules. ]n conclusion Koch 
 makes a few tentative remarks suggested by his examination of a 
 microscopic section. 
 
 1 F. Herbich, and A. Brezina. Verhnnd. der K. K. Geolog. Reichsamtalt, 1882, 
 77. (Der Naturforscher, 1882, 174.) G. Tschermak, Anz. Ak. Wins. Wien, 1882, 
 52. A. Koch, tiitzber. Ak, Wiss. Ixxxv. Marz-Heft, 1882. G. Tschermak, Anz. 
 Akad. Wiss. Wien, 1882, 83. A. Brezina, Anz. Ak. Wiss. Wien, 1882, 104. A. 
 Brezina, bitzbcr. Akad. Wiss. Ixxxv. Mai-Heft, 1882. 
 
HISTORY OF METEORITES. 221 
 
 Tschermak found on inspecting a great number of the stones that 
 they exhibited a tendency to split up into prisms. The crust is 
 more lustrous than in most meteorites ; and long fused threads are 
 occasionally met with. In addition to black veins, there are to be 
 seen, though rarely, broader areas filled with a black magma, as in 
 the stone of Orvinio. White chondra of olivine and enstatite, and 
 brown chondra of enstatite are seen, as well as diopside, a felspar 
 of the plagioclase series, and a black as yet undetermined mineral. 
 Fragments of iron showing very distinct cleavage are also of 
 frequent occurrence. 
 
 Brezina still more recently examined the crust and the black 
 veins, and finds that the broad black areas are only met with where 
 the surface exhibits an unusually porous and shrivelled character, 
 properties which fully accord with those of the black chondrites (with 
 the exception of the meteorite of Tadjera, which has no crust what- 
 ever), and this appears to support the view that they are in each case 
 due to the same cause. 
 
 This remarkably abundant fall took place over an area extending 
 from 46 48' to 46 53' N. and 24 2' to 23 54' E. of Greenwich. 
 
 1882, March 9th, 11 p.m. Between Webster and Oswego, Warsaw 
 
 Co., Indiana, U.S.A. 1 
 
 Some men who were riding home through a very heavy snow- 
 storm suddenly became aware of a large meteor moving near them 
 with inconceivable rapidity and a rushing roaring noise. It had a 
 bright cherry red colour, "just the colour," as one of the party- 
 observed, " of melted iron." The light was so brilliant that it 
 blinded them, and, notwithstanding the storm, lighted the entire 
 neighbourhood as clearly as the brightest day at noon. When 
 nearly overhead it exploded with a tremendous report. The entire 
 party were prostrated, horses and men, and some of them did not 
 recover their sight until some twenty -four hours later. The report 
 was distinctly heard at Warsaw, eleven miles distant as the crow 
 flies, and attracted a good deal of attention. The glass of the 
 windows was broken in a number of houses in the neighbourhood. 
 
 1883, February 16th. Alfianello, Verolanova, Brescia, Italy. 2 
 
 I gather from a short preliminary notice, which has been sent by 
 M. Denza to Professor Daubree, and has been published in a recent 
 number of the " Comptes Rendus," a few particulars respecting the 
 fall of this stone, and its general appearance. 
 
 The fall took place, with a loud detonation, at 2-55 P.M. on the 
 day above mentioned ; it was heard in the neighbouring provinces 
 of Cremona, Verona, Mantua, Piacenza, and Parma. In Alfianello 
 it is described as " epouvantable." 
 
 It descended from N.N.E. to S.S.W., at a distance of about 150 
 
 1 Warsaw Republican, March 25th, 1882. Reprinted in the Evening Times of 
 Glasgow, April 15th, 1882. 
 
 2 Walter Flight. Proc. Roy. Soc. 1883, Nov. 226. 
 
222 HISTORY OF METEORITES. 
 
 metres from a peasant, who fell fainting to the ground ; telegraphic 
 wires were set in motion, and the windows were shaken. It struck 
 the ground about 300 metres south-west of Alfianello, in a field on 
 an estate called Frosera, penetrating the soil, in the same direction 
 as it passed through the air, from east to west, to a depth of about 
 1 metre, the path through the soil being about 1-50 metre. When 
 taken out of the ground it was still a little warm. It fell complete, 
 but was at once broken to pieces by the farmer of the estate. 
 
 The stone was oval in form, and somewhat flattened in the centre, 
 the lower part being larger and convex, like a kettle, the upper part 
 being truncated. The surface is covered with the usual black crust, 
 and strewn with little cavities, now met with as individuals, now in 
 groups, and in the eye of some people bearing a resemblance to the 
 impression of a hand or the foot of a she-goat. The stone weighed 
 about 200 kilos. 
 
 In structure this meteorite belongs to the group oligosideres 
 of Daubree, and resembles Aumalite, being almost identical with the 
 meteorite of New Concord, Ohio. 
 
 The substance was finely granular, of ash-grey colour ; a polished 
 surface appears to be finely grained and breccia-form, with the 
 elements offering different gradations of colour. Metallic grains are 
 disseminated, and little nests are noticed, of iron with one of the 
 compounds, of a yellowish- white or bronze. In one place where the 
 metallic grains are numerous they appear to bear to the stony portion 
 the ratio 68 : 1000. The density of the stone is 347 to 3-50. 
 
 The meteorite was dried at 120, and treated with solution of 
 mercury chloride, and thus there were dissolved the troilite and 
 nickel-iron. The troilite constituted 6-919 per cent, of the meteorite, 
 and the nickel-iron forms 2-108 of the stone, with the composition 
 
 Nickel 71-205 
 
 Iron , 28-795 
 
 100-000 
 
 Here, again, as I have shown in earlier analyses, the percentage of 
 nickel present in nickel-iron increases as the percentage of nickel- 
 iron becomes less. 
 
 By long treatment with hydrogen chloride the silicates acted upon 
 by that reagent and the silicates which resist the action were sepa- 
 rated, and the stone appeared to possess the composition 
 
 Troilite 6'919 
 
 Nickel-iron 2-108 
 
 Soluble silicate 50-857 
 
 Insoluble silicate 40-116 
 
 100-000 
 
 The soluble silicate, which amounts to 50-857 per cent., and con- 
 stitutes one-half the weight of the stone, consists of 
 
 Silicic acid 35-12 18*72 
 
 Iron protoxide 51-43 11-43 
 
 Alumina 1-518 0'707 
 
 Lime 4-644 1-327 
 
 7-269 2-904 
 
 99-981 
 
 16-37 
 
Index. 
 
 223 
 
 This olivine, which gives a green colour to a fragment of the rock 
 that is at once recognized, is of unusual composition, containing as it 
 does more than 50 per cent, of iron oxide. It agrees most closely 
 with that which occurs in the meteorite of Ensisheim, the first 
 recorded fall which has been preserved in any collection ; it fell 17th 
 November, 1492. The latest analysis of that stone is by Frank 
 Crook, of Baltimore, made in Gottingen in 1868, and he found in 
 the soluble portion of that stone 52-90 per cent, of iron oxide. 
 
 The insoluble portion, which forms 40-116 per cent, of the stone, 
 has the composition 
 
 Silicic acid 56-121 29-93 
 
 Iron protoxide 13-397 2-97 
 
 Chromium oxide. 8'281 
 
 Lime 6-712 1-917 
 
 Magnesia 17'663 7'065 
 
 11-95 
 
 102-174 
 
 The bronzite, or rather augite, also agrees very well with that 
 which forms the insoluble portion of the meteorite of Ensisheim. 
 What was supposed to be alumina was further examined, and was 
 found to be almost entirely chromium oxide, doubtless present in 
 combination with some iron protoxide, alumina, and magnesia as 
 chromite. And it appears not improbable that this part of the 
 meteorite contains some tridymite, a few per cent., in fact. 
 
 END OF PART III. 
 
 Adare, 103. 
 
 Albarello, 167. 
 
 Albareto v. Albarello, 167. 
 
 Aiaanello, 221. 
 
 Antony, 84. 
 
 Arva v. Szlanicza, 109. 
 
 Auburn, 164. 
 
 Augusta v. Staunton. 13, 
 
 181. 
 
 Aumieres. 110. 
 Authon, 54. 
 
 Bandong, 50. 
 Barbotan, 95. 
 Barratta Plain, 170. 
 Bates County v. Butler, 
 
 187. 
 
 Beuste, 130. 
 Birki, 83. 
 Bohemia, 71. 
 Bolson de Mapimi, 52, 90, 
 
 172. 
 
 Brahin, 100, 
 Braunau, 114, 
 Breitenbach, 131. 
 Bueste v. Beuste, 130. 
 Busti, 118. 
 Butcher irons, 91, 173. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Butler, 187. 
 
 Caille v. La Caille, 105. 
 Cambria, 105. 
 Cangas de Onis, 147. 
 Caryfort, 170. 
 Casey County, 206. 
 Castalia, 72. 
 
 Chalows and Barking, 84. 
 Chantonnay, 101. 
 Charcas, 93. 
 Charlotte, 107- 
 Chulafinnee, 71. 
 Cleguerec, 8. 
 Collina di Brianza, 165. 
 Constantinople, 97. 
 Coomassie, 71. 
 Cranbourne. 135, 174. 
 Cronstadt, 205. 
 Cryoconite, 41. 
 Cynthiana, 200. 
 
 Daniel's Kuil, 154. 
 
 Danville, 160. 
 
 Deesa v. Sierra de Deesa, 
 
 147. 
 
 De Kalb County, 170. 
 Descubridora, 93. 
 
 Dickson County v. Char- 
 lotte, 107. 
 
 Disko Island, 26, 185. 
 Duel Hill, 68. 
 
 Eisenberg, 68, 
 Elgueras, 147. 
 Entre-Rios, 211. 
 Eperjes, 194. 
 Estherville, 209. 
 
 Fawley, 12. 
 Feid Chair, 191. 
 Forest, 18. 
 Frankfort, 147, 161. 
 
 Girgenti, 123. 
 Goalpara, 162. 
 Goemoroeh, 50. 
 Gopalpur, 141. 
 Groslee, 105. 
 Grosnaja, 182. 
 
 Haddon, 191. 
 Hainholz, 126. 
 Hartford, 113. 
 Hemalga. 110. 
 Hessle, 2. 
 
224 
 
 Index. 
 
 Hexham, 73. 
 
 Hizen, 166. 
 
 Hohr and Ballendar, 206. 
 
 Holyhead, 72. 
 
 Homestead, 77. 
 
 Howard County, 19, 138. 
 
 Hungen, 202. 
 
 Ibbenbiihren, 17. 
 Ilimae, 19. 
 
 Iowa and Missouri, 193. 
 Iowa County, 76. 
 Iquique, 24. 
 Ivanpah, 213, 
 
 Jewell Hill, 127. 
 
 Kalumbi, 212. 
 Kansas, 192. 
 Kansas City, 195. 
 Karand, 214. 
 Kerilis, 74. 
 Kernouve, 8. 
 Khairpur. 69. 
 Khettree, 149. 
 Knyahinya, 145. 
 Kokpmo, 19, 138. 
 Konisha, 46. 
 Krahenberg, 5. 
 Krasnojarsk, 85. 
 Kuritawaki mura, 212. 
 
 La Caille, 105. 
 L'Aigle, 96. 
 Lance, 54. 
 Lenartd, 104. 
 Lexington, 63. 
 Lexington County, 215. 
 Lick Creek, 211. 
 Limerick, 103. 
 Linn County v. Hartford, 
 
 113. 
 
 Liverpool and Chester, 64. 
 Lodi, 47. 
 Lodran, 158. 
 Los Angeles, 63. 
 Losttown, 155. 
 Louisville, 73, 193. 
 
 Magura v. Szlanicza, 109. 
 Manegaum, 112. 
 Marysville, 68. 
 Meteoric Dust, 41, 213, 
 
 216. 
 Meteorite in time of 
 
 Buddha, 82. 
 Mexican meteorites, 52, 
 
 90. 172. 
 Mezo-Madaraz, 117. 
 
 Middlesborough. 218. 
 Missouri v. South Eastern 
 
 Missouri, 139. 
 Mocs, 220. 
 Montereau, 50. 
 Montlivault, 108. 
 Moriches, 7. 
 Moteeka Nugla, 162. 
 Motta dei Conti, 152. 
 Murcia, 128. 
 Murzuk, 12. 
 
 Nagaya, 211. 
 
 Nairn, 62. 
 
 Nash County v. Castalia, 
 
 72. 
 Nedagolla v. Nidigullam, 
 
 16. 
 
 Nenntmannsdorf, 64, 186. 
 Netschaevo, 113. 
 New Concord, 131. 
 Nidigullam, 16. 
 
 Ogi v. Hizen, 166. 
 Organic remains in me- 
 teorites, 216. 
 Ornans, 156. 
 Orvinio, 58. 
 Ovifak, 26, 185. 
 
 Pallas Iron, 85. 
 Parnallee, 127. 
 Pennyman's Siding, 218. 
 Pittsburg, 172 
 Pre - Homeric Meteoric 
 
 Irons, 81. 
 Proschwitz, 65. 
 Pulsora, 139. 
 
 Red River, 99. 
 Richmond, 107. 
 Rittersgrun, 131, 168. 
 Rochester, 197. 
 Rockingham County, 54. 
 Roda, 49. 
 Roquefort. 95. 
 Rowton, 194. 
 Ruif's Mountain, 116. 
 Rutlam v. Pulsora, 139. 
 
 St. Christophe-la-Char- 
 
 tredse, 170. 
 
 St. Denis- Westrem, 125. 
 San Gregorio, 52. 
 Saonlod, 149. 
 Sarbanovac, 204. . 
 Sauguis-St.-Etienne, 157. 
 Searsmont, 47. 
 
 " Sevenstones" Light-ship, 
 62. 
 
 Shalka, 115. 
 
 Sherghotty, 142. 
 
 Shingle Springs, 12. 
 
 Sierra de Deesa, 147. 
 
 Skaufs, 219. 
 
 Slough, 63. 
 
 Smith Mountain v. Rock- 
 ingham County, 54. 
 
 Soko-Banja, 203. 
 
 South Eastern Missouri, 
 139. 
 
 Ssyromolotowo, 67. 
 
 Stalldalen, 196. 
 
 Stannern. 98. 
 
 State*of Missouri, 192. 
 
 Staunton, 13, 181. 
 
 Steinbach, 85. 
 
 Stewart County, 10. 
 
 Supino, 191. 
 
 Szadany v. Zsadany, 188. 
 
 Szlanicza, 109. 
 
 Tadjera, 151. 
 Tarapaca v. Hemalga,110. 
 Tarrangolle, 139. 
 Tazewell, 122, 174. 
 Tieschitz, 207. 
 Tjabe, 9. 
 
 Toke-uchi-mura, 213. 
 Toluca, 93. 
 Trenton, 15, 130. 
 Trenzano, 126. 
 Tucson, 124. 
 Tula, 113. 
 
 Uitenhage, 201. 
 
 Veramin v. Karand, 214. 
 Victoria, 53. 
 Victoria West, 137. 
 Villanova di Casale Mon- 
 
 ferrato, 152. 
 Virba, 73. 
 Volpeglino, 47. 
 
 Waconda, 75. 
 Wairarapa Valley, 140. 
 Warrenton, 199. 
 Webster and Oswego, 221. 
 Weston, 98. 
 Whitfield County, 206. 
 Wirba, 73. 
 Wisconsin, 144. 
 
 Zsadany, 188. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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