It it a fandy 

 roafs 



interfperfed with 

 m?ta Ik and 

 fulphurcous 

 particles. 



Its granules arc 

 cryftalHne. 



Heat deepened 

 its colour) 



and oxided the 

 metal. 



Greater heat 

 tufed it. 



It contained 



anuch magnetic 

 iron, 



combined with 

 mckel. 



Conftituent 

 parts of the 

 remainder. 



ON METEORIC STONES, 



The ftone itfelf is a Tandy mafs, formed of rounded ova? 

 grains, the largeft of which are fcarcely bigger than hpmp« 

 feed, among which are interfperled metallic and fulphu- 

 rious particles w-th all their primitive luflre, and particularly 

 with that light tint of kupfernickel obierved in the other 

 (tones. On examining the earthy grains by the microfcope, 

 we perceive, that, far from having been fafhioned by the 

 movement of water, they are globules rough with cryftalline 

 or reflecting points, fo that they can by no means be con- 

 founded with fand. 



A piece of about two inches being expofed to a red heat 

 in a crucible for half a quarter of an hour was much changed : 

 the fandy globules became of a darker gray, and the metallic 

 particles, diverted of their luftre, were vifibly oxided. 



About two ounces were heated for half an hour in a forge 

 fire, which converted the (lone into a femivitreous mafs, 

 blackirti, and (lightly porous. It did not appear to have 

 effervefced much previous to fufion, and was interfperfed with 

 globules of iron, which had not time to defcend, though 

 upwards of a hundred grains of a regulus were collected at 

 the bottom. 



The iron attractable by the magnet was not uniformly 

 mixed in the ft one, as from fome parts 22 in the 100 were 

 extracted, from others not more than 17. 



This iron was combined with nickel in the proportion of 

 about 3 per cent. No nickel was difcoverable in any other 

 part of the ftone. 



After this alloy was feparated by the magnet, the remainder 

 of the ftone was found by analyfis to confill of, 



Iron fulphurated at a minimum - 12 



Black oxide of iron - - 5 



Silex 66 



Magnefia - - - - 20 



Lime and magnefja in quantities loo fmall 

 to be appreciated 



Newhypothefis, 

 Their origin 

 probab y in the 

 polar regions, 



103 

 On confidering the rapid alteration of thefe (tones by 

 moifture, for a fragment kept twelve hours under water was 

 taken out covered with fpots of ruft, which diftinguithed the 

 grains of alloy from the fulphureous particles with which 

 they were before confounded ; — it is obvious, according to the 



author 



