ORGANIC REMAINS IN METEORIC STONES. 85 



to offer a mineralogical determination of these minute structures, par- 

 titions, and holes, which are already visible under a microscope mag- 

 nifying two hundred times, hut which may even still be traced up to 

 four hundred and eighty thin*. It is, therefore, perfectly evident 

 that the objects in question are organic remains, and, in fact, those 

 of a class nearly related to our favosite corals. 



Unfortunately, most of the lamina? are cut parallel to the length 

 of the polypary tubes, because the huge meteoric stones had to be 

 broken up in order to obtain these shavings, whereby they generally 

 split with the length of the coral-branches. Only one remarkably fine 

 lamina, a perfect unicorn, in the whole collection, and also a part of the 

 fall at Knyahinya, affords a full view from the top of the branch into 

 the calyx of the polyparium and into the arrangement of the cups them- 

 selves. This specimen alone must bring conviction to every connois- 

 seur of corals. It is represented on Plate X, Figs. 3 and 4, of Dr. 

 Hahn's book, but the yellowish tint of the lamina prevented the object 

 from coming out as clearly on the photograph as it can be seen on the 

 original under a good microscope. 



This object is evidently a complete small coral-branch of roundish 

 shape, which stands with a broad base on another coral formation. 

 The whole network of the calyx can here be seen with the greatest 

 clearness. The cups are quite dark in the center, being filled with a 

 black substance ; then follows a whitish filling around this dark cen- 

 ter, and then, plainly visible, the w r all of each tube always as a sharp- 

 ly defined line, which is already visible with a low magnifying power. 

 This network of lines, separating the single cups from each other, pre- 

 sents a variety of sizes and forms of the calyx, which, just like those 

 of a great number of our corals, and especially of those of the Devo- 

 nian favosites polymorphus, are very irregular, often larger or smaller 

 than the average, with rounded or straight side- walls or smaller cups 

 formed by the partition of one larger one. This ex-terrestrial coral 

 has been named by Dr. Weinland, in honor of its discoverer, Hahnia 

 meteoritica. All these coral structures in the meteorites are petrified, 

 having taken the form of silicates of magnesia. 



Another very notable peculiarity of these ex-terrestrial corals is 

 their extreme smallness, for, in comparison with those of the earth's 

 fauna, they represent a veritable pygmy animal kingdom. The just- 

 described coral-branch of Hahnia meteoritica is but a white dot in 

 the meteoric shaving, barely visible to the naked eye. Its greatest 

 diameter measures but 0*90 millimetre, and the single cups average 

 but 0*05 millimetre. These are dimensions quite unknown in any ter- 

 restrial corals, where a calyx of one millimetre diameter may already be 

 called small. But we must still be prepared for yet quite different 

 things in these ex-terrestrial organisms, for it is very possible that there 

 may yet be found formations for which we can absolutely find no 

 place in our systems of zoology. In fact, it is rather startling that the 



