348 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ment of snow-water collected at the height of 8,800 feet on Mont Blanc 

 (Fig. 4). Since I have called attention to the existence of these fer- 

 ruginous bodies in the air, several men of science have confirmed my 

 observations, particularly M. Yung, of the University of Geneva, and 

 MM. Schoenaur and Pierre Miquel, who have pursued the study of the 



Fig. 4. Corpuscles extracted by the Magnet from the Sediment of Snow-water on 

 Mont Blanc, 8,800 Feet above the Sea. (500 Diameters.) 



air-dust at the observatory of Montsouris under the direction of M. 

 Marie-Davy. 



Whence are these ferruginous particles derived ? The spherules 

 have been melted : we can prove this by burning particles of iron and 

 observing them under the microscope (Fig. 5) ; those which fly off on 

 the striking of a flint are like them (Fig. 6). The spherules we are 

 considering are probably derived from the showers of fire that escape 



Fig. 5. Globules of Magnetic Oxide of Iron obtained by burning Fink Iron Filings in 



a Hydrogen Flame. (500 Diameters.) 



from incandescent meteorites. I have been confirmed in this view by 

 observing with the microscope the crust of the aerolites in the collec- 

 tion of the Museum of Natural History, Jn which were perceived 

 rounded grains having considerable resemblance to those we have just 

 noticed. Moreover, the magnetic particles withdrawn from atmos- 

 pheric sediments have given on analysis reactions indicating the pres- 



Fig. 6. Spherical Globules of Magnetic Oxide of Iron obtained by collecting the 

 Sparks struck off by a Flint. (250 Diameters.) 



ence of nickel ; of a character, consequently, to cause them to be regard- 

 ed as partaking of the nature of meteorites. It may be objected that 

 metallurgical operations and the production of oxides in iron-works 

 give rise to similar ferruginous corpuscles. This is true ; but how can 

 we explain the presence of the spherules in geological formations that 

 have not been worked over, where they must have been left previous 

 to the existence of man on the earth ? M. Stanislaus Meunier and I 

 have found in the grits below the Lias, in the micaceous slates of the 



