38 MEMOIRS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, VOL. XIII. 



even resemble in color (being silver-white, inclining to steel gray), and are slightly elastic, though when twisted up, 

 they remain as a piece of thin iron would do under the like circumstances. The shape of the thinnest fragments is as 

 regular in outline as the layers of the most highly crystalline fluor, and are delicately striated in every direction in 

 accordance with the octahedral cleavages. 



Prior to the separation of any fragments, the surface of the specimen did not afford the metallic luster; but was 

 coated with a thin blebby pellicle, apparently of hydrous peroxide of iron. Those surfaces which have been recently 

 developed lose their silvery gray luster in the course of a few weeks, but without any sensible attraction of moisture 

 from the atmosphere. 



Its specific gravity varies from 6.5 to 7.5; indeed one fragment mounted as high as 8. This diversity of result is 

 no doubt dependent on the compression of the fragments produced during their separation from the specimen. 



The methods of analysis are then given in great detail by Shepard, and the following result 



was obtained: 



Fe Ni Si CI Cr, S, Co, As 



96.5 2.6 0.5 0.2 traces =99.8 



Eight years later Shepard 3 made a second mention of the meteorite as follows: 



Asheville (Baird's Plantation, near French Broad River, 6 miles north of Asheville), Buncombe County, North 

 Carolina. As this county has of late afforded two other localities of meteoric iron, I have taken pains to ascertain as 

 nearly as possible the exact position of each. The Hon. T. J. Clingman informs me that this locality is 6 miles north 

 of Asheville on the estate of Col. Baird, who is of the opinion that other fragments may there be found, as he has within 

 two years observed small pieces of rusty iron in the same field from which Dr. Hardy's mass was obtained. Further 

 experiments on the composition of this iron enable me to add to what was before made known that it contains cobalt, 

 magnesium, and phosphorus; and that the nickel is sometimes present in a ratio as high as 5 per cent, while the silicon 

 is considerably below 0.5 per cent, as formerly quoted. 



Brezina n in 1885 placed this meteorite among the fine octahedrites and described the struc- 

 ture as follows: 



Bands 0.6 mm. wide, kamacite somewhat hatched but at the same time granulated, plessite dark, schreibersite 

 plates in kamacite abundant but irregularly distributed. 



In 1895 13 he changed this meteorite with others of the Hraschina group to the medium 

 octahedrites. 



The small quantity known of the meteorite is distributed. Vienna possesses 271 grams, 

 Tubingen 171 grams. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



1. 1839: Shepard. On meteoric iron from Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Amer. Journ. Sci., 1st 



ser., vol. 36, p. 81-85. 



2. 1843: Partsch. Meteoriten, p. 116. 



3. 1847: Shepard. Report on meteorites. Amer. Journ. Sci., 2d ser., vol. 4, p. 79. 



4. 1852: Clark. Dissert. Gottingen, pp. 55-56. 



5. 1854: v. Boquslawski. Zehnter Nachtrag. Ann. Phys. und Chem., Poggendorff, Ergz.-Bd. 4, p. 403. 



6. 1859: Harris. Dissert. Gottingen, p. 112. 



7. 1858-62: von Reichenbach. No. 4, p. 638; No. 7, p. 551; No. 9, pp. 163, 174, 182; No. 10, p. 359; No. 12, p. 457; 



No. 14, p. 390; No. 15, pp. 100, 110, 114, 124; No. 16, pp. 253, 255, 256, 261; No. 17, pp. 264, 265, 266, 272; 

 No. 18, pp. 480, 484, 487, 489; No. 19, p. 155; No. 20, pp. 621, 628, 629, 630; No. 21, pp. 583, 587. 



8. 1863: Buchner. Meteoriten, p. 163. 



9. 1863: Rose. Meteoriten, pp. 65, 153. 



10. 1867: Goebel. Kritische Uebersicht. Bull. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersburg, Bd. 7, p. 325. 



11. 1884: Meunier. Meteorites, pp. 116 and 120. 



12. 1885: Brezina. Wiener Sammlung, pp. 200 (Asheville), 209, and 233. 



13. 1895: Brezina. Wiener Sammlung, pp. 268, 272, 300, and 329. 



AUBURN. 



Lee County (formerly Macon County), Alabama. 



Here also Macon County. 



Iron. Hexahedrite (H) of Brezina. 



Found 1867; described 1869. 



Weight, 3.5 kgs. (8 lbs.). 



The original mass was ploughed up, prior to its being brought to public notice in 1868, in 

 the neighborhood of East Alabama College, having been overlooked in the collection of Prof. J. 

 Darby of this institution until 1868. 



