METEORITES OF NORTH AMERICA. 155 



shows a cleavage of the individuals, much resembling that of the Braunau iron. Its polished surfaces are almost per- 

 fectly homogenous, being wholly free from amygdaloidal inclosures. At places within an inch of the outside, how- 

 ever, a few very thin, black, thread-like veins occur, apparently the products of shrinkage in the process of cooling. 

 The substance of these veins is partly the oxides of iron with -which is intermingled a trace of chlorine, the latter 

 probably derived by infiltration from the soil. The deliquescence of the polished surfaces is confined to these black 

 seams. 



The Widmannstatten figures present a rather remarkable feature. The peculiarity of the pattern consists in the 

 tendency in one series of bars to cross each other at right angles, while in a second series, less uniform in width, they 

 pass diagonally (in descending) from right to left across the shaded spaces. 



On etched surfaces, the schreibersite shows in exceedingly thin and nearly straight continuous lines, though they 

 are occasionally interrupted at short intervals, when they resemble the markings on telegraphic ribbons. The con- 

 tinuous lines sometimes swell into triangular or polygonal enlargements, forming a string of nearly disconnected beads. 



The analysis of C. U. Shepard, jr., gave: 



Fe Ni Co 



94.66 4.80 0.34 =99.80 

 Specific gravity, 7.986. 



It is not possible to decide whether this meteorite belongs to the same fall with the 13 pound mass described by 

 Mr. Hidden. The two were found at different times, several miles asunder, and were totally unlike in the character 

 of their surfaces. Besides, the smaller abounded in chlorous deliquescence; and it appears to have been easily sepa- 

 rated by cleavage, suggesting a longer contact with the soil. 



Brezina 5 described the structure of a section from the large mass as follows : 



A specimen in the Vienna museum shows the kamacite sometimes very finely hatched, sometimes entirely free 

 from hatching, and even somewhat granular. 



The next year Kunz e suggested that the Lea or East Tennessee -meteorite might be from 

 the same locality as the Dalton meteorite. Some of his arguments were as follows: 



A large etched section of this iron — the Lea iron — shows several cracks completely filled with rust, indicating 

 large quantities of chloride of iron in the mass. The large mass of the Whitfield County iron rusts, cracks, and exfo- 

 liates exactly like the above. The Widmannstatten figures are also identical. 



Cleveland, Tennessee, is 28 miles northeast of Dalton, Georgia, and the Whitfield County iron was found 14 miles 

 northeast of Dalton, the latter place being very near to the State line. Mr. Raht also states that a 50 pound (?) mass 

 fell 10 miles from Cleveland, near the State line, which locates it very near where the Whitfield County iron was found. 

 Cleveland, Tennessee, the place from which the East Tennessee meteorite is said to have been sent, is on or near a 

 railroad line. The mass was probably sent there for sale or to be worked at one of the iron furnaces. When we con- 

 sider that the war was then in progress, and that even for some years after the war intercourse which had been broken 

 off was not resumed, it is not unreasonable to suppose that this mass may have lain unnoticed for several years. 



A difference in the analyses of the two meteorites is mentioned by Kunz, but it is sug- 

 gested that this is not an insuperable objection to uniting the two. 



In spite of Kunz's suggestion the two meteorites have usually been listed separately. 



In order to test the supposed difference in chemical composition a fragment from the 

 Dalton specimen in the Field Museum collection was analyzed by H. W. Nichols. This analy- 

 sis, which has not previously been published, gave: 



Iron 91. 02 



Nickel and cobalt 7. 38 



98.40 



These values differ much less from the analysis of the Lea iron than do those obtained by 

 Shepard. Shepard's values would be anomalous for a meteorite of this group. Another point 

 of resemblance between the two meteorites is the presence of Reichenbach lamellae, remarked 

 by Cohen 7 independently for the two irons. 



The large mass, 50,917 grams, of -Dalton is mentioned in Clarke's catalogue as in the United 

 States National Museum collection, but is not mentioned by Tassin. 1900. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



1. 1877: Smith. Two new meteoric irons. Amer. Journ. Sci, 3d ser., vol. 14, p. 246. 



2. 1880: Brezina. Bericht I. Sitzber. Wien. Akad. Bd. 82 I, p. 351. 



3. 1881: Hidden. On the Whitfield County, Georgia, meteoric iron. Amer. Journ. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 21, pp. 286-287. 



(Illustration of etched plate.) 



4. 1883: Shepard. On meteoric iron from near Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia. Amer. Journ. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 



26, pp. 336-338. (Analysis, illustration of mass, and etched plate.) 



