METEORITES OF NORTH AMERICA. 305 



A review of the literature of the subject is then given by Kunz, and he concludes that the 

 different descriptions refer to parts of one and the same meteorite which originally fell near 

 Mincy, Taney County, Missouri. In this conclusion he has been followed by later authorities. 



Brezina 8 in his 1895 catalogue gave the following observations concerning the meteorite: 



This mass is peculiar because of the r61e which the nickel iron plays. It occurs in isolated grains resembling iron 

 chondri, and varying in size up to 6 cm. These chondri, especially the larger ones, from 1.5 cm. diameter upward, 

 are not solid, but have in the interior vermiform cavities filled with masses of silica and grains of iron. After etching, 

 also, the compact iron chondri show merely a granulation similar to that of brecciated hexahedrites, although the indi- 

 vidual grains of iron are seamed with taenite bands. These iron chondri are cut off sharply at the groundmass and seldom 

 pass over into this. The structure of the entire mesosiderite is very coarse grained. The groundmass is likewise 

 besprinkled with grains of iron which have mostly a diameter of 1 to 2 mm. ; in this groundmass are found olivine 

 crystals from 1 to 5 cm. in size, generally of a pinkish-brown, less frequently of a greenish gray, or leek-green color; 

 besides outcroppings from 1 to 10 cm. in size of crystalline chondrites, sometimes free of iron, sometimes shot through 

 with dust-like particles of iron which occasionally contain a larger grain of iron. Occasionally the large olivine crystals 

 are surrounded by a space poor in iron. Troilite occurs but seldom. 



Meunier 9 classed Mincy as logronite, the characters of which are as follows: 



Rock with stony minerals predominating, inclosing abundant and at times numerous metallic grains. The whole 

 is traversed by a metallic network. The stony part is very crystalline and in places constituted of shining lamellse. 

 The metallic portion is also very crystalline. The rock takes a good polish. Ab regards mineralogical composition 

 the iron grains appear to consist chiefly of kamacite and tsenite. Some schreibersite may also be seen. The stony 

 portion consists of a mixture in which a mineral resembling olivine predominates, and with it are acid silicates resem- 

 bling pyroxene. 



Mincy is distributed, but the main mass (39 kgs.) is in the Vienna Museum. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



1. 1860: Shepard. Notices of several American meteorites.— 2. Forsyth (Taney County, Missouri) Iron. Amer. 



Journ. Sci., 2d ser., vol. 30, pp. 205-206. 



2. 1860: Cox. Second Report Geol. Reconnoissance of Arkansas (Philadelphia, 1860), p. 408 (or 308?). 



3. 1865: Smith. A new meteorite from Arkansas. Amer. Journ. Sci., 2d ser., vol. 39, p. 372. 



4. 1865: Smith. A new meteorite from Newton County, Arkansas, containing on its surface carbonate of lime. Idem, 



2d ser., vol. 40, pp. 213-216. (Analysis.) 



5. 1884: Wadsworth. Studies, pp. 71 and 74. 



6. 1885: Brezina. Wiener Sammlung, pp. 191, 233, 256, and 264. 



7. 1887: Kunz. On some American meteorites. — 1. The Taney County, Missouri, meteorite. Amer. Journ. Sci., 3d 



ser., vol. 34, pp. 467^71. (Illustrations of stone and section; analysis by Whitfield.) 



8. 1895: Brezina. Wiener Sammlung, p. 262. 



9. 1895: Meunier. Revision dea lithosid entes, pp. 32, 33, and 34-35. (Illustration of etching.) 



Missouri, 1839. See Little Piney. 



MISTECA. 



State of Oaxaca, Mexico. 



Not Yanhuitlan. 



Latitude 16° 45' N., longitude 97° 4' W. 



Iron. Medium octahedrite (Om) of Brezina. 



Found 1804. 



Weight unknown. 



This meteorite seems to have been hopelessly confused with Yanhuitlan, both in literature 

 and in collections. It seems probable that the two masses occurred near together, and as their 

 etching figures resembled one another they were not distinguished for a long period. 



Brezina 13 in 1895 was the first to urge their separation, opposing the view of Fletcher,' 

 who thought that they should be regarded as one. Brezina's statement is as follows: 



Misteca belongs, in consequence of the width of its lamella?, 0.8 to 1.2 mm., near the coarse octahedrites. Cas- 

 tillo, and with him Fletcher, regarded it probable that the Misteca meteorite had been cut from the Yanhuitlan mass. 

 The difference in the structure of the irons quite excludes such a possibility, however. 

 716°— 15 20 



