METEORITES OF NORTH AMERICA. 369 



however, no distinct crystalline structure. The Columbia, South America, has very little; and the supposed meteoric 

 iron from Oswego, or Scriba, in New York, has none. 



The Texas mass is a magnet; its greatest diameter is nearly in the magnetic meridian, as it is now placed, and in 

 this situation it possesses true polarity. One of the artisans employed in finishing up the polished face noticed that 

 the filings of the iron arranged themselves on the face in lines parallel to the crystalline planes, as if influenced by 

 magnetic attraction. No large masses of pyrites were observed in this mass, though so abundant in the Lockport iron. 

 This mineral is, however, not entirely wanting in the Texas iron, as is shown by chemical examination; and one or two 

 small lumps of pyrites were encountered by the saw in cutting the section before mentioned. 



Very soon after the section was made, both of its opposite faces were observed to be bedewed with moisture. 

 This was washed off with distilled water and the washings tested for chlorine by nitrate of silver, with abundant evi- 

 dence of the presence of this element. This exudation soon ceased, and the chippings of the iron examined by solu- 

 tion in pure nitric acid, and testing with nitrate of silver, gave no further evidence of the presence of chlorine. We 

 conclude, therefore, that this iron probably contains in its interior parts a small portion of chlorine, which has escaped 



from its surface, and hence only the deep section of the mass gave evidence of its presence. 



********* 



When this iron is dissolved in hydrochloric acid (A) a very small amount of insoluble matter remains, being only 

 about 5 per cent. This residue is a black powder (B) interspersed with some scales of a leaden gray and containing 

 numerous brilliant metallic plates of a silvery whiteness. It is almost entirely magnetic iron, the brilliant scales being 

 either metallic nickel or an alloy of iron with a large portion of nickel. 



The hydrochloric solution (A) afforded no precipitate when treated with sulphuretted hydrogen; and the iron 

 being thrown down from a portion of it by ammonia, the filtrate was examined in vain for cobalt, manganese, and zinc. 



The insoluble black powder (B), when digested in aqua regia, was partly dissolved, while another portion remained, 

 consisting of flakes of graphite, or at least of a very incombustible carbon containing a little iron. Sulphuretted 

 hydrogen passed through the solution gave a yellowish brown precipitate, which was dissolved by hydrosulphuret of 

 ammonia (C), leaving only a trace of sulphuret of copper. The soluble portion (C) was precipitated by acetic acid, 

 and its color appeared to be orange, but was somewhat obscured by free sulphur. The results obtained from its exam- 

 ination were anomalous and rather unsatisfactory. It fused with niter and carbonate of soda, forming a mass which 

 was soluble in water without residue, and whose solution nitric acid did not sensibly affect. Treated with nitrate of 

 silver and a dilute solution of ammonia, with reference to the detection of arsenic acid, it gave a white precipitate in 

 place of the red-brown of the arseniate of silver. A part of the solution was treated with acetate of lead, and the pre- 

 cipitate obtained, when reduced before the blowpipe, have a globule of lead, which at a red heat evolved white 

 inodorous fumes resembling antimony. A want of sufficient material prevented any further examination, and the 

 question of its true nature is consequently yet unsettled. Antimonic acid is precipitated from its salts by any strong 

 acid, which was not the reaction of the substance under examination. If not antimony, it is probably a new body 

 hitherto unexamined, although such a conclusion requires further evidence to warrant its correctness. 



The analysis of 100 parts of this residue (B) gave — 



Iron 31.2 



Nickel 42. 8 



Phosphorus 4. 



Carbon 5. 



Antimony (?) and copper 9. 3 



92.3 

 The iron in (B) is doubtless in the state of magnetic oxide, and as such would make up the deficiency in this 

 analysis. 



The proportion of nickel and iron in the Texas meteorite seems to vary. The mean of several analyses gives us — 



Iron 90. 911 



Nickel 8.462 



Insoluble (phosphurets, etc.) 0.500 



99. 873 

 The nickeliferous iron, or that part of the mass most rich in nickel, seems to have been segregated from the gen- 

 eral mass, and forms the elevated lines of brilliant whiteness which appear on etching a polished surface of metal. 



Rose 9 classed the meteorite as a fine-grained, alloyed, uniform, and malleable iron. 



Wright J0 gave the following account of an examination of the meteorite for gases: 

 The first trial was made with a piece of meteoric iron, which is a fragment of the great Texas meteorite, in the 

 cabinet of Yale College. This meteorite, of which a description has been published, is a large mass weighing 742 kgs., 

 having the following composition: 



Fe 90. 91 



Ni 8.46 



Insoluble portion, containing some carbon 0. 50 • 



99.87 

 716°— 15 24 



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