Fall of a Meteoric Stone at Launton. 139 



Art. VIII. A short Account of the Fall of a Meteortc Stone at 

 Launton^ in Oxfordshire. By Mr. Stowe, Surgeon, Buckingham. 



Sir, 



An event occurred in this neighbourhood a short time ago 

 which excited a good deal of curiosity and enquiry, and which, 

 as far as I can learn, is unprecedented in the history of the 

 county in which it happened, and, on that account, worthy of 

 being put on record in a more permanent publication than 

 the ephemeral columns of a newspaper. The circumstance 

 to which I allude is the fall of a meteoric stone, on Monday, 

 the 15th day of February, 1830, at half-past seven in the 

 evening, in the garden of John Bucknell, a labourer in the 

 employment of Mr. Cross, farmer, at Launton, near Bicester, 

 Oxon. Its descent was accompanied with a most brilliant 

 light, which was visible for many miles around, and attended 

 with a triple explosion, which was described to me, by a per- 

 son who heard it at the distance of four miles, as resembling 

 the rapid discharge of three ordinary guns. It penetrated 

 some newly dug mould nearly a foot deep ; and, though seen 

 to strike the earth, was not sought for till the following morn- 

 ing, when, of course, it had become cool. 



A man named Thomas Marriot was passing near the gar- 

 den at the moment, and states that it came rapidly towards 

 him from the north-east, not perpendicularly but obliquely^ 

 appearing about the size of a cricket-ball ; and that, expect- 

 ing it would strike him, he instinctively lowered his head 

 to avoid it. By reference to a meteorological register kept 

 here by my friend Mr. Masters, I find that the day had been 

 foggy, with the wind in the north ; and that the barometer 

 was unusually high, being at 10 A.M. 30*9, and at 10 P.M. 

 30*8 ; the thermometer being at the same times respectively 

 43° and 26°. There was nothing like thunder in the atmo- 

 sphere at the time mentioned. 



The stone weighed 2 lb. 5 oz., having all the characters of 

 a meteorite, being covered with a thin ferruginous crust, and 

 composed of a greyish friable matter, interspersed with slen- 

 der veins of iron, and granular metallic particles, highly 

 magnetic. It appears to contain nickel, which has long been 

 considered the constant associate of iron in meteoric produc- 

 tions ; but my examination has not satisfied me that chromium 

 exists in it, which Dr. Ure states, on the authority of some 

 recent experiments, to be the characteristic ingredient of 

 these bodies. I send you, however, a small fragment of 

 the stone to authenticate my communication ; which, if you 

 please, you may put into the hands of Mr. Farraday, or some 



