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XIII. On a Mass of Native Iron from the Desert of Atamaca in 

 Peru. By THOMAS ALLAN, Esq. F. R. S. E. 



(Read 4>th February 1828.) 



WHEN in London in spring last year, Mr PARISH had the 

 kindness to show me some specimens which he had just received 

 from his son, Mr WOODBINE PARISH, his Majesty's Consul-Ge- 

 neral at Buenos Ayres, among which I was surprised and much 

 pleased to find two masses of native iron, exactly similar to the 

 celebrated Siberian block, made known to the scientific world 

 through the exertions of PALLAS,' having the same vesicular struc- 

 ture, and containing the same straw-yellow coloured olivine firm- 

 ly imbedded. 



I immediately suggested to Mr PARISH the propriety of losing 

 no time in making this discovery known, and thereby secure to 

 his son the merit of bringing it before the public ; and in order 

 to do this in the most effectual manner, I advised him to pre- 

 sent one of the masses to the Royal Society of London, and 

 the other to the Royal Society of Edinburgh ; and it is with 

 pleasure that I now find myself deputed to carry his wishes with 

 respect to this Society into execution, by presenting one of the 

 masses as a donation to this institution in the name of his son. 



Hitherto the Siberian mass has stood unrivalled, and quite 

 unique. A mass found in Poland in 1 809, was said to have re- 

 sembled it, being vesicular, and having the cavities covered inter- 

 nally with a yellowish-green vitreous substance ; but it would 

 have required the cavities in the iron to be filled with that sub- 

 stance, to have rendered it similar to the Siberian mass. The 

 other native irons, have I believe, uniformly presented a solid 



