6 Professor Jacob Berzelius on Meteoric Stones. 



The metallic phosphurets contained 



Pallas Iron. Ellenbogen Iron. 



Iron, . . 48.67 68.11 



Nickel, . . 18.33) 

 Magnesium, . 9.66 ) 



Phosphorus, . 18.47 



95.13 100.00 



These last analyses have no claim to great accuracy, as the 

 whole quantity of metallic phosphurets which I could appro- 

 priate to analysis, amounted, in the first case, to 3 centigrammes, 

 and in the second to 2.8. Wehrle's analysis will be seen to 

 agree still more closely with mine, when I add, that he mixed 

 the phosphorus and manganese with the iron, and that the mag- 

 nesia was precipitated with the oxide of iron, as ammoniacal 

 phosphate of magnesia. 



Wehrle has also published several other analyses of meteoric 

 iron, which I here copy : 



Iron, 



Nickel, . 

 Cobalt, 



99.337 98.770 99.992 



Wehrle has endeavoured to discover fixed relations between 

 the metals, which I consider a fruitless attempt. 



Before concluding this subject, I must give one other result 

 of my experiments. The meteoric stone of Alais fell into an 

 earth when placed in water ; this had the odour of clay and hay, 

 and contained carbon in an unknown combination. It is thus 

 proved that, in the place of origin of meteoric stones, the rocks 

 can, as on the earth, separate into clay-like mixtures. The ques- 

 tion arises, If this earth, containing carbon, and derived from an- 

 other world, includes organic remains, do organic bodies exist 

 there, having more or less analogy to those that are terrestrial ? 

 We can figure to ourselves the interest with which an answer 

 would be sought to this query. We cannot reply in the affir- 

 mative, and to do so in the negative would be to deduce a more 

 certain conclusion than the data warrant. The earth was formed 

 of weathered olivine, containing nickel and tin. The magnet drew 

 out the black oxide of iron in grains, among .which shining par- 



