Royal Society. 455 



The following are the external characters of the six masses dug up, 

 the largest of which was about fifty-seven pounds in weight; the 

 others were considerably smaller. Their shape is more or less oval 

 and flat, with surfaces rather oxidated, and here and there covered 

 with an earthy crust. The larger lumps did not exhibit any trace of 

 scoriae -, but in some of the smaller pieces, part of the metallic mass 

 had passed into a porous slag-like body j of which latter a few de- 

 tached pieces were likewise found. This iron possesses no degree of 

 ductility j it is not attacked by the saw, and but slightly and with 

 difficulty by the file. Its tenacity, however, is considerable ; the 

 masses required great strength to be broken j but small fragments 

 did not oppose greater difficulty to be reduced to a coarse powder 

 than white cast-iron j and glass was but slightly scratched by them. 

 On the fresh fracture, this iron exhibits upon the whole a scaly-gra- 

 nular structure ; its internal lustre is moderately vivid, and its colour 

 tin-white, with a strong cast of grey. Two varieties of texture were, 

 however, observable j in some fragments it was more distinctly scaly, 

 of a coarser grain and a deeper grey colour, united to a greater de- 

 gree of tenacity. The specific gravity of the coarse-grained variety 

 (barom, in 758, therm. 21°*5 c.) = 7*2182 ; that of the fine-grained 

 = 7-3894. 



The mass contained much of a sulphuret not unlike in appearance 

 to variegated copper ore, from which the subsequent analysis proved 

 it not to differ in composition, except that a trace of sulphuret of silver 

 was found in it. Also minute portions of capillary native copper were 

 found in the interior of some pieces, together with here and there 

 some translucid, pale yellow, olivine-like grains, but in too small 

 quantities to admit of chemical examination. 



Professor Stromeyer proceeds to give a detailed account of the 

 chemical analysis to which this iron was subjected by him $ according 

 to which 100 parts are composed of — 



10000 10000 



From this it appears, that though the Magdeburg iron contains all 

 the ingredients characteristic of meteoric iron.it is essentially distinct 

 from all others hitherto examined, by the presence of molybdenum 

 and arsenic ; by the smaller and rather anomalous proportion of nickel 

 and cobalt which enters into its composition $ by the admixture of some 



