METEORITE STUDIES II 



BY 



OLIVER CUMMINGS FARRINGTON. 



BATH FURNACE. 



Of the three known stones of this fall, one-half the smallest one, 

 weighing 223 grams, came into the possession of the Museum (Mus. 

 No. Me 570). This individual is of irregular disk-like form, of 

 * X A x i}£ x % inches dimension. A side and front view of it are 

 shown in Plate XXIX. Though its shape indicates that it was a scal- 

 ing, it was completely encrusted and shows orientation. One of the 

 broad surfaces was plainly the front side, the opposite the rear side. 

 The front side shows lines of flow radiating from an eccentric point. 

 These lines have under the lens the form of ridges of inverted V shape 

 gradually branching and tapering out. These ridges are of shining 

 black glass and rise above a dull-black ground. The interior sub- 

 stance of the meteorite is gray with rusted spots about the metallic 

 grains. It is of sufficiently firm texture to take a good polish. Under 

 the microscope the crust is seen to be relatively thin, .2 - .3 mm. The 

 zones of Tschermak are indicated, but are by no means well marked. 

 For the most part the crust appears as a black, opaque aggregate bor- 

 dering the edge of the section, with here and there transparent grains 

 of various sizes seen in polarized light to be unaltered olivine. The re- 

 mainder of the section appears in ordinary light a confused mass of 

 transparent grains considerably iron stained and interspersed with 

 metallic grains of very irregular but usually elongated shapes. Among 

 these troilite is more numerous than nickel -iron. An opaque, black 

 substance also occurs in small quantity connected here and there with 

 the metallic grains. It may be of ferrous or carbonaceous nature. 

 Chondri are but occasionally and imperfectly outlined. In polarized 

 light the chondri can be more readily recognized. They are not nu- 

 merous, however, the greater part of the section being made up of an- 

 hedral grains of various sizes. Chondri where visible are for the most 

 part sharply outlined from the surrounding mass. Those composed 

 of alternate lamellae of olivine and glass are the most common and 

 next in number are those composed chiefly of fibrous enstatite. Large 



