No. 1.1 RESEARCHES ON METEORITES— MERRILL. 13 



light gray material, rcgardod by liim as a pcrsilicate of magnesia, and to which he gave the 

 name chladnite in, honor of the ciiemist Cliladni. Researches in 1864 by J. Lawrence Smith 

 showed the mineral to be identical with enstatite. The stone was described in 1851 by W. 

 Sartorious von Waltershaiiscn, who thought to show that the siliceous portion was made up 

 of 95.011 per cent chladnite and 4.985 per cent labradorite. Rammelsberg in 1863 stated as 

 a result of his examinations that it contained no feldspar. Later microscopic investigations 

 by Wadsworth " and Tschermak '' show the stone to be a crystalline granular mass of enstatite. 

 plagioclase feldspar, and an iron sulphide identified as pyrrhotite. Wadsworth includes also 

 augite and metallic iron. The probable presence of oldhamite, confirmed by the present 

 researches, was suggested but not proven by Maskelyne." Below are given the results of Dr. 

 Wliitfield's analyses, made with especial reference to the presence or absence of the mineral 

 oldlaamite, and the elements barium, strontium, and zirconium. The commonly quoted analy- 

 ses of J. Lawrence Smith, it should be noted, were not of the stone in mass, but of the selected 

 wliite pyro.xenic constituent, tlie chladnite of Shepard. 



Per cent. 



Silica (SiOj) 57. 034 



Alumina (AlA) 1-706 



Ferric oxide (FeA) 1-406 



Manganous oxide (MnO) . 189 



Lime (CaO) 2.016 



Magnesia (MgO) 33. 606 



Cobalt oxide (CoO) Trace. 



Nickel oxide (NiO) 538 



Soda(Na,0) 1.027 



Potash (K2O) 089 



Ignition (HoO) 1.995 



Iron(Fe) 181 



Nickel (Ni) ■ .' 039 



Sulphur (S) 297 



100. 023 

 Minus O for S .147 



99. 876 



An amount of calciimi equivalent to 0.67 per cent calcium sulphide was hberated by 

 boiling the finely pulverized stone for two hours in distilled water. Inspection of the stone 

 in mass shows, in addition, occasional granules of an iron sulphide (troilite or pyrrhotite) which 

 were not included in the portion analyzed. No traces of barium, strontium, or zirconium could 

 be detected. This is worthy of note in view of the feldspathic nature of the stone. The amount 

 of material utihzed in the analyses was not as large as could have been desired. 



(8) Meteoric stone, Chondrite (Cc). — Collescipoli, Italy. This stone, which fell on February 

 3, 1890, is of a gray color, somewhat friable, of a common chondritio type (Cc), composed 

 essentially of ohvine and enstatite with the usual sprinklmg of metal and metallic sulphide. It 

 presents no imusual features macro- or microscopically, and attention was given it here only on 

 account of the extraordinary array of the rarer elements reported in TrottareUi's analyses.'' It is 

 unfortunate that although this fall is supposed to have comprised some 4 or 5 kilograms, but 

 1,802 grams are known to-day and hence the prices quoted by dealers ($0.70 to .S1.27 per gram) 

 are so high as to place it out of reach for exhaustive investigation. Fortunately a few grams 

 were found which, on account of their minutely fragmental condition, could be purchased at 

 prices justifying sacrifice. Below are given the results obtained by Wliitfield: 



Percent. 



Metallic portion 18. 60 



Silicate portion '. 81. 40 



100. 00 



o Lithologicsl Studies, p. 200, 1(IS4. c Proc. Royal Soc. Edinburgh, vol. 18, 1870, p. 146. 



b Sitz. k. Akad. Wiss. Wien, vol. 88, pt. 1, 1883, p. 363. <l Gaietta Chiinica Italiana, vol. 20, 1890, pp. 611-615. 



