﻿NOTES 
  ON 
  THE 
  METEORIC 
  STONE 
  OF 
  COLBY, 
  WIS- 
  

   CONSIN 
  

  

  By 
  George 
  P. 
  Merrill 
  

   Head 
  Curator 
  of 
  Geology, 
  United 
  States 
  National 
  Museum 
  

  

  The 
  stone 
  described 
  below 
  was 
  made 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  a 
  preliminary 
  

   description 
  2 
  shortly 
  after 
  its 
  fall 
  by 
  Prof. 
  H. 
  L. 
  Ward, 
  then 
  direc- 
  

   tor 
  of 
  the 
  Public 
  Museum 
  of 
  Milwaukee. 
  Other 
  data 
  than 
  those 
  

   given 
  were 
  subsequently 
  secured 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Ward 
  and 
  an 
  informal 
  

   agreement 
  entered 
  into 
  by 
  which 
  a 
  joint 
  descriptive 
  paper 
  was 
  to 
  be 
  

   prepared 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Ward 
  and 
  the 
  present 
  writer. 
  Ill 
  health 
  and 
  busi- 
  

   ness 
  matters 
  on 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  named 
  prevented 
  the 
  carrying 
  

   out 
  of 
  this 
  agreement 
  and 
  the 
  matter 
  has 
  lain 
  dormant 
  — 
  indeed 
  was 
  

   forgotten 
  — 
  until 
  recently 
  found 
  while 
  clearing 
  up 
  matters 
  relating 
  

   to 
  my 
  recent 
  investigations 
  under 
  a 
  grant 
  from 
  the 
  National 
  Aca- 
  

   demy 
  of 
  Sciences. 
  As 
  in 
  the 
  meantime 
  the 
  stone 
  has 
  been 
  widely 
  

   circulated, 
  it 
  would 
  seem 
  advisable 
  to 
  publish 
  so 
  much 
  of 
  the 
  matter 
  

   as 
  pertains 
  to 
  my 
  own 
  studies, 
  together 
  with 
  that 
  which 
  is 
  essential 
  

   from 
  the 
  first 
  publication 
  of 
  Professor 
  Ward. 
  

  

  The 
  fall 
  took 
  place 
  about 
  6.20 
  in 
  the 
  afternoon, 
  July 
  4, 
  1917, 
  with- 
  

   in 
  the 
  corporate 
  limits 
  of 
  Colby, 
  Clark 
  County, 
  Wis. 
  According 
  to 
  

   Professor 
  Ward's 
  original 
  paper 
  

  

  two 
  pieces 
  fell, 
  the 
  smaller 
  about 
  one 
  half 
  mile 
  NNE, 
  from 
  the 
  other. 
  The 
  

   larger 
  stone 
  (said 
  to 
  weigh 
  150 
  pounds) 
  fell 
  in 
  a 
  pasture, 
  striking 
  a 
  granite 
  

   rock, 
  at 
  least 
  2 
  inches 
  in 
  thickness, 
  lying 
  upon 
  or 
  near 
  the 
  surface, 
  breaking 
  

   this 
  rock 
  into 
  many 
  fragments 
  and 
  itself 
  breaking 
  into 
  27 
  or 
  more 
  pieces. 
  The 
  

   larger 
  mass, 
  weighing 
  22% 
  pounds, 
  penetrated 
  the 
  stiff 
  Colby 
  clay 
  to 
  a 
  depth 
  

   of 
  5 
  feet. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  smaller 
  pieces 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  distributed 
  themselves 
  

   in 
  the 
  soil 
  to 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  about 
  4 
  feet. 
  

  

  The 
  smaller 
  stone 
  fell 
  in 
  a 
  cultivated 
  field 
  without 
  breaking 
  and 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  

   have 
  penetrated 
  the 
  soil 
  about 
  2 
  feet. 
  This 
  stone 
  is 
  variously 
  described 
  as 
  

   about 
  10 
  by 
  14 
  by 
  3 
  or 
  4 
  inches, 
  17 
  or 
  IS 
  inches 
  by 
  9 
  by 
  9 
  inches 
  and 
  21 
  by 
  11 
  

   by 
  11 
  inches 
  at 
  larger 
  end, 
  sloping 
  in 
  two 
  directions 
  to 
  a 
  wedge 
  shape 
  with 
  

   rounded 
  corners. 
  This 
  piece 
  was 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  entirely 
  covered 
  with 
  crust 
  and 
  

   to 
  have 
  weighed 
  from 
  75 
  to 
  85 
  pounds. 
  

  

  The 
  man 
  who 
  extracted 
  it 
  from 
  the 
  earth 
  informs 
  me 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  so 
  cold 
  

   that 
  frost 
  immediately 
  formed 
  on 
  its 
  surface 
  when 
  exposed 
  to 
  the 
  air. 
  

  

  1 
  Science, 
  vol. 
  46, 
  Sept. 
  14, 
  1917. 
  

  

  No. 
  2574.— 
  Proceedings 
  U. 
  S. 
  National 
  Museum, 
  Vol. 
  67, 
  Art. 
  2. 
  

  

  22245—25 
  1 
  

  

  