A NEW FIND OF METEORIC STONES NEAR PLAINVIEW, 

 HALE COUNTY, TEXAS. 



By George P. Merrill. 



Head Curator, Department of Geology, United States National Museum. 



The stones described below were forwarded to the Museum by 

 Mr. Harl Rightmire, who reports that they were found some 5 miles 

 southwest of Plainview, in Hale County, Texas. Nothing is known 

 regarding the fall, and as the various individuals show unmistakable 

 evidences of having lain a long time in the soil, speculation is useless. 



Three fau-ly complete individuals and a fragment were forwarded, 

 weighing respectively 870 (fragment), 1320, 1,915, and 3,450 grams. 

 Small fragments broken from two of the individuals are estimated 

 to have weighed about 50 grams, bringing the total weight up to 7,605 

 grams. Inasmuch as the largest individual is plainly a spawl from a 

 still larger mass, such figures are of little value excepting to the dealer 

 and collector. Two of the more complete individuals, the first and 

 third in size, are shown on plate 34, the larger being about 17 by 

 16| by 7^ cm. in cUamotor. All are well encrusted, though discolored 

 by oxidation. (See Addendum, p. 421.) 



The fact that the pieces are obviously fragments from a large mass, 

 and that Hale County abuts chrectly on Crosby County, led at first to 

 the prompt suggestion that they might have belonged to the Estacado 

 fall. A single glance at a thin section is enough, however, to show 

 this to be incorrect, as the stones are of quite different types. 



The smaller of the Plainview stones are too much oxidized to render 

 exterior markings of much value, but apparently the face of the largest 

 mass shown in figure 2 was the hrustseite, as chstinct radiations may 

 be seen extending outward in all directions from the thumb pittings 

 shown in the upper center (see pi. 34). 



In thin section this meteorite is found to be of a common chondritic 

 type, consisting of chondrules and fragments of chondrules in a finer 

 ground in part crystalline and in part fragmental of the same mate- 



Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. 52-No. 2184. 



419 



