METEORITES — HENDERSON AND PERRY 



249 



would be found. It so happened that the highest index ratio in the 

 group selected corresponded to the index value of the octahedrite 

 group. 



The manner in which the iron occurs in these stony meteorites 

 must be carried in mind by the reader in order to appreciate the prob- 

 lem presented. The iron is generally localized into small, irregular- 



PERCENT OF METAL IN CHONDHITIC METEORITES 



FiGUBE 2. — A graphic representation of tlie composition and percentage of metal 

 in the stony meteorites listed in table 4. 



shaped inclusions. It is usually located between the silicate minerals 

 and not included within them. How the iron formed and the se- 

 quence of its formation with relationship to the other minerals are 

 important problems awaiting solution. 



The cobalt-nickel to iron ratio shows that in solid iron meteorites 

 a rather continuous series exists. This index ratio ranges from 16.+ 

 in the case of hexahedrites down to 3.+ in the ataxites, and there is 

 little question but that the ataxite ratios could be extended even 

 lower. 



The last column in table 4 gives the percentage of metal present in 

 the specimens, and an examination of the last two columns indicates 

 that some sort of correlation does exist. Just why there should be any 

 relationship between the composition of the iron and its abundance 

 in a meteorite of this type is very difficult to explain. 



The true relationship between the last two columns in table 4 is 

 best seen when these values are plotted. In figure 2 the vertical 

 component corresponds to the index ratio and the horizontal com- 



