52 MERRILL AND STOKES 



seen to fall and had evidently lain in the soil some time, as the 

 exterior was considerably oxidized and the troilite, which pre- 

 sumably once occupied the pits, was completely eliminated. 

 On cutting and etching the iron gave the surface shown in fig. 

 I of the plate. The small dark points are due to troilite. 

 Sundry cracks in the iron at various points on the etched 

 surface, shown most plainly at the upper right in fig. i, 

 are also filled with troilite. The blotches shown are due to the 

 oxidation of the troilite in process of etching. Mr. Tassin, 

 by whom the etching was done, calls attention to the perfection 

 of the Widmannstatten figures, and particularly to the relief of 

 the taenite bands. 



As shown by this etching, the iron belongs to the octahedral 

 variety, and is of moderately coarse crystallization. Its general 

 appearance is so similar to that of the Hamilton County (Texas) 

 iron described by Howell ^ as to suggest that it may be a part 

 of the same fall. The probability is still more evident when it 

 is considered that the two localities are not over 50 miles apart 

 in a straight line. 



The chemical evidence, as shown by a comparison of Mr. 

 Eakins's analysis of the Hamilton iron with that of Dr. Stokes, 

 is, however, not favorable to this view, though we believe the 

 possible (if not probable) variation in composition in different 

 parts of the same iron has not yet been fully worked out. 



99.422 100.26 



CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. 



The samples submitted were cut from the outer portion of the 

 meteorite, including the oxidized crust; this was carefully re- 

 ' Proc. Rochester Acad. Sci., Vol. I, 1890, pp. 87-89. 



