50 RKCOHDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



FJujsical L'Jiaracters: — The j)oi'tion in the Australian Museum 

 collection is represented in Pis. x-xiii ; that in the Teclmologi- 

 ca! Museum, which was kindly lent to us by Mr. R. T. Baker, 

 Cui-ator, differs in no essential particular from the tirst. 

 Externally the stone is covered with a fused black cjust, wliich 

 shows' distinct lines of flow radiating fi'om the })oint marked 

 with a cross in Pis. x.-xi. Tliis was evidently tlie foi-wardly 

 directed surface of the stone durin^' its ttip-ht, or just prior 

 to its reacliing' the o'l'ound. Tlie crust is in two layers, 

 the upper, secondary ci'ust bi-illiant black and of varying 

 thickness ; it is marked by strialions due to flow, and by 

 anastomosing and dendritic I'idges of fused matter. 'Diis 

 outer skin can be peeled off, exposing the second lavei-, tlie 

 primary crust, which is dull black and not detachable from 

 the body of the nieteoi-ite. The portion of the front surface, 

 between A and B (PI. x.), is not smooth and rounded like the 

 remainder, but shows a number of " thumb marks," or 

 pie/oglyphs, and the deiidiitic ridges ai'e strongly marked in 

 tlie hollows; we may suppose that a fracture took place at 

 this part just before the stone came to rest, so that the rough- 

 nesses had not become smoothed oft' by atmospheric friction before 

 the flight came to an end. The two crusts are of no great 

 thickness on the front, the white felspar showing through in 

 places. The posterior surface of the meteorite (Pis. xii.-xiii.) 

 dift'ers considei'ably in appearance from the front. The u])per 

 shining crust is thicker but less regular, and is pitted with 

 numerous small, crater-like depressions, which represent burst 

 bubbles ; here and there a rounded unbroken bubble may be 

 seen. This appearance doubtless results from the spattering 

 which took place when the fused substance, flowing back- 

 wards, reached the cooler surface in the lee of the moving 

 body. Between C and D (PI. xii.) a considerable area of the 

 underlying primary crust is exposed, Avitli an island of the 

 secondary ci'ust a little above 1). In the top li-t't cornei' of 

 PI. xiii. is seen a sort of" cascade, t'oimt'd by the fused mattei- 

 pouring over the edge. 



A fractured surface is in tlie mitin ash coloured, with white 

 patches of anortliite and black sliining specks of clnninite. The 

 pyroxene is light brown in coloui- ; before the blowpipe it is 

 practically infusible, but becomes distinctly magnetic, there- 

 fore, it is pj'obably hypersthene bordering on bron/ite. ^fetallic 

 specks are Few and inconspicuous. The texture is nu'<liuin 

 giained. 



