OF A METEORIC STONE. 34:3 



VI. The globular Bodies. 



These appear to be merely portions of the stone, embracing 

 probably all its principles, which have been melted by intense 

 heat, and being surrounded by solid matter, have become more 

 or less globular, like the globules of metal which appear dis- 

 persed through a flux in a crucible, after an operation with a 

 very high degree of heat, upon a very refractory metal. The 

 globular bodies in this stone, although not attractable by the 

 magnet, readily become so by being heated with the blow pipe. 

 Is the iron in them too highly oxidized, to admit of attraction, 

 and, are they partially reduced by ignition on charcoal? Fi- 

 nally, is there not reason to conclude, that these meteoric stones, 

 originally presented nothing distinguishable by the eye, except 

 pyrites and the enveloping earthy matrix, that by the operation 

 of heat, the irregular black masses have been produced, by a 

 partial decomposition of the pyrites, that by a still more intense 

 heat in certain parts, the pyrites have been altogether decom- 

 posed, and malleable iron produced, that the crust is produced 

 by a mere oxigenizement and vitrification, that the difference 

 of colour in the earthy part, is owing to the unequal operation 

 of heat, the pyrites being left, in some places, especially in the 

 white spots, almost wholly undecomposed, and that the globu- 

 lar bodies have been formed by a complete fusion of certain 

 portions, by intense ingition? 



Vale College, January \Mh, 1808. 



POSTSCRIPT. 



February 22, 1808. 



In Nicholson's Journal for October, 1806, (No. 61, p. 147,) 

 is an abstract of a memoir, by A. Saugier, taken from the 58th 

 volume of the Annals of Chemistry, in which the author as- 

 serts the existence of a new principle in meteoric stones, viz. 

 chrome. Before adverting to this subject it will be well to point 

 out another assertion in M. Saugier's memoir, which appears 



y 



