452 Chronicles of Science. [July, 



his analyses of Welsh gold,* we need only here quote the Enghsh, 

 Irish, and Scotch analyses : — 



On examining these analyses, one cannot fail to remark the large 

 amount of silver alloyed with the Sutherlandshire gold as compared 

 with the proportion present in gold from other parts of the British 

 Isles. Any remarks on the occurrence and distribution of our 

 native gold are rendered unnecessary by Mr. Eobert Hunt's excel- 

 lent paper on the subject pubhshed in a former volume of this 

 Journal.! 



A Devonshire mineral, used at one time as an u'on-ore, has been 

 found by Mr. Forbes to have the composition of Bahingtonite — a 

 rare species, found chiefly at Arendal, in Norway. Our British 

 Bahingtonite presents a radiated fibrous structure, a blackish- green 

 colour, and a composition represented by the formula : — 



6CaO . SiO^ + SFeO . Si 0^ + Fe^ O3 . 3SiO,. 



On more than one occasion it has been our duty to call attention 

 to Yom Rath's discovery of a new form of silica called Tridymite. 

 Professor Maskelyne has lately found this interesting species, or a 

 very closely-allied mineral, in the meteorite of Breitenbach, in Bohe- 

 mia. § The crystals, although imperfect, are apparently hexagonal 

 in form, whilst their composition shows them to consist of almost 

 pure silica. From these characters alone, the mineral might perliaps 

 be mistaken for quartz, but as its specific gravity is not above 2 • 245, 

 there can be but little doubt that we are here dealing with a species 

 closely akin to tridymite, occurring under conditions altogether 

 novel. The crystals are found in the hollows of the meteoric iron, 

 where they are accompanied by pale-green prismatic crystals having 

 a composition nearly agreeing with that of enstatite. 



Two or three new American meteorites have been described by 

 Professor C. U. Shepard.|| One of these is a meteoric iron, from 

 Auburn, Macon Co., Alabama. Its chief peculiarity consists in its 

 fissured structure, which gives it an appearance — to use the Pro- 



* ' Quart. Joiirn. Science,' v., p. 101. 



t With scsquioxide of iron in the Cornish specimen. 



X Vol. ii., p. GoO. 



tj ' Troc. Royal Society,' xvii., p. 370; 'Chom. News,' April 10, 1SG9. 



11 Sillimun's 'American Journal of Science,' xlvii., p. 23U. 



