PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROCHESTER ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



Vol. 4. pp. 79-88. PLATES 7-11. DECEMBER 12, 1902. 



DESCRIPTION OF FOUR METEORITES, 

 By Henry A. Ward. 



(Read before the Academy November lo, 1902.) 



UBRARV 



THE ANDOVER METEORITE. 



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The State of Maine has long had three meteorites to its credit. 

 Nobleboro 1823, Castine 1848, Searsmont 1871. AH are stones, and all 

 fell in the southern half of the State. We now give first public record 

 to a fourth, also from south of the middle parallel of the State, and also 

 an aerolite. We owe the first knowledge of this to Mr. Henry V. Poor, 

 of Brookline, Mass. , the present owner of the mass. This gentleman 

 obtained the specimen from the original owner, on whose farm, adjacent 

 to his summer residence in Andover, Oxford Co., Maine, it fell. Mr. 

 Poor, with great liberality, placed it at my disposition for examination 

 and description. I further received a letter from Mr. Lincoln Dresser, 

 of Andover, who tells the whole story of its fall. Mr. Dresser says, 

 " The meteor that fell near my house on the morning of Aug. 5th, 

 1898, was witnessed by me, and I was within 25 feet of it when it came 

 down. It came from the north west at an angle of 75 degrees, and 

 in all probability came from the constellation of Perseus. (!) It was 

 accompanied by a loud noise resembling a buzz saw, and had a following 

 of smoke. It was in intense heat when it struck a stone in the wall, 

 grazing the stone. In its fall it passed down through the branches of 

 an elm tree, cutting many of them of? as clearly as if done by a sharp 

 knife. I supposed at the time it was a gaseous ball of fire, and 

 thought it exploded, but after examination I found where it imbedded 

 itself in the earth to the depth of 2^ feet. I secured, by digging, a 

 large piece weighing j}4 lbs., and two or three small ones which were 

 broken by its striking the rock fence. The large piece was irregular 

 in shape and had the appearance of having exploded in the air, as 

 a large piece was lost from one side before it went into the ground. 



8, Proc. Roch. Acad. Sci., \'ov. 4. December 13, 1902. 



179) 



