NOTES ON THE BATH FURNACE AEROLITE. ig:; 



face of mass Xo. i. two sides of No. 2, and all but one of the 

 sides of No. 3, with the exception of the parts where, as mentioned, 

 pieces have chipped off. These last faces or scars have, indeed, a 

 crust quite covering them, but it is much thinner than the other; and 

 through it appears the texture of the broken surface beneath. These 

 areas of secondary crust attest to a breaking of the stone in the 

 air while it 3'et had great velocity, and while it had still so great 

 distance to fall that there was time for a second crust to form. 



The base of mass No. 3, the largest single surface, has the usual 

 thick crust which characterizes the rear, or Kuckseite, of all well 

 oriented aerolites. It has been protected from the pitting and 

 furrowing effect of the rushing air, while all the results of melting 

 have remained, not being swept away. On the opposite point or 

 prominence of the front or Brustseite there is (as is usual on this 

 form of aerolites) a very thin crust and bare of all pittings. 



This third mass of the Bath Furnace is one of the most com- 

 pletely furrowed and definitely oriented aerolites known to science. 

 We know no stone of American fall which equals it in this respect. 

 The furrowing of the front side is most complete. These furrows 

 radiate from the apex in all directions, covering that surface and 

 streaming back upon and over all the sides . The regularity of their 

 trend is most interesting as showing the steadiness of the mass in 

 the air and the constancy of its axis in an orientation which doubt- 

 less was promptly taken after it entered our atmosphere and was 

 retained throughout its whole flight. It owed this steadiness to 

 the fact that the shape of the mass accorded with the center of grav- 

 ity, or the mass was well centered, and thus it was gripped and held 

 firmly with no shiftings or rotation. We ma}' note here that the aero- 

 lites of a more or less spherical form have the pittings and the orien- 

 tation less marked. It is well known that meteorites, both stone and 

 iron, almost without exception show themselves to be fragments of 

 most irregular shape, torn from larger masses of the same material, 

 but always having their corners more or less rounded. But these 

 same masses primarily were angular in shape and often with sharp 

 thin edges. When these struck our air and met its resistance, they 

 doubtless zvobbled much to right and left before erosion wore them 

 into poise and a steadiness of gait. We have all noticed the 

 ricochetting of shooting stars in the upper heavens. This has been 

 generally attributed to their glancing, due to irregularity and flat- 



