1@ On a new Principle in Meteoric Stones. 
with three parts of caustic potash; he diluted the mass with 
distilled water, which became of a yellow or greenish yellow 
colour on account of the manganese; the latter was precipi- 
tated on being allowed to rest, and the solution then resumed 
its pure yellow colour. This solution, joined with the water _ 
of the washings, and sufficiently diluted in water, which is 
necessary to prevent the precipitation of the silex, is hyper- 
saturated with a slight excess of nitric acid. He poured into 
this solution nitrate of mercury at the mintmum, recently 
prepared ; there was immediately formed an orange red pre- 
cipitate or chromate of mercury, which he allowed to rest 
until the evening of next day. He decanted the liquor, and 
added several fresh waters in order to wash the precipitate, 
and when the latter had become quite tasteless he poured 
the whole into a platina crucible; the water was evaporated, 
the chromate of mercury became dry, and was soon decom- 
posed into a green oxide of chrome, the quantity of which 
amounted to one hundredth of the stone employed. 
As this Verona stone is similar in its physical properties 
to all the other meteoric stones, the author of the memoir 
thought himself bound to examine if the latter contained 
chrome as well as the former. He successively examined 
fragments of- stones which had fallen at Ensisheim, l’Aigle, 
Barbotan near Bourdeaux, and at Apt; and he also found 
chrome in these four stones. . 
It is also remarkable that the Verona stone in which he 
first discovered- this metal contained the least of the whole 
five; the others contained one hundredth part, while that 
only contained half that quantity of chrome. 
M. Vauquelin has made a very favourable report of the 
above memoir. According to its author, M. Laugier, the 
following conclusions may be drawn: 
1. That the five meteoric stones which fell at Verona, 
Barbotan, Ensisheim, |’Aigle, and Apt, contain the metal 
called chrome in the proportion of about one hundredth part, 
exclusive of the other principles already ascertained by other 
chemists. 
2. That it is very probable that all the meteoric stones. 
contain: 
