of Meteoric Iron 'doliich has yet. been discovered iJi Europe. 103 



buried among the rubbish. The workmen having pointed out 

 the spot, several pieces were dug up, and identified beyond 

 the possibihty of doubt. These pieces were forwarded by 

 Dr. Noeggerath to Bonn, and Dr. Bischof undertook to ana- 

 lyse them. Specimens were also sent to the Royal Mining 

 Department at Berlin, to M. Karsten, of the same place ; to 

 Pi'ofessor Hausmann, in Gottingen ; to Pi'ofessor Von Leon- 

 hard, at Heidelberg ; to Dr. Chladni and M. Bergemann,, 

 in Berlin. Though unable to present an analysis of the ori- 

 ginal mass, it will be interesting to the scientific reader to ob- 

 tain a correct description and analysis of this substance after 

 being smelted as above mentioned. 



Tlie pieces were from six to eighteen inches in diameter, 

 with a thickness of from one-third to two inches of the real 

 metallic mass. The lower side exhibited evident traces of 

 having been cast on the floor of the forge, fine sand and frag- 

 ments of stone and coals adhering to it : the upper surface in 

 most of the pieces was covered with a coat of slag about one 

 inch thick. The colour of the fracture is light steel-gray, ap- 

 proaching to that of white tin, or similar to the appearance 

 which white crude iron fi'equently presents. When polished, 

 the colour is nearer that of steel than of iron. The fracture 

 has a metallic lustre; but on account of the peculiar texture 

 it is not equal, and in some parts is merely glimmering. The 

 fracture is also uneven, of a fine grain, which is looser and 

 less compact than in steel. 



In the mass which we are describing there were no veins. 



In regard to the air-bubbles which appear in the mass, some 

 difference is observable in the different pieces. Some may be 

 called spongy ; and throughout the whole of the metal, larger 

 or smaller, irregular, but generally elongated bubbles are dis- 

 seminated. 



In other pieces, which are on the whole more compact, 

 these bubbles run through the whole mass, almost in the form 

 of tubes; but they appear invariably in rectangles on the 

 larger sides of the pieces ; so that when they are polished on 

 these sides they are covered with roundish pores, which are 

 sections of these tubular bubbles. Pieces of both kinds filed 

 smooth and polished, and then repeatedly treated with nitric 

 acid, showed no traces of latent regularity of textui-e, or of 

 the so-called Widmannst'adt figures, as is observed in all solid 

 masses of meteoric iron when they have not been subjected to 

 a subsequent ciiange like that under consideration. 



In regard to hardness, this mass was exactly c(jual to the 

 gray granular crude iron produced from the brown iron ore 

 which is used in the royal foundry at Sayn, near Neuwied, 



;} E 2 * for 



