Meteoric Iron oj' Jlquipilco. 47 



" Among the minerals which you will receive witli the pre- 

 sent letter, is a piece of native iron from Jiquipilco, ten leagues 

 north of Toluca. The existence of this iron, of which as yet 

 nothing is known, deserves to be further investigated. For 

 myself, although I have taken great pains respecting it during 

 my journey to Jiquipilco, I have not been so fortunate as to 

 find any of it in its original situation. It is however known, 

 that a rather large quantity was formerly found there in 

 ploughing the fields, and that it was used for various instru- 

 ments and tools. The piece in question was given to me by 

 a North-American of the name of Gould, who had found it 

 on the spot." 



This account therefore confirms generally what you have 

 said respecting the place where this iron is found, in your 

 larger work on Igneous Meteors, (Vienna 1819,) page 338, on 

 the authority of the Gazeta de Mexico. 



I have etched a polished surface of a very close and solid 

 portion of this iron, and obtained very distinct geometrical 

 figures. The lines of structure intersect each other, although 

 in a rather irregular manner, generally in two directions only, 

 pretty nearly in a rectangular figui'e. The indications of cry- 

 stallization are more distinct, but most like that shown on the 

 polished surface of the small piece in the Imperial Cabinet of 

 Natural Curiosities at Vienna, represented in Von Schreiber's 

 Beiirdge?i, (Vienna 1820, in Iblio,) tab. viii. If the mass of 

 iron of Zacatecas should not entirely coincide with that of 

 Jiquipilco, it may be supposed that the fragment at Vienna, 

 taken from a larger one in Klaproth's collection, also comes 

 from Jiquipilco. 



I have seen, since I last saw you, another specimen of that 

 iron, cut from the mass sent by Mr. Stein. It had this ad- 

 vantage over the very solid and close-grained specimen, that 

 its structure was evident without its being etched. One flat 

 surface appears as if it had split in two dii-ections correspond- 

 ing with the veins in the other. There are on this surface 

 some larger angles which likewise indicate veins. One course 

 of veins is more distinct than the other ; a circumstance which 

 is also remarked on the etched surface of the first piece, as 

 the lines in one direction appear less interrupted than those 

 in tlie other. Several parallel clefts run in the direction of 

 this first course of veins in the second piece, which clefts so 

 weaken the mass that it would rerjuire a much smaller power, 

 in proportion, to break the specimen in this direction into se- 

 veral slices, — a character which I have never before noticed in 

 any meteoric iron. 



X. On 



