70 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



It crystallizes in regular hexagons or in rhombic octahedrons ; it 

 converts syrup of violets to a green colour, restores the colour of 

 litnaus reddened by an acid j it is transparent, inodorous, nearly in- 

 sipid, unalterable in the air, very soluble in water, insoluble in 

 alcohol, soluble in acetic acid, with which it forms a crystalliziable 

 salt. — Ibid. • 



METEORITE WHICH FELL NEAR FERRAHA IN 1824. 

 This stone, like that of I'Aigleand most of the same nature, con- 

 tains a great number of small globules of iron, which are ductile 

 and flatten under the pestle ; it differs however in appearance from 

 other meteoric stones in containing small white grains, which are 

 supposed to be a peculiar substance, probably amphigene. — It was 

 impossible to separate them by mechanical means from the other 

 substances which compose the stone. M. Laugier analysed the 

 meteorite with the following results : 



Peroxide of Iron 43 



Silica ^hia 



Magnesia 16' 



Oxide of Chrome 1*50 



Nickel 1-25 



Sulphur r 



l()4-50 

 From this amount there must be deducted 9"2 of oxygen, by 

 which the 30 parts of metallic iron that had been separated from 

 the stone by the magnet, are in the analysis converted into per- 

 oxide ; — this reduces the total to 953. This analysis shows that 

 this stone is composed of the same elements as the greater number 

 of meteorites, but that the sulphur and nickel are in smaller quan- 

 tity than usual. — Ann. de Chim. et de Phys. Feb. 1827. 



COMPOSITION OF IRON SCALES. 



M. Berthier in analysing the above substances, concluded that 

 they are composed of 2 atoms of protoxide of iron, and I atom of 

 peroxide. M, Mosander has examined the scales produced by 

 exposing a bar of iron to a red heat : his results differ from those 

 of M. Berthier ; — the mean of three analyses gave 



External layer. Internal layer. 



Protoxide of Iron 64.-97 Oxygen 14.-79 6421 Oxygen 16 90 



Peroxide of Iron 3465 10-63 34-77 7-56 



Silica 0-38 0*20 1-02 0-S3 



100-00 10000 



M. Mosander remarks, that deducting the silica and the prot- 

 oxide of iron with which it forms a silicate, the oxygen of the 

 protoxide in the external layer is to that of the peroxide : : 4: 3, 

 and in the internal layer : : 2 : 1. — Consequently, the composition 

 of the external layer may be considered as 2 atoms of protoxide 

 and 1 atom of peroxide, and the external layer as 3 atoms of prot- 

 oxide and 1 atom of peroxide. The composition of the first 

 agrees exactly with that given by M. Berthier for the entire scales : 

 this coincidence may be explained by the impurity of the scales, 



which 



