Prof. Berzelius om Meteoric Stones. 437 



M. Berzelius has also found that the iron of Pallas dissolved 

 with heat in an acid slightly diluted, it left, after the solution 

 had become strongly saturated with a neutral salt of iron, a 

 skeleton, of the form of the iron, black, veiy light and porous, 

 100 parts of which are composed of 



Iron 57-18 



Nickel 34-00 



Magnesium 4*52 



Tin and copper 3*75 



Carbon '55 



100-00 

 with a slight trace of phosphorus. The presence of magne- 

 sium proves that this metal in combination with iron and 

 nickel is less soluble than iron itself. 



The olivine of Pallashas been examined by Walmsted and 

 by Stromeyer : the first has found that the composition of this 



mineral may be exactly indicated by the formula -jr ^ >- S. 



The latter, who had met with nickel in other olivines, found, 

 contrary to all conjecture, that the olivine of Pallas contains 

 none, although Howard had already stated it to contain about 

 one per cent, of oxide of nickel. 



The results of M. Walmsted have been verified by M. Ber- 

 zelius, which is seen on comparing the analyses of these 

 chemists : 



Walmsted. Berzelius. 



Silica 40-83 40*86 



Magnesia 47*73 47'35 



Protoxide of iron 11*53 11*72 



Protoxide of manganese 0-29 0*43 



Oxide of tin -17 



100-39 100-53 



Two terrestrial olivines, one, that of Boscovich in Bohemia, 

 tlie other, occurring in masses of lava in the department of 

 Puy-de-Dome, have been subsequently examined by M. Ber- 

 zelius, comparatively with the meteoric olivine of Pallas, and 

 have afforded him, like all the meteoric stones previously 

 examined, oxide of tin mixed with oxide of copper in a quan- 

 tity equivalent to about 0-2 per cent, of the whole mass. 



Meteoric Iron of Elbogen. — This meteorite, of the flight of 

 which no account exists, but which appears to have fallen to- 

 wards the end of the fourteenth or at the commencement of 



