﻿390 



Notice of Meteoric Iron from Cambria, N. Y. 





culty even in narrow shreds, and the surface of fracture was 

 hackly, silver white, and strongly marked by crystalline struc- 

 ture. As I had determined to send a part of the mass to the 

 British Museum through my friend, Prof. C. U. Shepard, an 

 attempt was made to cut it in two on a machine for planing iron, 

 but so much difficulty was found in effecting a section in that 

 manner that it was thought best to put it in a turning lathe, in 

 which the section was effected in about six hours. Numerous 

 hard masses of sulphuret of iron (magnetic pyrites) destroyed 

 the mechanics' tools with great rapidity. The surface of section 

 was subsequently ground down and received a very high polish, 

 the masses of yellow and white sulphuret of iron appearing in 

 beautiful contrast with the dark lustre of the metallic iron. No 

 time was lost in developing by means of dilute nitric acid, the 

 crystalline structure of the mass, (the Widmannstattian figures.) 

 It appeared on the first touch of the acid, and was deepened by 

 continued action until the etching had become deep enough to 

 receive ink and prim an impression on paper ; this was trans- 

 ferred by potash to a block of wood and engraved as in the 

 accompanying figure, which is a faithful representation of the 



original. 



The deep black spots represent the nodules of sulphuret of 

 iron surrounded by a white ring of amorphous metallic iron, 

 within which may be seen in some of the spots a ragged outline 



