Metcoiic Stones. 99 



Iron, 



IXickel, 



Cobalt, 



A^ram. 



Knp. 



89.784 



85.608 



8.886 



12.275 



0.667 



0.887 



Lenarto. 



90.883 



8,450 



0.665 trace of copper 



99,837 98.770 "99.998 



Wherle has sought the constant proportions in the metals ; this 

 inquiry I regard as fruitless. 



But before I conclude this subject, perhaps already sufficiently 

 long for my report^ I must subjoin one result njore of my exami- 

 nation. The meteoric stone from Allais falls to pieces in water, 

 to an earth, which smells of clay and hay and contains carbon in 

 an unknown union. ■ This shows that in the region of the me- 

 teoric stones, minerals fall to pieces to a clay-like mixture as on 

 the earth. Now arose the inquiry, whether this carboniferous 

 earth from the surface of another planetary body contains the or- 

 ganized products, whether indeed organized bodies are thus dis- 

 covered there, more or less analogous with those of the earth. 

 It is easy to conceive with what interest the answer would be 

 sought. It was not in the affirmativCj but to decide in the neg- 

 ative would be to conclude more about it than we are author- 

 ized to do. The earth was found to be olivine, containing ferro- 

 sulphate of nickel and of tin. The magnet took up the compound 

 oxide of iron in black grains, along with which the microscope 

 detected flitters of metallic iron. Water brought out sulphate of 

 magnesia with small quantities of sulphate of nickel ; but nothing 

 organized, as none of the alkalies could be extracted. In a dry 

 distillation were developed carbonic acid gas and water, together 

 with a black gray sublimate, but no burnt oil, no carburetted hy- 

 drogen ; in a word, the carboniferous substance was not of the 

 same nature as the soil on this earth. There were besides a car- 

 bonate and black soot. The sublimate heated in oxygen gave no 

 trace of carbonic acid or of water, and changed to a white, uncrys- 

 tallized, volatile body, soluble in water, which did not become acid 



nn\ nrp.rinitntpd bv nitrate of silvxr. What 



as 



this body is I did not know ; it remains unknown to me. Is it 

 indeed an elementary body not originally pertaining to our planet ? 

 To answer this question in the affirmative would be too hasty. 



