462 



METEORIC IRON. 



MEXICO. 



site. It yields sulphydric acid, when dis- 

 solved in cnlorhydric acid, probably owing to 

 the presence of pyrrhotine. Articles manufac- 

 tured from this iron show after etching a 

 beautifully damasked surface. 



The second one was found on the right shore 

 of the Missouri River, in Nebraska Territory, 

 25 miles west of Fort Pierre, 44 19'N.lat., and 

 100 26' W. of Greenwich, whence it was 

 brought in 1857, and presented to the Academy 

 of St. Louis in 1858. The original mass weigh- 

 ed 35 pounds, and the surface was hardly acted 

 upon by rust. According to an analysis by Dr. 

 H. A. Prout, it contains: iron. 94.288; nickel, 

 7.185 ; magnesium, 0.650 ; 'calcium, 0.350. 

 Sulphur, trace. Total, 102.473 ; but not the 

 least trace of cobalt, chrome, manganese, or 

 any other constituent. 



Two masses of meteoric iron, which for some 

 years past have been known to exist at "West- 

 ernport, near Melbourne, in Australia, have re- 

 cently been described as follows : The largest 

 one weighs from 5 to 6 tons, the other about 1 

 tons. They are buried in the earth, so that 

 only their tops project above the surface. They 

 are covered with a crust, containing cavities 

 similar to those found in other meteoric irons, 

 and have no polarity, except that resulting from 

 the earth's magnetism ; the lower ends of each 

 being strong south poles, and the upper north 

 poles. The longitudinal axis of the large piece, 

 which is about 5 feet long, lies exactly in the 

 magnetic meridian of the locality. It is intended 

 to bring the smaller mass to Melbourne. In 

 the same number of Sill. Journal is an account 

 by Prof. J. Lang Cassels of two meteoric stones 

 which fell Feb. 28th, 1857, near Parnallee, in 

 the extreme south of Hindostan, the smaller of 

 which weighed 37 pounds, and the larger three 

 or four times as much, and both penetrating 

 into the ground about 2% feet. The noise of 

 the fall is reported to have been heard 40 

 miles off. The stone is very remarkable for the 

 amount of nickel it contains nearly!7 per cent. 

 while the iron is only about 3 per cent, and 

 disseminated in very small particles. The sur- 

 face, when filed, shows countless points of 

 metallic reflection, the nickel being almost in a 

 spongy state like silver reduced from its chlo- 

 ride by zinc. 



In the " American Journal of Science" for 

 Marcb.,1860, Prof. J. Lawrence Smith describes 

 two masses of meteoric iron : one discovered 

 in 1860, in Oldbam Co., Ky. ; and the second 

 found near Cooperstown, Robertson Co., Tenn. 

 The first weighed 112 pounds, was 20 inches 

 long, 10| broad, and 6| thick, was elongated 

 and flattened, and had a specific gravity of 

 7.89. The second weighed 37 pounds, was 10 

 inches long, 9 broad, and 5 thick, wedge- 

 shaped, with a specific gravity of 7.85. It 

 contained a nodule of sulphuret of iron, about 

 inch in diameter. Analysis gave 



Iron. Nickel. Cobalt. Copper. Phoopbonw. 



for the first: 91.21 7.81 0.25 traco 0.05-99.32 



" second: 60.59 9.12 0.35 traco 0.04 = 99.10 



MEXICO. The Confederacy, or United States 

 of Mexico, is situated between the parallels 

 of north latitude 16 and 42, and longitude 

 87 and 124 west. It is bounded on the north 

 by the United States, on the east by the United 

 States and the Gulf of Mexico ; on the south 

 by Central America, and west by the Pacific 

 Ocean. The length is nearly 2,000 miles, and 

 the breadth varies from 150 to 1,200 miles. 

 The area, in English square miles, and popula- 

 tion of each State, according to the most recent 

 returns, are as follows : 



The district of Mexico is by far the most 

 densely populated, and Querataro and Puebla 

 are the next. The cities are none of them 

 large, with the exception of Mexico, the capi- 

 tal, which has a population of 185,000 ; Puebla 

 has 70,000, and Guadalajara has 68,000. 



The inhabitants are composed of many dis- 

 tinct races Creoles, Indians, Negroes, Mulat- 

 toes, Zambos, &c. Under the Spanish rule, 

 the policy of keeping up the distinctions of race 

 was adopted, and privileges were granted some, 

 and disabilities laid upon others. Since the in- 

 dependence of the country, all political distinc- 

 tions have been done away with, but the natu- 

 ral ones remain. 1. Creoles, or native whites, 

 Spaniards born in the country ; (European Span- 

 iards were expelled.) 2. Native Indian races, 

 which continue to occupy large portions of the 

 country in spite of the whites. They are nom- 

 inally Catholics, and are quiet and indolent. 

 3. Negroes, freed by a, law abolishing slavery. 

 They are not numerous. 4. Mestizoes, de- 

 scendants of whites and Indians. 5. Mulattoes, 

 mixture of white and negro. C. Zambos, mix- 

 ture of negroes and Indians. The whites are 

 mostly found on the central table-land, where 

 are also most of the Indians. The mixed races 

 occupy the low countries of the coast. 



The trade of the country has consisted most- 

 ly in the export of the metals in exchange for 

 textile fabrics, and other manufactures. It is 

 chiefly carried on by foreigners. 



