428 



NATURE 



[August 30, 1888 



of Otumpa (province of Tucuman, South America), an iron 

 weighing thirty tons ; of Durango (Mexico), nineteen tons ; 

 and of Cranbourne, Australia (now in the British Museum), 

 which weighs over three tons. 



The Nejed iron, the largest which has been seen to fall, 

 weighs nearly 130 pounds. 



Considering the very considerable number of falls which have 

 taken place, the number of irons which have been seen to fail is 

 remarkably small. They are as follows : — 



Agram, 1 75 1. 



Tennessee, 1835. 



Braunau, 1847. 



Victoria West (South Africa) 1862. 



Nejed, 1863. 



Nidigullam (Madras) 1870. 



Rowton, Shropshire, 1876. 



Mazapil, 1885. 



Cabin Creek, 1886. 

 The following table contains a list of some of the larger 

 meteorites, besides those mentioned above, which have been found 

 from time to time, with the locality of their fall and their weights 

 in grammes (1000 grammes = 2"2 pounds avoirdupois (nearly), 

 and 1,018,181 grammes (nearly) = 1 ton) : — 



Siderites — Weight in grammes. 



Bahia, Brazil 6,350,000 



Charcas, Mexico 780,003 



Tucuman, Argentine Republic, South America 637,000 

 The Butcher Iron, Desert of Bolson de Mapimi, 



Mexico 253,632 



Toluca Valley, Mexico 91,007 



Cocke County (Cosby's Creek), Tennessee, 



U.S.A. ... ... 52,325 



Rancho de la Pila, nine leagues east of Durango, 



Mexico 46,512 



Obernkirchen, near Biickeburg, Germany ... 35>366 



Carthage, Smith County, Tennessee, U.S.A. 24,570 

 Siderolites — 



Imilac, Desert of Alacama, South America ... 227,328 



Estherville, Em '.net County, Iowa, U.S.A. ... 116,487 

 A erolites — ■ 



Wold Cottage, Thwing, Yorkshire 20,111 



Pultusk, Poland 18,007 



Butsura (Qutahar Bazaar), Bengal, India ... 13,071 



Knyahinya, near Nagy Berezna, Hungary ... 13,053 



Dnrala, N. W. of Kurnal, Punjab, India ... 12,588 



Dhurmsala, Kangra, Punjab, India 12,407 



Nellore (Yatoor), Madras, India 11,287 



Classification of Meteorites. 

 Meteorites have been arranged into three classes : first, masses 

 of iron alloyed with nickel, which have been called by 

 Maskelyne, aero-siderites (aer, air, and sideros, iron) or briefly 

 siderites ; secondly, those which are almost wholly composed of 

 stone, and called aerolites {aer, air, and litkos, stone) ; and, 

 thirdly, those which are composed of stone and iron in more or 

 less equal quantities, consisting of a spongy mass of iron inter- 

 laced with stony matter like that of the aerolites, and called 

 siderolites or meso-siderites. 

 M. Daubree's general classification of meteorites is as follows : — 

 ( Not contain- ) 



ing stony \ Holosideres 



matter \ 



Containing 

 metallic iron 



Containing 



iron with 



stony matter 



The iron con- 

 stituting a 

 i matrix which 



encases stony 

 \ grains 



The iron 

 existing in the 

 form of grains 

 among stony 

 matter 



Syssideres 



Sporado- 

 sideres 



Not contain- ) 



i ing metallic > Asideres 



\ iron 1 



This brings us to consider the chemistry of these messengers 

 •from the celestial spaces. J. Norman Lockyek. 



^ {To be continued.) 



THE GLASGOW AND WEST OF SCOTLAND 



TECHNICAL COLLEGE. 

 A T the present time, when so much is being said and done in 

 connection with technical education, and so many new 

 institutions are being founded, it may interest the readers of 

 Nature to learn how some old ones have been reorganized to 

 enable them more adequately to meet the requirements of the 

 times. The Glasgow and West of Scotlnnd Technical College 

 was founded by an Order of the Queen in Council, dated 

 November 26, 1886, according to a scheme framed by the 

 Commissioners appointed under the provisions of the Educational 

 Endowments (Scotland) Act, 1882, whereby Anderson's College, 

 the Young Chair of Technical Chemistry in connection with 

 Anderson's College, the College of Science and Arts, Allan 

 Glen's Institution, and the Atkinson Institution, were placed 

 under the management of one governing body. A cansiderable 

 amount of interest is attached to the histories of these institu- 

 tions, of which a few of the chief dates may be mentioned. 



Anderson's College was founded by John Anderson, M.A., 

 F. R.S., Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University of 

 Glasgow, who, by his will, dated May 7, 1795, bequeathed the 

 whole of his property, with a few trifling exceptions, " to the 

 public for the good of mankind and the improvement of science, 

 in an institution to be denominated ' Anderson's University,' 

 and to be managed by eighty-one trustees." The endowment 

 included a general museum, library, and valuable philosophical 

 apparatus; and the intention of the founder was to provide a 

 complete circle of liberal and scien:ific education suitable for all 

 classes, and adapted to the wants and circumstances of the 

 period, but the design was never fully carried out. The 

 Andersonian Institution or University was incorporated on 

 June 9, 1796, and it has numbered among its Professors some 

 distinguished men. Of these may be named Dr. Garnett, Dr. 

 George Hirkbeck, Dr. Andrew Ure, and Thomas Graham, who 

 afterwards became Master of the Mint. The Medical School 

 attained considerable importance, attracting students from all 

 parts of the country, and sending forth a number of medical 

 practitioners — many of whom have attained to eminence, and a 

 few to great distinction, in their profession. On the foundation 

 of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College, the 

 Medical School of Anderson's College was placed under a 

 separate governing body, and provision is being made for its 

 removal to other buildings. 



In the year 1870, Dr. James Young, of Kelly and Durraj 

 settled in trust the sum of ,£10.500 for the purpose of establish- 

 ing a Chair of Technical Chemistry, to be called "The Young 

 Chair of Technical Chemistry in connection with Anderson's 

 University," and on the organization of the Glasgow and Wefl 

 of Scotland Technical College, Dr. Young's testamentary 

 trustees conveyed to the governors of the College the Young 

 Laboratory Buildings, situated in John Street, Glasgow. Various 

 other endowments were given at different times to Anderson's 

 University. In 1861, Mr. John Freeland, residing at Nice, 

 mortified the sum of .£7500 to secure the delivery, annually or 

 periodically, of " separate courses of popular lectures on the 

 three following subjects, or any one of them, namely (1) 

 Chemistry; (2) Mechanical and Experimental Physics ; and (3) 

 Anatomy and Physiology," and in 1871 he made a further gift of 

 ^"5000 to the University. In 1866, Mr. William Euing, 

 insurance broker in Glasgow, settled in trust the sum of ^3000 

 for the purpose of securing the delivery of courses of popular 

 lectures in Anderson's University upon the history and theory 

 of music, and upon the lives of eminent musicians ; and also 

 upon such branches of acoustics as may be connected with and 

 illustrate the science and practice of music. By his will he 

 bequeathed his whole musical library to the University, along 

 with ^1000 for the purpose of building a fire-proof room for its 

 accommodation, besides the sum of ^"200 to print a catalogue. 

 Mr. Euing also left the University the sum of £6000 for 

 general purposes ; and ^150, the interest of which is to he 

 applied in providing prizes in connection with the Lectureship 

 on Music instituted by him. In 1876, through the liberality of 

 a few friends, a Chair, of A| plied Mechanics, with a suitable 

 endowment, was founded. 



The College of Science and Arts was the direct successor of 

 the Mechanics' In titution, which owed its origin to the popular 

 lectures begun in 1800 by Dr. Birkbeck in Anderson's Uni- 

 versity, and continued by his successor. In 1823 a number of 

 students attending the e mechanics' classes resolved to sever 

 their connection with Anderson's University, and thereafter 



