METEORITES OF NORTH AMERICA. 327 







Brezina, 8 in 1885, gave the following description: 



Tschennak classified this iron aa a brecciated hexahedrite. This can not be, as it shows distinctly areas com- 

 posed of taenite; it can therefore be only an octahedral breccia. I consider it an octahedral iron which belongs to the 

 Seelasgen group and only appears brecciated because of the interweaving and variable breadth of the bands. 



Huntington 7 states that 



An etched surface on a mass of the Nelson County iron, weighing 6,800 grains and measuring 13 inches in its longest 

 dimension, presents perfectly distinct figures near the center of the section, which grow indistinct near the edges and 

 entirely fade out at one end. 



Cohen 8 gave another analysis of the meteorite as follows: 



Some small pieces of Nelson County were obtained from the Vienna Museum for investigation. A nw analysis 

 seemed desirable since the older analysis by Smith seemed to give" too low a content of Ni+Co. 

 The analysis by Manteuffel on 0.9259 grams gave the following: 



Fe Ni Co Cu P 



91.86 7.11 0.65 0.01 0.15 =99.77 



For the copper determination, 5.369 grams were employed. Test for antimony and arsenic with hydrogen sul- 

 phide gave no results, as did also a second test for arsenic made by dissolving 4 grams in nitric acid, and after addition 

 of sulphuric acid testing directly with Marsh's apparatus. Calculating schreibersite and removing it from the analysis, 

 then calculating to 100, one obtains: 



Fe Ni Co Cu 



92.42 6.91 0.66 0.01 =100 (Manteuffel) 

 93.53 6.06 0.41 trace' =100 (Smith) 



This composition indicates an octahedrite poor in taenite, while Smith's analysis corresponds to an iron free from 

 tsenite. 



Meunier, 9 in 1893, made the following further observations: 



This interesting meteoric iron offers some very special characters, the careful study of which serves to notably 

 lessen the number of meteorites which at first seem to resemble it. It is more important here than in certain other 

 cases to etch some specimens intact and to develop the figures by a process comparable to that which gives them on 

 the other types. When the action of the acid is complete, one sees the great bands of kamacite appear, mixed with 

 other substances, among which are specially notable the filaments of taenite and some grains of schreibersite of a silver- 

 white color. An analysis by L. Smith (Mineralogy and Chemistry, p. 317, 1873) indicates for this iron figures very 

 closely approximating those for pure kamacite: 



Fe Ni Co P Cu 



91.12 7.82 0.43 0.08 trace =99.45 



Brezina, 10 in 1895, classed the meteorite as coarsest octahedrite, and stated the structure 

 was unit octahedral. 



The almost complete lack of taenite causes the breadth of the lamellae, even in one and the same lamella, to vary 

 remarkably and the lamellae often have a wavy outline and apparently penetrate one another. Also, weathering 

 shows the octahedral nature of the iron. The octahedral lamellae separate under such a loosening of the structure, 

 and the mass falls to pieces into larger or smaller fragments which usually are sharp pointed at the edges. The kama- 

 cite is fine and compact with the hatchings mostly bent. Troilite is very scarce, in small globules up to the size of 

 mustard seeds. 



Cohen " found that the meteorite took no permanent magnetism. 



The meteorite is distributed, but the main mass (24,409 grams) is at Vienna. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



1. I860: SMITH. Description of three new meteoric irons from Nelson County, Kentucky, Marshall County, Ken- 



tucky, and Madison County, North Carolina. Nelson County, Kentucky, Meteorite. Amer. Journ. Sci., 2d 

 ser., vol. 30, p. 240. (Analysis.) 



2. 1861: SHEPARD. Idem, 2d ser., vol. 31, p. 459. (Says "found 1856.") 



3. 1861: VON REICHENBACH. No. 15, pp. 100 and 128; No. 17, p. 273. 



4. 1869: MEUNIEB. Recherches. Ann. Chim. Phys., 4th ser., vol. 17, pp. 30 and 72. 



5. 1884: MEUNIEB. Meteorites, pp. 48, 94, 98, 109, 110, and 111. 



6. 1885: BREZINA. Wiener Sammlung, pp. 217 and 234. 



7. 1886: HUNTINGTON. Crystalline structure. Amer. Journ. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 32, pp. 285 and 294. 



8. 1891: COHEN. Meteoreisen-Studien II. Ann. K. K. Naturhist. Hofmus. Wien, Bd. 7, pp. 153-154. 



9. 1893: MEUNIER. Revision des fers m^teoriques, pp. 22 and 23-24. 



10. 1895: BREZINA. Wiener Sammlung, pp. 288-289. 



11. 1895: COHEN. Meteoreisen-Studien IV. Ann. K. K. Naturhist. Hofmus. Wien, Bd. 10, pp. 83 and 84. 



