428 MEMOIRS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, VOL. XIII. 



Regarding the gases in the meteorite we are permitted to quote the following from Dr. Ramsay: 

 "The gases were extracted by heating in vacua. This gas is very curious. There were only 3.52 cc.; none of it 

 dissolved in KOH, Aq. On mixing with oxygen and sparking, there was contraction, and afterwards a large absorption 

 of C0 2 with potash. The residue was very minute, so small indeed that on letting it into a small exhausted tube it was 

 at a phosphorescent stage. But with a jar and spark-gap it was possible to see the argon blues, and without the jar the 

 argon reds were just visible. I think I saw the helium yellow, but it was very feeble. The complete analysis is as 



follows: 



Volume of gas from 6.54 grams of the meteorite 3. 52 cc. 



KOH. No contraction. 



Oxygen added 9. 18 



12.70 

 After sparking 12. 00 



Contraction for H 2 O 0.7 X 0. 46 H 2 



Absorption with KOH , . 8. 83 



CO 2 formed 3.17 3.17 CH 4 



Add... 0.46 



3.63 

 Argon, etc., say 0.02 0.02A,etc. 



3. 65 3. 65 A. etc. 



" Conceivably there may have been a trace of ethane, or of some hydrocarbon richer in carbon, in which case the 

 CO 2 would not have been equal to the CH 4 , but greater in volume. This might account for the small discrepancy 

 between the amount taken, 3.53 cc., and the total, 3.65." 



The question as to whether this meteorite is a portion of the Staunton fall is not settled by the analysis. It differs 

 somewhat from the specimens analyzed by Mallet in 1871, but on the other hand it resembles in most particulars that 

 analyzed by Mallet in 1878. It should be noted that Brezina considers that this latter specimen is not from the same 

 fall as those earlier analyzed. The analysis of the gases would seem to point toward the present meteorite being iden- 

 tical with the Staunton, though it does not decide the question. It is peculiar in containing chiefly methane, but, like 

 the Staunton, contains argon. Staunton is the only meteorite reported in literature, so far as we have been able to 

 find, as containing helium, and in this there was but a trace. In the case of the present meteorite the presence of helium 

 seems probable but not certain. 



As regards the etched surfaces, they do not resemble those of the Staunton. Mr. H. L. Preston has called our 

 attention to the complete absence of the club-shaped kamacite blades, so prominent in Staunton. These are also 

 lacking in one other mass of the Staunton, and it was chiefly from this consideration that Brezina held that one to be a 

 distinct fall. 



Mr. Wirt Tassin of the United States National Museum has had the kindness to compare the photograph of the 

 etched surface with the section of the Staunton iron described by Mallet in 1871, and writes as follows: "It shows 

 quite a difference in structure. The tsenite plates in the museum specimen are smaller, averaging only half the size of 

 those in the photograph. The specimen also shows numerous fine lines of schreibersite, often regularly arranged espe- 

 cially in the plessite, and are occasionally so abundant as to give it (the plessite) a stippled appearance. These are 

 lacking in the photograph, although this may be due to a difference in illumination. Finally, as you have already 

 remarked, there is the complete absence of the bulb- or club-like kamacite blades." 



We propose to call this meteorite Staunton No. 7. The original weight of the meteorite was somewhat more than 

 7 kgs.; its weight prior to the recent cutting was 7.15 kgs., its present weight is 6.04 kgs. 



It is not clear why these authors call this the seventh mass as only five had been previouslv 

 reported. 



Staunton has been considerably distributed. Vienna has 6,001 grams; Budapest, 6,785 

 grams; and Harvard, 4,595 grams. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



1. 1871: MALLET. On three masses of meteoric iron from Augusta County, Virginia. Amer. Journ. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 



2, pp. 10-15. (Analysis, illustrations of first three masses, and etching.) 



2. 1872: MALLET. Examination of the gases occluded in meteoric iron from Augusta County, Virginia. Proc. Roy. 



Soc. London, vol. 20, pp. 365-370. 



3. 1878: MALLET. On a fourth mass of meteoric iron from Augusta County, Virginia. Amer. Joum. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 



15, pp. 337-338. (Analysis by Santos and illustration of fourth mass.) 



4. 1880: BREZINA. Reichenbach'sche Lamellen. Denkschr. Wien. Akad., Bd., 43, pp. 14-15. (Illustration of 



etching.) 



5. 1885: BREZINA. Wiener Sammlung, p. 211. 



6. 1887: KUNZ. A fifth mass of meteoric iron from Augusta County, Virginia. Amer. Journ. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 33, 



pp. 58-59. 



