482 MEMOIRS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, VOL. XIII. 



the stone is mainly a dark ash, or more properly a leaden color. It is interspersed with distinct masses from the size of 

 a pin's head to the diameter of 1 or 2 inches, which are almost white, resembling in many instances the crystals of feld- 

 spar in some varieties of granite and in that species of porphyry known by the name of verd antique.. 



The texture of the stone is granular and coarse, resembling some pieces of gritstone. It can not be broken by the 

 fingers but gives a rough and irregular fracture with the hammer. 



On inspecting the mass four distinct kinds of matter may be perceived by the eye. 



1. The stone is thickly interspersed with black globular masses, most of them spherical but some are oblong and 

 irregular. The largest are of the size of a pigeon shot but generally they are much smaller. They can be detached 

 with any pointed iron instrument and leave a concavity in the stone. They are not attractable by the magnet and 

 can be broken with the hammer. 



2. Masses of yellow pyrites may be observed. Some of them are of a brilliant golden color and are readily dis- 

 tinguished with the eye. 



3. The whole stone is thickly interspersed with metallic points, many of them evident to the eye, and they 

 appear numerous and distinct with a lens. Their color is whitish and was mistaken by the discoverers of the stone for 

 silver. They appear to be mainly malleable iron alloyed with nickel. 



4. The lead-colored mass which cements these things together has been described already and constitutes by far 

 the greater part of the stone. After being wet and exposed to the air the stone becomes covered with numerous reddish 

 spots, which do not appear in a fresh fracture and arise manifestly from the rusting of the iron. 



Finally, the stone has been analyzed in the laboratory of this college according to the excellent instructions of 

 Howard, Vauquelin, and Fourcroy. The analysis was hasty and intended only for the purpose of general information. 

 The exact proportions and the steps of the analysis are reserved for more leisure, and may be given to the philosophical 

 world through another medium. It is sufficient for the general reader to be informed that the stone appears to consist 

 of the following ingredients: Silex, iron, magnesia, nickel, and sulphur. 



The two first constitute by far the greater part of the stone; the third is in considerable proportion, but much less 

 than the others; the fourth is probably still less, and the sulphur exists in a small but indeterminate quantity. 



Most of the iron is in a perfectly metallic state; the whole stone attracts the magnet, and this instrument takes up a 

 large portion of it when pulverized. Portions of metallic iron may be separated, so large that they can be readily 

 extended under the hammer. Some of the iron is in combination with sulphur in the pyrites and probably most of the 

 iron is alloyed by nickel. 



Quantitative analysis by Silliman gave the following results: 



Si0 3 Fe 2 O 3 MgO NiO S CaO A1 2 3 Cr 2 O, MgO 



51.5 38.0 13.0 1.5 1.0 =105. 



Warden 2 gave the following description and analysis: 



This meteoric stone is surrounded with a thin, black, wrinkled crust. It is composed for the most part of a granular, 

 readily breakable substance, of an earthy appearance and ash-gray color, which in some places inclines to a grayish 

 white. The particles which have the latter color are rounded and, as it were, kneaded into the rest of the mass so that 

 they form round or oval specks in the gray mass. The sharp corners scratch glass. The specific gravity is not far 

 from 3.3. 



Upon the fractured surface the stone shows: (1) Individual grains, which may be readily removed from the cells 

 in which they are embedded, which resemble the mass of the stone, except that it is more compact and of a more uniform 

 fracture; in a bright light traces of a laminated texture may be observed; (2) grains of iron which become white by 

 polishing, flatten out under the hammer, and attract the magnetic needle very noticeably; (3) grains of oxidized iron 

 of a rusty color; (4) extremely small metallic particles of a silver- white color, which I took for iron particles, since the 

 native iron of Kamsdorf and the pseudovolcanic is silver white in some places. I obtained no traces of iron sulphide 

 although the analysis indicates its presence. 



All portions of the stone are attracted by the magnet but no polarity is apparent. The iron is plainly visible in 

 some places and is so interspersed throughout the rest of the mass, in which it is not visible, that the smallest par- 

 ticles, into which it can be divided follow the magnet. I observed this peculiarity even in the above-mentioned 

 particles. From this meteoric mass have been obtained stones weighing 6, 8, 36, and even 100 pounds. 



The analysis yielded the following results: 



Silica 41 



Sulphur 2f 



Chromic acid 2J 



Aluminum 1 



Lime 3 



Magnesia 16 



Oxide of iron 30 



Oxide of manganese 1 J 



Loss.... 3 



100 



