122 



METEORITE. 



Meteorite, at Madrid. Professor Proust, who was allowed to 

 >< "^Y"^' analyse it, on condition of leaving the principal portion 

 untouched for the gratification of the curious, has fa- 

 voured the public with several particulars relative to 

 its texture and aspect. When delivered to him, it 

 weighed six pounds ten ounces. Along with it was a 

 piece of three or four ounces, the only one remaining 

 of those which had been broken from it by the inqui- 

 sitive. It was interspersed with spots of rust, both 

 externally and internally, owing probably to its having 

 been immersed in water, to try the effect of that fluid 

 on its composition. Its shape was an irregular oval, 

 seven or eight inches long, four or five broad, and four 

 in its greatest thickness. One side was flattish, a lit- 

 tle depressed in the muldle, and much rounded on the 

 edges. It appeared to have had the black vitreous crust, 

 common to stones of this kind, though from its fra- 

 gility the greater part had fallen off in passing through 

 many hands, and receiving occasional blows, so that 

 none remained except in the hollow of the base, and a 

 little on the faces of the pyramid. On examining this 

 crust, it was judged to be the effect of heat, powerful, 

 though momentary, because the metallic and sulphu- 

 reous particles immediately beneath the crust, had not 

 had time to change colour, or even to lose their lustre. 

 It had the porousness of an aggregate mass of arena- 

 ceous particles, without any cement, so that the breath 

 would easily pass through a piece held between the 

 teeth ; nor did it give sparks with steel. Its colour 

 was a uniform bluish-grey, like that of a black sub- 

 stance, enlightened by a white one, or like the hue of 

 an earthy compound, tinged by the least oxydation of 

 iron. The rounded oval grains, of which the mass 

 was composed, were very small, the largest being 

 scarcely bigger than hempseed, among which were 

 sprinkled metallic and sulphureous particles, charac- 

 terized by that light tint of kupfernickel, observable in 

 most meteorites. The microscope ascertained that the 

 earthy grains, so far from having been fashioned by 

 the movement of water, were globules, rough with 

 crystalline, or reflecting points, so that they could not 

 be confounded with common sand. A piece of about 

 two inches being exposed to a red heat, in a crucible, 

 for half a quarter of an hour, was much changed ; 

 for the sandy globules became of a darker grey, and 

 the metallic particles, deprived of their lustre, were 

 sensibly oxidized. About two ounces were heated for 

 half an hour, in a forge fire, which converted the stone 

 into a semi- vitreous mass, blackish, slightly porous, and 

 interspersed with globules of iron, which had not 

 time to precipitate, though upwards of 100 grains of 

 regulus were collected at the bottom. The magnetic 

 iron was not uniformly mixed in the mass, as some 

 parts yielded 22, and others only 17 per cent. This 

 iron was combined with nickel, in the proportion of 

 about 3 per cent. ; but no nickel was traceable in any 

 other part of the stone. After .this alloy was separated 

 by the magnet, the remainder was found, by analysis, 

 to contain of 



Iron, sulphureted at a minimum, . 12 

 Black oxyd of iron, ... 5 

 Silex, . 66 



Magnesia . ... 20 



Lime and magnesia in quantities too 

 small for appreciation. 



103 



A fragment kept for twelve hours under water, was 

 taken out, covered with spots of rust, which distin. 



guished the grains of alloy from the sulphureous parti- Meteorite, 

 cles with which they were formerly confounded. N *" "Y"""' 



September 19, 1775. A stone, which is still preserv- 

 ed in the Cabinet of Natural History at Cobourg, fell 

 near Rodach, a village in the principality of that town. Rodach. 

 Gilb. An. 1775, or 1776- Stones fell near Obruteza, Obruteza. 

 in Volhynia, Id. January or February 1776, a great 

 shower of stones fell near Fabbriano, in the territory Fabbriano. 

 of Santanatoglia, the ancient duchy of Camerino. 

 Soldani and Amoretti. 1779- Mr. Bingley relates, in 

 the Gentleman's Magazine, that he has in his posses- 

 sion two pieces of an atmospheric concretion, which 

 actually descended in a loud peal of thunder on a 

 meadow at Pettiswood, in the county of Westmeath, Pett:swood. 

 Ireland. They weigh three ounces and a half, and arc 

 supposed to have formed two-thirds of the whole mass, 

 which in shape resembled a twopenny heart-cake. 

 "At the instant this rude lump descended," says Mr. 

 Bingley, " our little village was enveloped with the 

 fumes of sulphur, which continued about six minutes. 

 To its descent five witnesses are now living, three of 

 whom reside in London. It lighted upon the wooden 

 part of a harness, called a stradle, belonging to a filly 

 drawing manure to a meadow, and broke into three 

 pieces. At the same instant the affrighted beast fell 

 to the earth under her load ; as did the two equally 

 affrighted gassoons (boys,) the drivers, who in good 

 Irish came crying to me with two pieces of the stone, 

 declaring that themselves and the filly were all murder- 

 ed by this thunderbolt; none of whom, however, have 

 received the least injury. The two pieces, when I re- 

 ceived them after the resurrection of the boys, were 

 warm as milk just from the cow ; whence it may natu- 

 rally be concluded that the cake came from a scorch- 

 ing atmosphere, and pretty well accounts for the out- 

 side of it in its formation, and during its stay there, 

 having been tinged to a whitish brown, whereas inter- 

 nally it is of a silver white." April 11, 1780. Stones 

 fell near Beeston, in England. Loyd's Evening Post. Beeston. 

 April 24, 1781. Count Gioeni observed in the third 

 region of Mount Etna, every thing to be wetted with Mount 

 a cretaceous grey rain, which, after evaporation, left Etna, 

 every part covered with it, to the height of two or 

 three lines. All iron work touched by it became 

 rusty. Philos. Trans, vol. Ixxii. 1782. A stone fell 

 near Turin. Tata and Amorelti. February 19, 1785. Turin. 

 Baron Moll, in a German publication, has communi- 

 cated some notices of stones which fell in the princi- 

 pality of Eichstaedt. One of the masses transmitted to Eicbstaedt. 

 Baron Hompesch, had the aspect of a grey ash-colour- 

 ed sandstone, speckled with small grains of both mal- 

 leable and ochreous iron. A brickmaker saw it fall 

 when the ground was covered with snow, and imme- 

 diately consequent on what he termed a loud peal of 

 thunder. On running to lay hold on it, he felt it so 

 hot that he was obliged to let it cool in the snow in 

 which it was immersed. This specimen was about 

 half a foot in diameter, and completely enveloped in a 

 black vitrified incrustation of native iron, ten lines in 

 thickness, which indicated the action of fire. It yield 

 ed to Klaproth, 



Silex . .37 



Magnesia . . 21.5 

 Iron . . 16.5 



Oxyd of do. . 19 



Nickel . 1.5 



Sulphur, a trace. 



96.5 



