130 



METEORITE. 



Meteorite, parts, and filled with brilliant metallic points, exactly 

 > "" > "Y"*' cf the same aspect as those of other stones of the like 

 kind. Of the two specimens which M. Biot presented 

 to Patrin, one was less compact, and of a lighter grey 

 than the other, and exhibited, besides., small patches of a 

 rust colour. When immersed in water, it gave a hiss- 

 ing sound like the humming of a fly when held by one 

 wing. As it began to dry, it was observed to be mark- 

 ed by curvilinear and parallel layers. The more com- 

 pact specimen, when moistened, presented no such ap- 

 pearances, but assumed the aspect of a grey porphyry, 

 with a base of trap, mottled with small white spots, and 

 speckled with metallic points. 



Vauquelin's analysis of these stones yielded 



Silica 53 



Lime 1 



Magnesia 9 



Oxyd of iron .... 36 



Nickel 3 



Sulphur 2 



104 



The addition of four per cent, may be attributed to the 

 oxidation of the metals produced by the analysis. The- 

 nard reports, 



Silica .46 



Magnesia 10 



Oxyd of iron .... 45 



Nickel 2 



Sulphur 5 



108 



M. Laugier moreover detected a small proportion of 

 chrome. M. Lambotin and others collected specimens 

 of this extraordinary shower of stones, and distributed 

 them among the curious. We have seen two fine sam- 

 ples, one of them nearly entire, in Mr. Ferguson's col- 

 lection, which we have already repeatedly quoted. 



Previously to the memorable explosion above recit- 

 ed, no meteorites had been found in the hands of the 

 inhabitants of this district of country, nor in the mine- 

 ralogical collections of the department, nor had the 

 slightest intimation of them occurred in the geological 

 documents of the environs of L'Aigle. W.e may also 

 note, that the forges and mines of the district in ques- 

 tion produce nothing similar in the form of dross or ore ; 

 that the soil exhibits no traces of volcanos ; and that 

 immediately consequent on the appearance of the me- 

 teor, a determined space of ground was strewed with 

 stones of a peculiar character, and accompanied with 

 circumstances which could not formerly have escaped 

 observation. Again, nearly all the inhabitaife of 20 ham- 

 lets, dispersed over the circumscribed space declare, that 

 they were eye-witnesses of a terrible fall of stones pro- 

 jected from the meteor. The young, the old, and those in 

 the prime of life, individuals of both sexes, simple pea- 

 sants dwelling at a distance from one another, sagacious 

 and rational workmen, respectable ecclesiastics, young 

 soldiers devoid of fear, persons, in short, of various man- 

 ners, professions, and opinions, and united by no com- 

 mon ties, all concur in attesting a fact, which contri- 

 buted neither directly nor indirectly to promote their 

 own interest ; and they all assign the manifestation of 

 this fact to the same day and the same hour. They 

 moreover point to obvious and existing consequences of 

 the fall of jtony masses ; and they aver, in terms inca- 

 pable of ambiguity or misconstruction, that they really 

 *aw these masses roll down on roofs, break branches of 

 trees, rebound from the pavement, and produce smoke 

 when they lighted on the soil. These assertions, and 



their corroborative indications, refer to a portion of ter-' Meleorit 

 ritory which has been accurately defined, and beyond V ^"Y"^ 

 whose precincts not a single corresponding mass has 

 been found, nor a single individual who alleges that he 

 saw a stone fall. Such incontrovertible evidence, then, 

 will preclude the necessity of dilating on cases of infe- 

 rior notoriety, and to which we are induced to advert, 

 principally for the purpose of completing our chrono- 

 logical catalogue, and deducing the known series of an 

 occurrence, the solution of which is still somewhat 

 problematical. 



July 4, 1803. A ball of fire struck the White Bull KastNor 

 Inn, at East Norton, by which the chimney was thrown ton. 

 down, the roof partly torn off, the windows shattered to 

 atoms, and the dairy, pantry, c. converted into a heap 

 of ruins. It appeared like a luminous ball of consider- 

 able magnitude, and, on coming in contact with the 

 house, exploded with a great noise and a very oppres- 

 sive sulphureous smell. Some fragments of it were 

 found near the spot, and were subjected to chemical 

 analysis by a gentleman in the neighbourhood, who 

 found them to consist of one-half siliceous clay, thirty- 

 five parts of oxidated iron, twelve of magnesia, and a 

 small portion of nickel, with some sulphur. The sur- 

 face was dark and varnished, as if in a state of fusion, 

 and bearing numerous globules of a whitish metal, con- 

 taining sulphur and nickel. From some indentures on 

 the surface, it appeared probable that the ball was soft 

 when it descended. Where the fragments fell, the her- 

 bage was burnt up. The meteor's motion in the air 

 was very rapid, and apparently parallel to the horizon. 

 Liter. Journal. 



October 5, 1803. Stones fell near Avignon. Bill. Avignon. 

 Britan. 



December 13, 1803. The inhabitants of the village of st. Nich< 

 St. Nicholas, in Bavaria, were alarmed between eleven las. 

 and twelve o'clock, noon, by a noise which resembled the 

 report of several cannons. A peasant, who went out of 

 his house to see what was the matter, observed the sky 

 to become dark and gloomy, heard a singular hissing in 

 the air, and perceived something fall on a barn with a 

 loud noise. On entering the barn, he found a stone 

 which had broken the ratters by its fall, was still warm, 

 smelled of sulphur, and weighed three pounds and a 

 quarter. It was covered by a thin, blackish, and ap- 

 parently bituminous incrustation. Its substance was of 

 an ash-grey colour, earthy, and resembling hardened 

 clay, but without odour. It was found to contain 

 small shining particles of native iron, small bright 

 grains of martial pyrites, which yielded a black pow- 

 der when pounded, hard, and very bright flattened 

 masses, of a black and dark-brown hue, some minute 

 grains of a cubical form, and small yellowish transpa- 

 rent laminae, with glass glance, having the appear- 

 ance, but not the hardness of quartz. Yellowish, 

 white, and metallic points, probably native nickel, 

 were discovered by the microscope. The chemical 

 analysis of 10,000 grains of this specimen, gave, 

 Iron, in the metallic state, . 1800 

 Brown oxyd of do. . . 2540 

 Regulus of nickel, . . 1350 

 Magnesia .... 3250 

 Silex, . 1000 



Supposed sulphur, . . 60 



10,000 

 Journal de Physique, Glib. An. Voighl's Mag. 



April 5, 1804. Three men at work in a field at Fossil, n 

 Possil, about three miles north from Glasgow, were Glasgow 

 alarmed by a singular noise, which seemed to proceed 



