Description of the Meteoric Stone of Concord. 353 



self. But as the remarks in my last communication (p. 266) re- 

 quire some explanation, I here publish my results, and an ac- 

 count of the processes employed. M. Kopp has also shown that 

 the nitric ether (nitrate of oxyd of ethyle of Liebig) is decom- 

 posed in a similar manner by hydrosulphuret of ammonia with 

 the production of ammonia and sulphur-alcohol or mercaptan. 



Montreal, July, 1847. 



Art. XXIX. — Description of a Meteoric Stone which fell in 

 Concord, Neiv Hampshire, in October, 1846; by Prof. B. 



SlLLIMAN, Jr. 



My attention was called to this remarkable body by Mr. Abiel 

 Chandler of Concord, N. H. ; who, in October, 1846, sent me some 

 small fragments of it in a letter, requesting an opinion on its char- 

 acter, and stating the fact that J. S. Noyes, Esq. of that place, 

 was witness to its fall and had retained the meteorite in his pos- 

 session up to that time. The fragments sent by Mr. Chandler 

 so little resembled, in physical character, any meteoric body 

 which I had before seen, that a letter of particular inquiry was 

 addressed to Mr. Noyes through Mr. Chandler, calling for all the 

 circumstances of the fall and asking the privilege of examining 

 the specimen in his possession. I received in reply, a letter from 

 Mr. Noyes, from which I will make some extracts. The letter is 

 jated Concord, New Hampshire, Oct. 19, 1846. After describ- 

 ing the isolated position of his house on a sandy plain, he goes 

 on to say : " Some time in the month of October, 1840, about two 

 hours after sunset on a bright starry evening, I stood in the 

 road, south of my house some six rods, with my arm resting upon 

 the fence, and facing the southwest, gazing at the stars 11 W r h ' ,st 

 looking up almost perpendicularly, I saw a star, or fireball fall a 

 considerable distance and then become extinct. Some little time 

 after, I heard a noise in the air, such as a falling body would 

 make, and immediately after I saw a small body strike upon the 

 top board of the fence, about fifteen feet before me, and glance 

 into the road some six feet, then bounding and rolling along sev- 

 eral feet farther. I immediately commenced a search stooping 

 <Wn and feeling in the grass around where I last saw it. Alter 

 some little search, I picked up the substance in my possession 

 a nd carried it into the house and examined it. Its appearance 

 ^ng different from what I expected, caused me to make > sore by 

 Jisiting the spot early on the following momuig and [ gmng _ it a 

 farther search, the result of which was I found not the least 

 *'>vable substance in the place of its fall. From «" c '™£ 

 stance here narrated, I came to the conclusion that I had obtain- 

 ed the body which fell, and that it had a connection with the star 



Second Series., Vol. IV, No. ]2.-Nov., 1847. 45 



