F. A. Genth on a Meteorite from New Mezico. 239 
_ The texture of these tubes is compact, their color brownish 
black with a yellowish brown translucency in thin layers. Anal- 
ysis shows them to consist, like the coprolites, principally of phos- 
phate of lime. One hundred parts gave, 
Phosphate of lime, —- - - - 67:53 
Carbonate of lime, = - - - - 4°35 
Magnesia, - - - - - 1-65 
Protoxyd of iron, - - - : 2-95 
Insoluble silicious sand, - - - 21:10 
Volatile, animal matter, - - - 2:15 
99°73 
The microscopic examination of a section, shows that the walls 
of the tube are homogeneous, unlike the coprolites, and that the 
Silicious sand in the analysis, came from the sandstone which in- 
crusted the rough interior of the fossil. The phosphate is finely 
granular and retains no vestige of organic structure. ‘The chem- 
ical composition and the remarkable shape of the specimens how- 
ever, leave little doubt of their osseous nature, unless we suppose 
them to be the remains of some hitherto unknown invertebrate 
animal, whose skeleton, like those of Lingula, Orbicula and Co- 
nularia, consisted of phosphate of lime, a composition hitherto 
Supposed to be peculiar to vertebrate skeletons. 
Montreal, Jan. 5th, 1854. 
Arr. XXV.—On a new Meteorite from New Mezico; by 
Dr. F. A. Genta, of Philadelphia. 
T am indebted to Prof. Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithso- 
nian Institution, for a small piece of an interesting meteorite from 
Yew Mexico. It was labelled ‘ Native Iron,” and is said to oc- 
Curthere in large quantities. Fortunately it was just sufficient 
or an examination, the results of which I here give. There is 
no doubt that the mineral is of meteoric and not of telluric origin. 
_It is very crystalline and shows a distinct octahedral cleavage. 
Its color is iron-gray, its lustre metallic. Quite ductile. Sp. gr. 
(at_18° Cels.) = 8-130. : 
issolves readily in diluted nitric acid, leaving a small quantity 
of insoluble residue—which, however, was also slowly dissolved 
¥ Strong nitric acid or aqua regia, but still more easily by fusion 
With bisulphate of potash. 
@ methods used for its analysis were the following : In 
analysis I, the meteorite was dissolved in strong nitric acid; 
nickel and cobalt were separated from iron by carbonate of baryta ; 
Nickel and cobalt were separated by hydrocyanic acid, potash and 
yd of mercury. 
