126 report — 1879. 



same terrestrial origin as the basalt itself. Not far from Ovifak, in the 

 Waigatstrasse, Steenstrap found evidence -which supported this theory : 

 in the basalt of Igdlokungoak he hit upon a mass of metalliferous mag- 

 netic pyrites weighing about 28,000 kilog., and again, in the basalt of 

 Aussuk, small grains of native iron. The graphite associated with this 

 iron pointed to the probability that carbonaceous substances had reduced 

 this metal ; moreover, the rock enclosing the native iron contained the 

 silicate of ferric hydrate which has received the name of Hisingerite. 

 With these opposing views so plainly set forth, Dr. L. Smith has gone 

 over the whole question, and comes to the same conclusion as Steenstrup, 

 that the masses of metal are of terrestrial origin. He finds that in the 

 dolerite of Aussuk, as well as that of Ovifak, which it closely resembles, 

 metallic iron is found enclosed in labradorite ; anorthite is likewise 

 found in certain parts of the mass of the rock, and oligoclase also. 



Iron has been obtained from seven localities in Greenland : from 

 Sowallicke, Fiskenas, Niakornak, Gliick's Bay, Jacobstown, Ovifak, and 

 Aussuk. The iron of Sowallicke and Niakornak is found by Dr. L. 

 Smith to contain combined carbon, just as the Ovifak iron does : in fact, 

 he states that all specimens of iron obtained from Greenland are similar 

 in this respect, and differ from meteoric iron, which contains no com- 

 bined carbon ; moreover, these masses all contain cobalt in considerable 

 quantity in relation to nickel. Dr. Smith next refers to the similar 

 geological character of the area where the iron has been found, it being 

 found only in the basalt region, which extends from 69° to 76°, where it 

 disappears under a huge glacier. We shall probably never know how 

 wide the extent is of this volcanic area which stretches far away 

 north ; that, however, which has been seen represents an area equal 

 to one extending from Gibraltar to Brest. We know that the terrestrial 

 rocks which present the closest resemblance to the meteoric rocks belong 

 to the lowest beds of the earth. Some are eruptive rocks of a basic 

 character, consisting of anorthite and augite, like certain lavas from 

 Iceland ; others are olivinous rocks, like lherzolite, to which the meteorites 

 containing magnesia — those, in fact, of the ordinary type — belong. The 

 gangne of olivinous rocks accompanying the platinum of the Urals, and 

 the presence of nickel in the native iron combined with the platinum, 

 have confirmed these relations, which are of interest alike for the geologist 

 and the astronomer. It was expected that among the aluminous and 

 magnesian rocks some might be found in which iron should begin to 

 make its appearance, and this gap has now been filled. In the Greenland 

 beds layers of lignite are found associated with the basalt, and this may 

 have furnished the material which has reduced the iron to the metallic 

 state. 



The Siderolite of Bittersgriin. — Found 1833. ' 



The examination by Dr. Clemens Winkler of the siderolite of Ritters- 

 grun, Saxony, shows it to accord closely in composition with the siderolite 

 of Breitenbach in Bohemia, examined some years since (1871) in the 

 Laboratory of the Mineral Department of the British Museum ; and to 

 strengthen the view expressed at the time that these bodies, as well as 

 the meteorite of Steinbach im Erzgebirge were probably members of 



1 IVbm Acta der K. Leqp. Carol., Deut. Altad. der Naturforselwr, xl. Nr. 8, 333. 

 Halle, 1878. 



