The Meteoric Irons from Griqualand East, South Africa. 11 



One of the photographs (Plate IV.) shows that this iron also is of 

 a more or less jaw-bone-like shape, with, in this position, a maximum 

 length of 93 cm. In another position the iron presents the appear- 

 ance of a highly arched tortoise with head and neck well extended 

 (Plate III.). The general shape is, however, irregular, owing to the 

 presence of numerous indentations, of varying size and depth, and 

 of projections ranging from rounded knobs to sharply angular points. 

 Hemispherical cavities, due probably to the fusion or the falling out 

 of troilite nodules, are present in considerable number, in one place 

 an actual perforation having thus been formed. From the appearance 



Fig. 1. The Vienna specimen from Kokstad. (| Nat. Size.) 



of the surface it is evident that a good deal of oxidation has taken 

 place, the rusted material having either fallen off or been artificially 

 removed. This supposition is borne out by the fact that the typical 

 finger-like depressions and bowl-like pittings are now represented by 

 mere shallow hollows, while on many places Widmanstatten 

 figures are visible. The latter fact likewise suggests that the iron is 

 easily oxidized. 



The shape of this mass favours the view that it also is to be 

 regarded as a portion of a large ring-shaped iron, and that it and the 

 Vienna piece are fragments of one meteorite. The fact that the 

 Vienna mass (Fig. 1 *j, the shape of which may be compared to that 

 of a compressed ham, is much flatter, and has more even surfaces 

 can hardly be urged as an objection to this view, since the Tucson 

 Ainsa ring (Fig. 2), to which Brezina compared it, would also, on 

 bursting, have yielded pieces of very different shape. Besides, the 

 unlikelihood of such a rare occurrence as the ring form having 



* The wood-block for Fig. 1 has been kindly lent by Dr. Brezina 



