146 Dr. Jackson on the Alabama Meteoric Iron. 



rosion. Drops of a grass green liquid, from the size of a pin's head 

 to that of a pea, are constantly forming upon it, and run down 

 upon the shelf of the cabinet, leaving a thin shell of the peroxide 

 of iron in the place of the drops. With the utmost care, and by 

 layers of varnish, I have not been able to retain its surface bright 

 longer than a few days. 



The natural exterior portion of the mass does not give out any 

 drops of the chlorohydrates, for the chlorine has long since been 

 exhausted therefrom ; but its recently cut surface, which is at 

 first apparently as sound and brilliant as pure malleable iron, 

 gives out minute drops, and etches itself so as to show a crystal- 

 line structure, after a few hours' exposure to the air. It would 

 be difficult to persuade any chemist that chlorine could penetrate 

 through a crust of compact malleable iron, and reach the centre of 

 a solid mass of the metal, and there combine intimately with the 

 iron and nickel, forming with them a uniform alloy, if I may so 

 call it ; for the chlorine is combined with the metals in a dry state, 

 and is only rendered apparent by its combination with the hydro- 

 gen of a moist atmosphere, while the metal is at the same time 

 oxidated. 



I have analyzed this liquid exudation, and obtained the fol- 

 lowing results. 



On the clear green liquid washed from the specimen by water : 



Chlorohydric acid, .... 0-8216 

 Oxide of nickel, .... 0-6000 



Protoxide of iron, .... 1-7000 



31316 

 besides the water of solution. 



N. B. No muriatic acid has ever been applied to this mass of 

 meteoric iron, and the drops here described came from a recently 

 cut surface. 



11-7 grains of the exuded green drops, with the thin crusts of 

 peroxide of iron scraped from the specimen, were dissolved in 

 pure nitric acid and distilled water, and the chlorine was separa- 

 ted by a solution of nitrate of silver, as a chloride of silver, and 

 this was dried, fused and weighed, and the quantity of chlorine 

 calculated therefrom. The excess of silver being removed from 

 the solution which remained, by chlorohydric acid, the peroxide 

 of iron was precipitated after adding a large proportion of chloro- 



