382 Miscellanies. 



4 Great mass of Meteoric Iron from Louisiana. — The histoty 

 of this iron was given in Vol. viii, at p. 218 of this Journal. The 

 first notice of it was pubhshed in Dr. Bruce's Journal in 1810, and 

 it was there stated that it contained no nickel ; a subsequent exam- 

 ination by Professor Silliman detected that metal, and a more exact 

 analysis by Mr. Charles U. Shepard ascertained the existence of 

 9.67 per cent, of nickel in this very remarkable mass. See this 

 Journal, Vol. xvi, p. 217. It was, for many years, deposited in trust, 

 in the Museum of the L3''ceum of New York, by the late Col. 

 Gibbs who had, early, purchased the specimen. That gentleman's 

 lamented death was mentioned in this Journal Vol. xxv, p. 214. Re- 

 cently, his respected lady, Mrs. Laura Gibes, with the approbation 

 of those concerned, has generously presented this magnificent mass 

 to the Cabinet of mineralogy of Yale College, thus causing it to be 

 associated with the splendid collection, the Gibbs Cabinet, which 

 was amassed by the labor and munificence of him whose name it 

 bears, and to whose memory we trust, it will long continue to do hon- 

 or. In this collection, unrivalled in the United States, and surpas- 

 sed, in few other countries, the Meteoric iron of Louisiana, is without 

 doubt, the most important specimen. 



A more particular notice of it may be given on another occasion. 

 Its, length is three feet four and a half inches, its greatest breadth, 

 two feet four inches, and its greatest height, sixteen inches. Its 

 weight is sixteen hundred and thirty five* pounds, .being more than 

 that of the mass found by Professor Pallas in Siberia, which is now in 

 the Imperial Museum at St. Petesrburgh. 



The Gibbs meteoric iron, is, therefore;, the largest piece in any 

 collection in the world, although there are masses many times larger 

 lying in the wild regions of Mexico aud Peru, and perhaps elsewhere. 



5. Soapstone or Steatite, of Middlefield. — This very useful ma- 

 terial, is found in many places in our primary regions. Middle- 

 field, in Massachusetts, eighteen miles from Northampton, has long 

 been known as afiibrding it in abundance. A new quarry has been 

 recently opened there, by Mr. William H. Butler, from whom, we 

 have received slabs and fragments. The quality is excellent, the 

 substance is principally compact talc, and it is, (as far as we can 



* The weight was reported in Dr. Bruce's Journal, to be over three thousand 

 pounds, which exaggerated statement, has been often repeated, and was proba- 

 bly derived from the adventurers who brought it from the Red River. 



