152 ^n Account of a Meteor. 



derate lamp heat, in strong nitric acid, in a capsule of- 

 porcelain. Nitrous gas was disengaged with the usual 

 red fumes, and, a light whitish matter appeared, dispers- 

 ed through the solution, resembling gelatinous silex. 



2. — The clear fluid was decanted from the insoluble 

 residuum, all of which, except a small portion of the 

 white floculent matter, had subsided ; to separate this, 

 the fluid was filtered, and exhibited a decidedly greenish 

 color. 



3, — The solid residuum was heated over an Argand's 

 lamp, till it was quite dry, and then triturated for an hour, 

 in mortars of porphyry and jasper. As the malleable 

 iron had now been removed by the acid, the residuum 

 was easily reduced to a fine powder, which had a brick 

 red color, and was digested again, for an hour, with a 

 mixture of nitric and muriatic acids, somewhat diluted, 

 and then boiled for some time in the siuiie fluid. This 

 was decanted and filtered, and the residuum was washed 

 with water till it came oft' tasteless ; these washings were 

 all filtered and added to the two solutions Nos. 2 and 3. 

 The entire fluid had now a light yellow color, owing to 

 the nitro muriatic acid present in excess. 



4. — The solid residuum, together with the solid mat- 

 ter arrested by the filters, being ignited in a platinum 

 crucible, became nearly white, and weighed 51,5 grains. 

 It was fused with potash in a silver crucible, and the 

 crucible, with its contents, was immersed in water con- 

 tained in a silver bason ; the resulting fluid was decom- 

 posed by muriatic acid and evaporation, and, the precip- 

 itate, after ignition in a platinum crucible, was white. 

 There could now be no hesitation in pronouncing it to 

 be silex, and the conclusion seemed sufiaciently estab- 

 lished, that more than half the stone consisted of this 

 earth.* 



5. — The entire solution was next examined, to dis- 

 cover what was the soluble part of the stone. 



After the supe:^fluous acid was saturated by ammonia, 

 a very voluminous red precipitate appeared, which was 



* Were it not for the infant state of chemistry in this country, it 

 would be unnecessary to remark, that all the most important tests 

 and re-agents employed in these experiments, were absolutely pure ; 

 for, very few of them can be obtained iiure from the shops ; the sil- 

 ver vessels were also perfectly pure, as were those of platinum. 



