158 An Account of a Meteor.. 



part of the stone dissolves rapidly in the strong' acids ; 

 the muriatic and the sulphuric, diluted^ give abundance 

 of hidrogen gas, partially sulphuretted, and, nitric acid 

 gives copious fumes of nitrous gas. In the same masses 

 are found malleable iron — pyrites — and matter in an 

 intermediate .condition, intimately blended jand adhering 

 to each other.* 



IV. The irregular black masses.. 



Some of these appear somewhat regular, like crystals 

 of schorl, but most of them are irregular. While exa- 

 mining them, I found in some, appearances of pyrites in 

 a state of decomposition.. This led to a suspicion, that 

 these masses were merely pyrites, which, by the force of 

 heat, had been decomposed more or less completely. 

 Accordingly, on separating a good many portions of 

 these bodies, some were found readily- --others feebly— 

 and others not at all attractable by the magnet. But, the 

 latter, by being heated for a few minutes, with the blovv""- 

 pipc, became decidedly attractable. As a standard of 

 comparison, some golden coloured pyrites from Peru, 

 were heated by the blow-ppe, to expel the sulphur, and 

 were made to pass through all the shades of colour, and 

 degrees of magnetic attractability, corresponding with 

 the various conditions of the black irregular masses. 

 Little doubt could now remain, that the conjecture con- 

 cerning their nature was well founded. The glossy in- 

 terior coating, mentioned in the mineralogical descrip- 

 tion, appeared to be of the same nature, and to approach 

 nearly to tlie state of malleable iron. 



* Itisacuriousfact,that the two famous masses of native iron, found 

 5n Siberia and Peru, (as well as the native iron of Bohemia and Sen- 

 egal,) contain nickel ; no ore of iron contains nickel — the popular 

 tradition in some of the countries mentioned, is, that the iron felt 

 from heaven — the masses are large and heavy, and were found at a 

 distance from any possible source of iron — they are cellular and<;a- 

 vernous, as if some earthy cement had been decomposed and v/ash- 

 ed out by time ; and still, a stony matter, resembling crysolite,^nd 

 extremely like the hardest parts of the meteoric stones, remains ad- 

 hering to the iron. No «uch iron is found in iron mines, and there 

 can now be little doubt that these masses of native iron are really of 

 meteoric origin ; were the lar.ge stone from Weston, in the possessioa 

 of Col. Gibbs, to be exposed to the weather till the earthy cement 

 was worn away, it would resemble the Siberian and Peruvian iroft.. 



