An Account of a Meteor. 161 



4. A small portion of the stone was now fused with 

 pure potash, in a silver crucible, and maintained, for 

 some time, in a red heat ;— every thing soluble was then 

 taken up by water—the fluid was filtered, and had a 

 green colour. 



5. Nitric acid was added, a little in excess, and then 

 nitrat of mercury as before, but no precipitate ensued ; 

 these experiments were several times repeated, and with 

 the same success. 



6. Other portions of the fluid resulting from the boil- 

 ing of potash upon the stone, and- from its fusion upon 

 it, and subsequent solution, were now mixed with the 

 nitrat of mercury, without the previous addition of ni- 

 tric acid. A copious yellow precipitate was thrown 

 down-— this was heated to ignition in a platinum cruci- 

 ble— -the oxid of mercury was decomposed, and its ele- 

 ments expelled, and a small portion of a green oxid re- 

 mained in the crucible. 



In several repetitions of the process, this invariably 

 occurred.— I had been led to suppose that this was the 

 oxid of nickel, because the alkaline solution from which 

 it had been obtained, gave a black precipitate with the 

 hidro sulphuret of ammonia. Accordingly, on fusing 

 a portion of this oxid with borax, under the blow-pipe, 

 it produced a glass of a hyacinth red ; the same fact took 

 place with a portion of a substance known to be the oxid 

 of nickel, which was fused with borax for the sake of 

 comparison. 



On fusing a portion of the chromat of lead, or Sibe- 

 rian lead ore, with borax, and afterwards with vitreous 

 phosphoric acid, glasses, of an emerald green colour, 

 were produced. 



Hence it was concluded, that the meteoric stones of 

 Weston do not contain chrome, but that the green oxid 

 obtained was the oxid of nickel. 



