156 Dr. Walter Flight — History of Meteorites. 



should also be mentioned. It appears not improbable that the basalt 

 of Greenland, which contains more than 20 per cent, of iron oxide, 

 may during eruption have undergone reduction such as he imitated 

 in his laboratory some years since. This theory is the more ad- 

 missible from the fact that in the region under consideration, between 

 Lat. 69° and 72°, numerous large beds of lignite, as well as graphite, 

 occur, especially in the island of Disko, in which Ovifak is situated. 



In a paper on the anomalous magnetic characters of iron sesqui- 

 oxide, prepared from meteoric iron, recently communicated to the 

 French Academy by Dr. Lawrence Smith, he announces that the 

 investigation of this iron, on which he is at present occupied, has 

 convinced him that the Ovifak metallic masses are of terrestrial 

 origin. 



The fact, observed by Nordenskjold and "Wohler, of the evolution 

 of a large amount of gas by Ovifak iron when heated, led these 

 observers to the conclusion that it could never have been exposed to a 

 high temperature. Tschermak, however, points out that this phe- 

 nomenon has only been observed in experiments conducted at ordinary 

 pressure, and it must not be forgotten, he maintains, that these 

 masses, though surrounded by a heated medium, were at the same 

 time subjected to the superincumbent pressure of a vast layer of 

 fluid basalt. They may, moreover, have originally had a different 

 composition, and the oxygen, which plays so essential a part in the 

 gaseous evolution, may have been taken up subsequently during ex- 

 posure to the atmosphere. 



Daubree draws attention to a reaction, mentioned by Stammer, and 

 thoroughly investigated by Gruner, that, in the presence of iron 

 oxide, or even of iron under certain circumstances, carbonic oxide 

 breaks up, depositing carbon, partly in combination with iron, partly 

 in intimate mixture with iron oxide; and that this reaction, which 

 has been found to occur at 400°, does not take place at very high 

 temperatures. 



Nordenskj old's paper is illustrated by a plan of the shore at Ovifak, 

 where the irons were found, and by a sketch made on the spot by 

 Nordstrom of the three largest masses, showing them partly im- 

 mersed ; while in a plate are given representations of seven of the 

 blocks — one showing very distinctly the manner in which the metal 

 is rent during oxidation. Nauckhoff has appended to his paper in 

 the Jffittheilungen a drawing of the gangue, indicating the position 

 of the smaller pieces of iron and the breccia. Four excellent photo- 

 graphs of the larger masses have been published by the Hofphoto- 

 graph Jaeger, in Stockholm. 



One of the largest blocks, weighing 10,000 lbs., was offered for 

 sale in New York for 12,500 dollars in gold, and smaller specimens 

 at eight dollars per lb. 



As is well known, implements of meteoric iron have from time to 

 time been found in the possession of the Esquimaux. Some recent 

 specimens, inserted in bone handles, from Esquimaux kjoekkenniced- 

 dings, were described by Steenstrup at the Congres international 

 d' Anthropologic et a" Archeologie prehistoriques a Bruxelles (Session 



