Dr. Walter Flight — History of Meteorites. 225 



transparent character is considerably impaired ; this has also been 

 noticed in the meteorite of Tadjera (1867, June 9th). 



The dark-coloured cementing material contains two ingi-edients : 

 an opaque semi-vitreous constituent, and particles in every way 

 similar to the dark crust of the fragments from which they may 

 probably have been detached ; many of them can still be recognized 

 as olivine and bronzite. The nickel-iron and magnetic pyrites of 

 this portion of the stone are more finely divided than in the frag- 

 ments, and have often a rounded form.. The metal of this portion, 

 as well as in the other, exhibits no Widmannstattian figures; but in 

 both, by treatment with acid, lines are developed like those of the 

 Braunau iron. 



The two species of rock : the chondritic fragments (I.) and the 

 darker cementing material (II.) : have the following composition : 





I. 



II. 



Silicic acid 



38-01 ... 



... 36-82 



Alumina 



... 2-22 ... 



2-31 



Chromium oxide 



, trace 



. . . trace 



Iron protoxide 



6-55 ... 



... 9-41 



Magnesia 



24-11 ... 



... 21-69 



Lime 



233 ... 



... 2-31 



Soda 



1-46 ... 



... 0-96 



Potash 



0-31 ... 



... 0-26 



Iron 



22-34 ... 



... 22-11 



Nickel, with trace of coba 



It 2-15 ... 



... 3-04 



Sulphur 



1-94 ... 



... 2-04 





101-42 



100-95 



Specific gravity 



3-675 



3-600 



These results establish the similarity in composition of the two 

 portions, and, as Tschermak points out, the erroneous character of 

 Belucci's analysis, to which attention has already been directed. 



Tschermak's paper is illustrated with a plate, giving a figure of 

 the meteorite he examined; a drawing, actual size, of the section, 

 showing very distinctly the appearances of fusion ; and three micro- 

 scopic sections, magnified 20 diameters, of the two rock varieties 

 composing the greater part of the stone. 



1872. November 3rd. 5-30 p.m.— Nairn, Scotland. 1 



A meteor of unusual brilliancy was observed to take a direction 

 from E.S.E. about 20° from the horizon. The sky was so lighted up 

 for two or three seconds that the observer could have picked a 

 pin from the ground. Darkness followed, and again the light burst 

 forth stronger than before, and shortly afterwards a sound was heard 

 as if three or four cannon had been discharged at the distance of a 

 quarter of a mile. The meteor appeared to move from the southern 

 part of Banffshire, towards the centre of Inverness- shire, and to 

 burst somewhere near the source of the river Nairn. It was also 

 observed at Glasgow. — A second very bright meteor was seen about 

 9*15 (G-. M. T.) at Bristol and Portsmouth, 2 passing from the zenith 



1 H. D. Penny. Brit. Assoc. Report, 1873, Obs. Luminous Meteors, 369. 



2 E. B. Gardiner. Brit. Assoc. Report, 1873, Obs. Luminous Meteors, 365. 



DECADE II. — VOL. II. — NO. V. 15 



