502 Dr. Tf T alter Flight — History of Meteorites. 



laminated mineral, with pearly lustre, which is probably hyperstbene 

 or amphibole. Tbe remaining seven species, which may more 

 appropriately be designated rocks proper, are divided by tbe author 

 into two groups, according as he has, or bas not, been able up to the 

 present to identify them as individual lithological types constituting 

 distinct meteorites. In the latter group he enumerates 6). a grey 

 scoriaceous rock, free from metallic particles; 7). a dark grey rock, 

 enclosing them ; and 8). a bright grey sligbtly ochreous rock, prob- 

 ably the altered product of another species. Meunier is of 

 opinion tbat any one of these three species may at some future 

 period be found to constitute an individual meteorite. The remain- 

 ing four species are : 9). a white granular rock, enclosing nickel-iron 

 and troilite ; this variety, which occurs in about thirty of the 

 meteorites in the Paris Collection, he has termed luceite ; 10). a 

 rock of the whiteness of plaster and enclosing small black grains ; 

 this is the ' cbladnite ' of the Bishopville meteorite, now shown to be 

 magnesian enstatite, MgO, Si0 2 ; 11). a rock, perfectly black and 

 very tough, containing grains of nickel-iron and troilite, such a mate- 

 rial, met with in the stone of Tadjera (1867, June 9th) and the 

 meteoric irons of Deesa and Hemalga, has received the name of 

 tadjerite ; and 12). the last species, is a greenish grey friable granular 

 highly crystalline rock, containing no metal but small grains of 

 chromite ; from its resemblance to the meteoric rock of Chassigny 

 (1815, October 3rd), and in fact by reason of its highly olivinous 

 character, it has received the name of chassignite. 



The presence, says the author, in the ' polygenic conglomerate ' 

 of Parnallee of fragments belonging to seven types at least of 

 distinct meteoric rocks, demonstrates the co-existence of these types 

 in the star-mass whence this Indian meteorite came. 



1858, December 24th. — Murcia, Spain. 1 



This meteorite, which was shown at the International Exhibition 

 of Paris in 1867, is in the form of a right parallelepiped with 

 square base, the dimensions whereof are 89 centim., 40 centim., 

 and 27 centim. It weighs 114 kilog., considerably surpassing in 

 size the average of rock masses of meteoric origin. 



This meteorite is remarkable for its hardness. The crust, which 

 is nearly perfect, has evidently turned since the fall of the stone 

 from black to brown. On the fractured surface grains of nickel-iron 

 are seen, few of which retain their lustre, as well as an iron sulphide 

 of a bronze hue which is abundantly disseminated through the mass. 

 Besides these are remarked, what form a distinguishing feature of 

 this rock, very small extremely brilliant crystalline particles, some- 

 times in minute veins, which appear to be metal, but really have 

 vitreous lustre. They fuse before the blowpipe to a grey enamel, 

 and give the reactions of silica and alumina. They are probably a 



1 S. Meunier. These presentee a la Faculte des Sciences de Paris, 1869. Recherches 

 sur la composition et la Structure des Meteorites, 9, et seq. (See also G. A. Daubre'e 

 and S. Meunier. Compt. rend., 1868, lxvi. 639.) 



