166 Br. Walter Flight— On Meteorites. 



in the metal ; Lnt it did not pass through, bounding back a few feet 

 and coming to rest on the roof. Two observers who were at a 

 window close by heard the sharp concussion when it struck the 

 roof, and one of them immediately picked up the meteorite as it lay 

 near her on the roof, but let it fall again, finding it too hot to retain 

 in the hand. It is described as of a plano-convex form, one inch 

 and three quarters along its greatest length and about one third of 

 an inch thick. "The convex surface possesses the usual crusted 

 appearance, while the inside or plane surface differs from ordinary 

 meteorites in possessing the appearance of sulphuret of iron, sub- 

 jected to some degree of heat, instead of nickeliferous iron. One 

 might easily infer that the meteorite was shaled off from a large 

 bolide that passed over the city at that time." It is much to be 

 desired that this meteorite will pass into the hands of a scientific 

 expert for examination and description. 



Prof. Kirkwood describes eight large fireballs, between July, 1876, 

 and February, 1877 {American Journal of Science, 1877, vol. xiv. 

 p. 75) ; the time and the real path and appearance of one was : — 



1876, July 8th, 8.45 p.m. — From an altitude of 88 miles, passed 

 N. 78° W. across the N.E. of Indiana and exploded over Lake 

 Michigan at an altitude of 34 miles. The 2:)ath was inclined 21° to 

 the horizon ; no detonation reported ; train visible 40 minutes. 



1876, June 28th, 11-50 a.m. — Stalldalen, near Kopparherg, 

 Orebrolan, Daleearlia, Sweden.^ 



A meteor traversed a part of Central Sweden in a W.N.W. 

 direction, and was plainly visible in the very bright sunshine. It 

 was observed at Stockholm and Sodermanland ; at 13 English 

 miles S.W. of Linkoping it was seen first in a N.W. dii'ection, and 

 at a considerable altitude, and it descended almost to the horizon 

 in the west. A loud whistling noise was heard in the air from 

 E. to W., followed by two sharp reports, and others less loud 

 resembling thunder. The fall of the meteorites was witnessed by 

 eight or ten persons, and three or four fragments have been secured 

 by Dr. Lindstrom. The largest, about the size of two fists, weighs 

 4^ skalpund [1 lb. av. = l-()68 Itt. oir skalpund]. Stalldalen is a 

 station on the Swedish Central Eailway, on the northernmost part 

 of Orebrolan. Some of the meteorites which fell in water have 

 been lost. 



It was subsequently ascertained that the total number of stones 

 found is eleven, and they weigh collectively 34 kilog. Lindstrom 



finds the total composition of a port 



Silicic acid 

 Phosphoric acid 



Alumina 



Chromium oxide 



on of one of these stones to be — 



35-71 

 0-30 

 2-11 

 0-40 



^ A. E. Nordenskjold, Foredrag i Mineralogi vid Akademiens arshogtid den 

 3 April, 1877. ('Aftonbladets Aktiebolags Tryckeri,' Stockholm, 1877.) [See 

 also Nature, July 19th, 1877.]— G. Lindstrom, 'Ofversigt af Kongl. Vetenskaps 

 Akad. Forhaudl.,' No. 4, 1877, p. 35. 



