Dr. Walter Flight— On Meteorites. 169 



direction, where there appears to be a cleavage. It is brittle and 

 easily pulverized, the fine particles retaining their brilliancy. It is 

 not magnetic, and but slightly altered before the blow-pipe. It 

 is not acted upon in the slightest degree by hydrochloric acid, either 

 cold or hot, but dissolves slowly and completely in nitric acid when 

 warmed with it. The specific gravity is S'Ol. 



Other meteoric irons, such as those from Toluca, Mexico, and 

 Sevier Co., Tennessee, contain this mineral. 



Some time ago attention was directed to the discovery by Dr. 

 L. Smith ^ of daubreelite in one of these irons. He has since met 

 with a nodule of chromite in the interior of compact iron from one 

 of these masses. His attention was attracted to an inclosed nodule, 

 the lustre of which was less vitreous than that of the chromium 

 sulphide : it was virtually a black granular mass. When heated 

 with strong nitric acid in the water-bath, not the slightest impres- 

 sion was made upon it, thus showing that it is not daubreelite. 

 Heating it in fused sodium carbonate in no way afi"ected its non- 

 solubility in acids ; 150 millegramraes of the finely pulverized 

 mineral were fused with ten times its weight of sodium bisulphate 

 and were attacked but not dissolved. Subsequent treatment with 

 sodium carbonate and nitre broke it up and the results of the 

 analysis were : 



Chromium oxide 62"7l 



Iron protoxide 33-83 



96-54 

 While chromite has been known to be associated with meteorites, 

 this is the first instance of its having been found imbedded in this 

 manner in the interior of meteoric iron. 



Some of the particles of chromite when placed in very intense 

 light were found to be feebly translucent and to have a dark reddish- 

 purple colour. This observation, it appears, had already been made 

 by M. Stanislaus Meunier, of Paris. 



1876, December 21st, 8-40 p.m. — Rochester, Fulton Co., Indiana. 

 [Lat. 41° 8', Long. 86° 12'J ^ 

 This remarkable meteor passed over the States of Kansas, Mis- 

 souri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, a distance from E. to W. of about 

 800 miles. It burst into numerous fragments during its passage, 

 producing " a flock of brilliant balls chasing each other across the 

 sky, the number being variously estimated from twenty to one 

 hundred." Over all the regions of Central Illinois a series of 

 terrific explosions was heard. Over the northern part of Indiana 

 the passage of the body was followed by loud explosions. A piece 

 of the meteorite, a few ounces in weight, fell near Kochester, la. A 

 portion in the possession of Prof. Shepard was discovered on the 

 following day lying in the snow. Two places were noticed where it 

 had previously struck, whence it had bounded to its resting-place. 



1 Amer. Journ. Se. ii. 1871, and xvi. 1878, 270. 



^ H. A. Newton, Amer. Journ. Sc. 1877, xiii. 166 ; J. L. Smith, Amer. Journ. 

 Se. 1877, xiii. 243, and xiv. 219 ; C. U. Shepard, Atner. Journ. Sc. 1877, xiii. 207 ; 

 Prof. Kirkwood, Amei: Journ. Se. 1877, xiv. 75. 



