Dr. Walter Flight— On Meteorites. 315 



the east. Another explosion occurred just before reaching the ground, 

 and this accounts for the small fragments found near the largest 

 mass. This latter fell within 200 feet of a dwelling-house, at a spot 

 where there was a hole, six feet deep, filled with water. The clay 

 at the bottom of the hole was excavated to a depth of eight feet 

 before the meteorite was reached. The second largest mass pene- 

 trated blue clay to a depth of five feet, at a spot about two miles 

 distant from the first. The third of the larger masses was found on 

 the 23rd February, 1880, at a place four miles distant from the 

 first, in a di'ied-up slough. On digging a hole the stone was met 

 with at a depth of five feet. The fragments thus far obtained 

 weigh respectively 437, 170, 921 28, lO'i 4 and 2 pounds. The 

 height of the meteor is calculated to have been 40 miles, and its 

 velocity from 2 to 4 miles per second. The masses are rough and 

 knotted, like mulberry calculi, with rounded protuberances project- 

 ing from the surface on every side. The black coating is not uniform, 

 being most marked between the projections. These projections have 

 sometimes a bright metallic surface, showing them to consist of 

 nodules of iron ; and they also contain lumps of an olive-green 

 mineral, having a distinct and easy cleavage. The greater part of 

 the stony material is of a grey colour with the green mineral irregu- 

 larly disseminated through it. The masses vary very much in 

 density in their different parts ; the average cannot be less than 4'o. 

 When a mass is broken one is immediately struck with the large 

 nodules of metal among the grey and green stony substance ; some 

 of these will weigh 100 grammes or more. In this respect this 

 meteorite is unique ; it differs entirely from the siderolites of Krasno- 

 jarsk, Atacama, etc., or the known meteoric stones rich in iron, for in 

 none of them has the iron this nodular character. The large nodules 

 of iron appear to have shrunk away from the matrix ; an elongated 

 fissure of from 2 to 3 millimetres sometimes intervenes, separating 

 the matrix and nodules to the extent of one-half the circumference 

 of the latter. The only mineral which could be picked out sepa- 

 rately has a slightly green colour; it occui's in masses, from one 

 half-inch to one inch in size, has an easy cleavage in one direction, 

 and was found to be olivine. The same mineral occurs in minute 

 rounded condition in other parts of the material ; and minute, almost 

 colourless, crystalline particles in the cavities are supposed to be 

 olivine. Troilite exists in small quantity. A quantity of the sili- 

 cates was picked out, separated as far as possible from iron, and 

 treated with hydrochloric acid. The ratio of soluble to insoluble 

 silicates varies very much in different parts of the meteorite, varying 

 from 16 to 60 per cent, for the soluble part. The insoluble consisted 

 of : — Oxygen. 



~ 29-12 



4-67 



9-80 



0-023 



0-013 



99-29 



Silicic acid 



.. 54-12 



Iron protoxide 



.. 21-05 



Chromium oxide 



trace 



Maguesia 



.. 24-50 



Soda with traces of K and Li 



•09 



Alumina 



-03 



