230 David Forbes — On Meteorites. 



brouglit back from Ofivak in Greenland by tbe Swedisb. Arctic 

 Expedition, whicb I bave examined, and wbicb is calculated to 

 be some 22 tons in weigbt. Imbedded in sucb masses of native 

 iron are occasionally found tbe minerals Troilite and Scbreibersite, 

 tbe first a combination of iron and sulpbur, and tbe latter of iron 

 and nickel witb pbospborus, neitber of wbicb bave as yet been met 

 witb on eartb ; and in addition to tbese several silicates, particularly 

 olivine and otbers containing magnesia, wbicb constitute tbe mass of 

 tbe stony meteorites or aerolites proper. Tbese latter^ owing to 

 tbeir mucb greater brittleness, are more liable to be sbattered to 

 pieces eitlier by tbe aerial explosion, or in tbe act of falling, and 

 tbereforc are not often found of sucb dimensions as tbe siderites. 

 Amongst tbe largest known may be mentioned tbe one recorded by 

 Pliny, wbicb was of tbe size of two millstones ; tbe largest of about 

 1000 fragments wbicb fell at Knyabinya, wbicb weigbed 550 lbs. ; 

 tbe Ensisbeim and Juvenas stones respectively 280 and 240 lbs., 

 and probably also tbe one T^bicb fell at Eezzan on tbe 25tb Dec, 

 1869, said to weigb nearly tbree tons. 



Instead of reading out a list of all the minerals wbicb are found 

 in meteorites, I will merely state tbat it includes metallic compounds 

 of iron witb nickel ; sulpbur ; carbon in tbe forms of grapbite and 

 hydrocarbons, some six distinct silicates, tbree sulphides, one pbos- 

 ,pbide, five oxides, and a mineral Osbornite whose composition is 

 .unknown ; besides these. Gypsum, Epsomite, calcite, apatite, Titanite 

 and tbe chlorides of iron, sodium, potassium and ammonium, bave 

 been met witb, but may be regarded as somewhat doubtful, or due to 

 tbe subsequent alteration of tbe original mineral constituents of the 

 meteorite by exposure. The mineral species which bave been found 

 in meteorites are as follows : — Sulphur ; Carbon amorphous and 

 graphitic; Bitumen, a crystallizable hydrocarbon; Osbornite; Cblad- 

 nite; Enstatite (Bronzite, Piddingtonite), Lancite? ; Augite ; Olivine; 

 Anorthite ? ; Labradorite ? ; Tridymite ? ; Chromite ; Magnetite ; 

 Cassiterite ; Titanoferrite ? ; Troilite, Pyrrhotine ? ; Oldhamite ; 

 Scbreibersite; Metallic iron containing carbon called Campbellite 

 and Calypite hj Meunier, and tbe alloys of iron with nickel to wbicb 

 tbe names Teenite, Kamacite, Plessite, and Octibhebite have been 

 applied by tbe same mineralogist. 



A review of the chemistry of meteorites teaches us that they are 

 composed only of those elements which we know to exist on eartb, 

 and as they bave not afforded us any new element, we may conclude 

 tbat tbe more distant parts of the universe are also composed of tbe 

 same elements as our globe. Of tbese elements (in all sixty-four) 

 nineteen have been proved to occur in meteorites, which consist of 

 of six non-metallic bodies : Silicon, Carbon, Sulphur, Phosphorus, 

 Oxygen, and Hydrogen; five metals of the alkalies and earths — Potas- 

 sium, Sodium, Aluminium, Calcium, and Magnesium ; and eight 

 other metals — Iron, Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, Chromium, Copper, 

 Tin, and Titanium. Traces of seven more have been reported, but 

 may be regarded as doubtful, viz., Chlorine, Antimony, Arsenic, 

 Xead, Glucinum, Yttrium, and Zirconium. An idea of the general 



