44. A. W. Wright— Gases from the Meteorite of Feb. 12, 1875. 
Art. XI. a of Gases from the oe of Feb. 12, 
; by ArTHUR W. Wat 
THIs meteorite fell, on the date above mentioned, in Iowa 
County. in the State of Iowa. By the agency of Professor N. 
R. Leonard, of the Iowa State ee a pei amount of the 
meteoric mass was collected, and from m, by the courtesy of 
President Thacher of the same oaesin a number of frag- 
ments were received by the writer, for an examination, of which 
The meteorite is of the aieny faind, not greatly differing in 
= general appearance from others of the same class. Numerous 
mall grains of metallic iron and of the magnetic sulphide of 
iron, or troilite, are eras through the mass, the iron grains 
ranging in size from the finest particles, like mere powder, to 
those of the size of a fig. yes with occasionally one as large as 
a grape-see 
Among the fragments received, there are some which show 
distinct evidences of a sort of lamination or imperfect stratifi- 
cation, the portions at which the ieee separated being 
smoothed down, as if by pressure or frictio everal minute 
veins are visible, which appear to be filled with material of 
somewhat different constitution. Their relation to the general 
again, perhaps by the still fluid matter from the interior. 
ey seem to indicate that the mass of ig the meteorite 
probably once formed a part was of great siz 
The recent investigations of Prof. Saaaies Sehiaparelli, 
tage and others, in respect to some of the great me- 
teoric streams, have resulted, on the one hand, in establishing 
the sdandies of their orbits with those of certain well-known 
comets, and on the other, in showing that the bodies belonging 
to these streams are probably of the same nature as the sporadic 
or occasional meteorites. It seemed probable, therefore, that an 
amination of the gases yielded by a freshly fallen meteorite 
would be likely to furnish important information respecting the 
tails of comets, and these anticipations were found to be not 
unwarranted by the results. 
e examination was made in the manner described in a pre- 
vious article,* and with the same apparatus. The first trial, 
* This Journal, III, ix, Apr., 1875, p. 294. 
