352 R. Parish—Specific Gravity Balance. 
part of it was imbedded at the time of its fall, and the surface 
of that iron precludes the idea of its having been fused. If 
this generalization of iron be correct, it has an important bear- 
ing upon the hypothesis of the manner in which the Ovifak 
iron (supposing it to be meteoric) penetrated the basalt in 
scattered particles just at the time of the outflow of the basalt 
in a plastic state; for if the iron was not melted in its passage 
through the air, it could not have penetrated the basalt in such 
a manner that the particles are completely surrounded by ter- 
egg basalt. This fact in connection with many others lead 
ore and more strongly to the sone in common wit 
some ape that the Ovifak iron is terrestri 
On the whole, the iron just described is the most interesting — 
specimen of meteoric iron yet known. 
Art. XLVIL—Specifie Gravity Balance; by RoSWELL PARISH. 
THE specific gravity balance described below, is intended 
for the determination of the specific gravities of minerals, and 
of other solids heavier than water, without. ate use of exact 
weights and without pe ara computati 
The construction of this instrument is Owe in the follow- 
ing figure. For use, the fine wire loop & with ae attachments 
is removed, and the index m 
is adjusted to the middle line 
by means of the doa cylin- 
der with screw 
The mineral (or other solid) 
sand (or fine copper punch- 
ings), ihe age by the wire 
loop & at the notch 6, as shown in the 
The mineral is now transferred to the lowes basket ¢ (sus- 
ded from the upper by fine wire, and immersed in water), 
and the counterpoise kno is moved toward a until at some 
point as p it restores the beam to a horizontal position 
The specific gravity is then read off by means of the gradua- 
tion upon the arm ad. This arm is graduated in accordance 
with the flowing considerations : 
