388 J. L. Smith — Carbon Compounds in Meteorites. 



Canada has not before been noted— is found in beaatifal little 

 yellow tufts on the walls of cavities in the calcite, the tufts be- 

 ing often so close together as to form a velvety coating. It is 

 generally associated with pyrite. 



Quartz, mica, apatite, talc and siderite were noticed, but they 

 did not form important constituents of the deposit. Pyrrhotite 

 was common in portions of the deposit worked several years 

 ago, but has become less so as the mining has advanced. It is 

 sometimes massive, but more frequently well crystallized. In 

 general it is embedded in calcite, but it has also been found in 

 steatite. The following is an analysis of a crystal : 



Iron, 60-560 



Copper,. -145 



Nickel, -112 



Cobalt, -Ill 



Sulphur, 39-020 



100-044 



Hardness between 3| and 4. Specific gravity 4-622. Readily 

 attracted by the magnet and possessing polarity ; the opposite 

 poles seem to be situated not at the extremities of the crystals 

 but along the sides. 



A few months ago a crystal of the pyrrhotite was sent to 

 Professor J. Lawrence Smith, who was anxious to compare its 

 composition with that of troilite. The results of his analysis 

 sent to me by him are as follows : 



Iron, 59-88 



Sulphur, _ 39-24 



Silica (gangue rock), 1-01 



Specific gravity, 4-642 



Art. L. — Researches on the Solid Carbon Compounds in Meteor- 

 ites ; by J. Laweence Smith, Louisville, Ky. 



In the study of Meteorites, it is well known that, of all the 

 simple and compound substances met with in these bodies, the 

 carbon has received the least study and investigation. This has 

 arisen principally from the limiteci amount of material at the 

 command of the chemist, — a fact to be regretted, since if any 

 one element more than another demands attention, and excites 



