210 C.U. Shepard— Meteoric Stone of Rochester, Indiana. 



Description of the Rochester Stone. 



It belongs, by way of eminence, to my order of Oolitic, of the 

 class Litholites, and resembles most closely the Pegu (India) 

 stone of December 27, 1857, particularly in the character of its 

 crust and in its pisiform external structure. The two stums are 

 not unlike in color and in the facility with which they may be 

 broken, both yielding to separation when in small masses, 

 under the mere strength of the fingers. The thickness of the 

 crust in each is double that in the majority of litholites. The 

 bint of color is also the same in both. In the Bochester 

 stone, however, the shade is less gray, from the greater preva- 

 lence of an almost pulverulent, nearly white mineral, in which 

 the dark ash-gray globules are imbedded. This white mineral 

 forms less than one-tenth of the mass. The globules varv in 

 size from a millet-seed up to that of a pepper-corn. Their 

 shape is almost perfectly spherical, and plainly indicates an 

 origin from fusion, the surfaces of many of them being obviously 

 mammillary, while internally they present a porcelainous, com- 

 pact structure. 



The globules are probably forsterite, of a variety nearly 

 identical with boltonite. This appears the more likely from 

 the circumstance that those situated just below the crust have 

 vish tint acquired by boltonite after its subjection to 

 ■ '"'■ - ■ • . ' 



of the globules in the meteorite took place on its entrance into 

 our atmosphere when the fusion of the surface occurred. 



1 he white semi-pulverulent basis of the stone I take to be 

 Ohladmte (%'Si*). In one of my specimens, it shows itself at 

 a single point in its characteristic loosely crystalline structure ; 

 ana there closely resembles this species as seen in the Bishops- 

 ville (March 25, 1843) meteorite. 



, 1 . he mete ? ). as in the Pegu stone, is very 



obvious ; and rather evenly distributed, though probably not 

 exceeding one per cent in quantity. In place of being in 

 shapeless grains or points, or in curved wire-like fibers, it is 

 rtallrae in structure, showing occasional rectangular 

 -• Troilite is barely visible at two minute 

 points m the specimens thus far examined. Two distinct 

 grains of Chrysolite, of the size of half a rice grail 

 showing ,n eac , ( , )lor and lu f ter Q \ th; . K ^, 



meteoric iron Moreover, these 



gloirules^ 6 ^ th6 PCTfeCt 8 P herical form " f tu e forsterite 

 thM ™ CifiC * g £ vit ? ° f a fragment, whose surface was one- 

 insDect nn ' V S I 65 " J l m ^ be added in conclusion, that the 

 • of this rather peculiar stone strongly suggests the 

 idea that the p.siform globules were produced by the sudden 



