53S Mr. K. P. Gres on some Meteorites 



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is considerable, and it is capable of receiving, after being cut, a 

 high degree of polish. 



2. Duruma. — A portion of a stone, weighing somewhat over 

 1 lb., partially coated with a blackish-brown crust, is deposited 

 in the mineralogical collection in the Museum of the Univer- 

 sity of Munich : the accompanying label merely states that it 

 fell on the 6th of March, 1853, in Duruma, Wanika-land, East 

 Africa. Nothing more appears tabeknown, even at Vienna, or 

 by Dr. Buchner of Giessen, respecting this stone. Ascertaining 

 from the MS. Catalogue that this meteorite had been presented 

 by a Dr. Barth of Calw in Wiirtemberg, I wrote at once to that 

 gentleman, and received the following reply : — " The meteoric 

 stone fell during a violent thunder-storm in the district of Du- 

 ruma, in the Wanika country in 1853, and was at once anointed 

 with oil by the natives, dressed with beads, and set up as a god. 



" In vain did the Missionary, the Rev. Mr. Rebmann, try to 

 procure it for the collection of Dr. fiarth, until some years after- 

 wards, when the wild Masai conquered the country, killing the 

 inhabitants and burning their dwellings ; then the Wanikas felt 

 themselves abandoned by their god; a famine also occurred 

 about the same time ; so the stone was given up to Mr. Rebmann, 

 and sent to Dr. Barth." From Dr. Kurr of Strasbourg, who 

 made a qualitative analysis (it contained olivine, lime, hydrate 

 of iron, oxide of iron, and nickeliferous iron), I received what 

 remained over from the analysis, a few crumbs weighing only 

 1-| gramme ; a portion of which I presented as a curiosity to the 

 British Museum. The stone, judging by the large fragment at 

 Munich, appears to contain a good deal of nickeliferous iron, 

 and is rather coarse-grained, is more or less oxidized, and much 

 resembles the Segovvlee stone in the British Museum, said to 

 have fallen in India the very same day. 



3. Girgenti. — The specimen in the British Museum (formerly 

 belonging to the Allan-Greg collection) is a portion of a speci- 

 men given me when in Sicily in the year 1855, by Professor 

 Gemmellaro of Catania. The specimen in his collection was also 

 a fragment, weighing probably about 2 lbs., and much coated 

 with crust ; this meteorite fell on the 10th of February 1853 ; its 

 specific gravity is 3*76, and it almost exactly resembles the me- 

 teoric stones of Bachmut, New Concord, Chateau-Renard. I 

 have seen no published account of this stone ; but, if I recollect 

 correctly, Professor Gemmellaro informed me an account had 

 been printed in a Sicilian scientific journal. 



4. Ekatherinoslaw. — In the mineralogical collection of the 

 late Mr. Allan of Edinburgh, and now deposited in the British 

 Museum, is a specimen referred to in the MS. Catalogue as 

 having formed a portion of a stone weighing 85 lbs. which fell 



