Falling Stars and Meteorites. 165 



The interest divides itself into three subjects, viz., the 

 nature of the material, its form, and the appearance and condi- 

 tion of the surface and of the interior of the mass. 



A large proportion of the specimens are of a curious mixture 

 of iron, nickel, and other metals, frequently regarded as peculiar 

 to meteorites in whatever the part of the world they have fallen, 

 or whatever interval has elapsed since their fall. The other 

 specimens are chiefly fragments, some containing scarcely a 

 trace of iron, and others a little iron, but most of them consist- 

 ing of either felspathic or silicious sand, cemented together 

 rather loosely. The appearance is extremely similar to that 

 attained by sand after very long exposure in a furnace. The 

 sand is compacted into a sandstone, but the grains are very im- 

 perfectly cemented. The outside of these specimens is almost 

 without exception black, and has every appearance of having 

 been fused. The size of the block is various ; some are pebbles, 

 not much larger than a walnut, others are as large as a man's 

 head ; some are broken fragments. One of them is very curi- 

 ous, as it exhibits distinctly the cause of the smooth surface. 

 That side of the pebble which met the air (the part that is in 

 the direction of progress) in the rapid transit of the stone 

 through the air, is perfectly glazed, and the glaze has run over 

 the edge ; the rest, however, is only slightly glazed. 



The surface of the metallic meteorites is especially remark- 

 able, and there are many cases in which the crystalline form can 

 not only be recognized as an outline, but may even be measured. 

 The usual shape of the crystals is the octahedral. In some the 

 outside is a mass of crystals of moderate size, greatly rounded, 

 but still recognizable. These are the larger specimens. In 

 others of smaller size the form is more distinct and less altered 

 by weathering. Some, however, are completely rounded ex- 

 ternally, and give no appearance of crystallization until broken. 

 One specimen of large size has been partly sawn and theu 

 broken. The fracture in this case marks, in the most striking- 

 manner, the crystalline state of the mass, as it gives a repetition 

 of parallel faces along the whole length of the broken part, 

 amounting to five inches. 



The external form of the non-metallic meteorites offers 

 nothing very remarkable, beyond the fact of the peculiar 

 rounded surface, apparently caused by great friction — a friction 

 which can only be due to the passage of the mass through the 

 air at an extremely rapid pace. The internal fracture differs 

 nothing from that of a lump of similar material on the earth. 

 The melting that has taken place at the surface, resulting in a 

 deep brown or black glaze, is of no great thickness, and is 

 strictly superficial. 



The internal structure of the metallic masses is curious in 



VOL. IV. — NO. III. N 



