SO) Scientific Intelligence. 



Torrensite, Viellaurite. Supposed new minerals consisting 

 of the carbonate and silicate of manganese described by Lienau, 

 the former substance occurring in gray to brown masses at the 

 Torrens mine, Haute Pyrenees. It is shown by Lacroix to be a 

 mixture of rhodonite and rhodochrosite. The same author also 

 shows that the viellaurite is a mixture of rhodochrosite with a 

 silicate, probably tephroite, and small quantities of alabandite. — 

 Bull. Soc. Min., xxiii, 251. 



Violaitb. A strongly pleochroic pyroxene (with green and 

 orange-yellow colors) which forms an essential constituent of the 

 rock from the Kedabek copper mines called by Federow Keda- 

 bekite. An analysis gave': Si0 2 48-26, A1 2 3 3 '84, Fe 2 3 M5, 

 FeO 15-77, MgO>09, CaO 22-61, Na 2 0-28 = 100. 



12. On Iron Meteorites. — Prot. E. Cohen gives in a recent paper 

 (Sitzb. Akad. Wiss. zu Berlin, Dec. 13, 1900) a summary of the 

 results of his recent thorough and detailed chemical and structural 

 study of the iron meteorites which lack cubic or octahedral struc- 

 ture. These include Brezina's group of Ataxites and his Ham- 

 mond, Capeisen and Chesterville groups. The following were 

 found by Cohen to be pseudo-meteorites : Nauheim, Newstead, 

 Walker Co., Scriba, Hemalga, Saint Augustine's Bay, Long 

 Creek, Virginia, and MinasGeraes. Tocavita, Salt River and Bal- 

 linoo, Cohen considers to be octahedrites with finest lamellaa ; 

 Santa Rosa a granular aggregate of octahedral individuals and 

 Bingera a granular aggregate of cubic individuals. The remain- 

 der are grouped by Cohen under the term " Kornige his dic/ite 

 l£ise?i." These are subdivided into (a) granular to compact, 

 streaked (schlierenfu)irende) irons and (b) granular to compact 

 irons without streaks (schlierenfreie). The latter are considered 

 the only true ataxites. 



Group a is subdivided into (a) irons with octahedral streaks 

 (schlieren) and includes Cacaria and Hammond, and ((3) irons 

 with cubic streaks (schlieren). This latter group includes Cape 

 of Good Hope, Kokomo, Iquique, Shingle Springs, and Sierra de 

 la Tern era. 



Group b, or the true ataxites, is divided into two subgroups. 

 The meteorites of the first subgroup are rich in nickel, the con- 

 tent of Ni -j- Co being 17-20 per cent. Those of the second sub- 

 group are poor in nickel, the content of Ni -)- Co being 6-7 per 

 cent. Under the first (Morradal group) Cohen classes Smith- 

 land, Babb's Mill, Deep Springs, Botetourt, Dehesa, Linnville 

 Mountain and Morradal. The second is subdivided into the 

 Siratik group, under which are included Siratik, Campo del Cielo, 

 Locust Grove, Mesquital and Cincinnati, and the Nedagolla 

 group, which comprises Rasgata, Chesterville, the Wohler iron, 

 Nedagolla, Primitiva and Forsyth Co. Tucson is considered 

 intermediate in character, the content of nickel being about 9 

 per cent, while forsterite is present as an accessory constituent. 

 Illinois Gulch is classed with the Nedagolla group although the 

 percentage of nickel is high (12 per cent). 



