H. A. Ward — New Meteorite from Japan. 153 



stone, all show with more or less clearness the like markings. 

 Of three microscope slides of the Fayette Co. meteorite one 

 shows them clearly, a second shows traces of them, the third 

 not at all. 



A considerable number of the ground surfaces of meteoric 

 stones in the Peabody Museum also show these markings. For 

 example a triangular surface of a Weston stone, 8 or 10 centi- 

 meters to each side, exhibits them very well. 



These markings are such as we might expect if the forces 

 which determine the crystallization of the nickel-iron of the 

 iron meteorites also dominated the structure of the rock-like 

 formations of the stony meteorites and the distribution therein 

 of the iron particles. The relation of quartz crystals to the 

 structure of graphic granite is naturally suggested by these 

 meteorite markings. 



Art. XXI. — Preliminary Note of a new Meteorite from 

 Japan; by Henry A. Ward. 



[Read before the Rochester Academy of Sciences, Dec. 12, 1892.] 



Several months ago a friend, Mr. Alan Owston, who had 

 been traveling in the interior of the main island of Japan, told 

 me that he had seen what he thought to be a stone meteorite 

 in a temple in Iwate. As the result of considerable corre- 

 spondence this specimen has been sent to me, reaching me 

 early in December. It was accompanied by a letter in 

 Japanese language of which the following is a translation : 



" This meteorite which 1 send you herewith fell about forty 

 years ago, viz : in the 3d year of Ka-yei, at dawn on the 4th 

 day of the 5th month, (13th June, 1850). It fell obliquely 

 from the W.K.W. with a great sound like thunder, at the 

 village of Kesen in the district of Kesen, in this Prefecture. 

 It entered the ground five feet, and remained hot for two days. 

 The original size was said to be about equal to l l\ sho of rice. 

 This would be about \\ cubic feet. There were ten or more 

 pieces of it which have been distributed about in various 

 places. 



(Signed) Sato Kenji, of Nota village, Iwate Prefecture." 



The specimen which I have received is 6-^ ounces in weight. 

 Its shape is an irregular triangle about 6J inches in its greatest 

 (vertical) diameter, and about 5 inches thick (see figure). Two 

 long patches an inch wide on either side of the mass are cov- 

 ered with crust ; the rest is broken surface, showing inner 



