Arthur Williams Wright. 363 



" A description of a simple apparatus for the production of 

 ozone," was followed by two studies of the chemical action of 

 ozone. The first of these — " On the action of ozone upon 

 vulcanized caoutchouc " (1872) — calls attention to the cause of 

 the deterioration of the insulating properties of vulcanite and 

 gave means of correcting the fault. The second paper is 

 entitled, " On the oxidation of alcohol and ether by ozone," and 

 is an application of his ozone apparatus to the chemical investi- 

 gation indicated in the title. 



In the same year Professor Wright published two papers on 

 the Zodiacal light and a note on his observations concerning 

 the polarization of the light of Coggia's Comet. In the first 

 of these papers the question of the polarization of the Zodiacal 

 light, even to a fair determination of the ratio of polarized 

 light to unmodified light, seems to have been definitively set- 

 tled by the skillful use of a polariscope of his own design. 

 So, also, his second paper, on the spectrum of the Zodiacal 

 light, appears to have decided once for all a discussion which 

 had occupied many observers. 



A series of five papers of great interest follow, on the gaseous 

 contents of meteoric irons and stones. In the first of these he 

 reviews the known results of the investigations upon the 

 occluded gases of meteoric irons, quoting Professor Graham 

 and Professor J. W. Mallett. In his own investigations, the 

 material came for the most part from the collection in the pos- 

 session of Yale University. His conclusions in this first paper 

 were that no one of the several irons which he studied gave 

 any spectroscopic evidences of unknown elements. The second 

 paper is a brief one upon the gases derived from the meteorite 

 of February 12th, 1875, presented as a note preliminary to a 

 further study. 



In the following paper entitled "Examination of gases from 

 the meteorite of February 12, 1875," Professor Wright gives a 

 thorough review of the gaseous contents of this meteorite. It 

 appears to be the first stony meteorite thus investigated and 

 the results are of great importance ; they not only show the 

 presence of gases occluded in stony meteorites but also prove 

 that they are distinguished by having oxides of carbon as their 

 characteristic gases, instead -of hydrogen. He points out the 

 bearing of these observations upon the peculiar spectra of 

 comets and as a support of the meteoric theory of cornets. 



In 1876 Professor Wright continued these important inves- 

 tigations, extending them to a considerable number of stony 

 meteorites of known origin. The earlier conclusion that these 

 stony meteorites are characterized by a large amount of occluded 

 carbon compounds was abundantly verified, and the last paper 

 contains a long discussion concerning the bearing of these 



