106 C. JJ. Shepard — Meteorite from Mexico. 



stone that fell "about the end of the year 1883 on the farm of 

 El Garganitello, near the coast in the State of Jalisco." 



The fragment is somewhat prismatic in shape, two and a half 

 inches long and one and a half in each of its two other dimen- 

 sions. The broadest side retains the original black crust, which 

 is rough and dull, with a thickness rather above the average in 

 meteoric stones. It is broken with medium facility, showing 

 a rather lighter color than common in these bodies. It abounds 

 in pisiform grains of a pearl-gray or brownish color, varying 

 in size from a pea downward to that of mustard-seed. The 

 larger of these may be described as not strictly pisiform, but 

 rather flattened globules or imperfect crystals, with rounded 

 edges and angles. They often exhibit a single tolerably dis- 

 tinct cleavage in one direction, with traces of another perpen- 

 dicular thereto. 



The basis in which the globules are imbedded is rather 

 peculiaiv It is many shades lighter in color than the globules, 

 and is fine granular resembling certain massive albites. Under 

 the lens it appears an intimate mixture of the broken gray 

 globules and a white mineral. This last in the field of the 

 compound microscope is seen to consist of sharply crystalline, 

 transparent or semi-transparent grains, and closely resembles 

 the chladnite of the Bishopville meteorite. It should be men- 

 tioned that the pisiform globules situated within half an inch 

 of the crust are much stained with iron-rust. 



But the striking peculiarity of the Jalisco stone is the preva- 

 lence everywhere of octahedral crystals of nickeliferous iron. 

 These are so distinct as to be recognizable with the naked eye, 

 the brilliant equilateral triangular faces coming into view by 

 every change of position in the specimen. Now and then a 

 surface presents a pitted or dissected appearance, similar to 

 what is common in quartz crystals. One or two instances 

 were noted where a tendency to the arborescent structure 

 showed itself, the octahedra being aggregated in a common 

 line, and only touching by the tips of their pyramids. Neither 

 the irregular globular form or the twisted pisiform shape of 

 this substance, sometimes visible in meteoric stones, is recogniz- 

 able in the present case. 



This observation at first led me to suppose that the Jalisco 

 stone offered the first instance of well defined crystals of nick- 

 eliferous iron. But on recurring to the stones of several other 

 localities, I find their presence is by no means rare, though 

 they have not hitherto attracted attention. The following of those 

 showing occasional crystals ma} 7 be instanced: Eochester, 

 Sumner County, Little Piney, Richmond, Yorkshire, Montre- 

 jean, Daniel's Kuill, New Concord, Vouille', Erxleben and 

 Affianello. 



