G. P. Merrill — Minor Constituents of Meteorites. 511 



stituents, lead, antimony, tin and lithia as occurring in traces, 

 palladium to the amount of 0-7715 per cent, and soda (Na 2 0) 

 to the unheard of amount of 10*386 per cent ! I have, there- 

 fore, a natural feeling of scepticism regarding the results as a 

 whole. 



Copper. — Copper in amounts from traces up to weighable 

 quantities has been reported by such authorities as Rammels- 

 berg, Rose and J. L. Smith, and should be removed from the 

 doubtful list. 



Gold. — Gold, so far as I am aware, has been suggested as a 

 constituent of but a single meteorite, that by A. Liversidge* 

 in an iron from Boogaldi, New South Wales. Notwithstand- 

 ing the fact that the work of Prof. Liversidge seems to have 

 been performed with proper care, there exists a lingering doubt 

 in the minds of many as to the actual occurrence of this 

 element as an original constituent of the iron. 



Lead. — Trottorelli, whose analysis is above referred to, 

 reported traces of lead in the Collescipioli stone. R. P. 

 Greg also reportedf native lead lining the cavities in an iron 

 from the Tarapaca desert of Chile. J. L. Smith, however, 

 concluded from his own examination % that the metal was 

 altogether foreign to the stone when it fell. 



Lithia. — Lithia was reported by Story Maskelyne§ to the 

 amount of 0*016 per cent in the enstatite and in traces in the 

 augitic constituent of the Busti stone. J. L. Smith likewise 

 reported] traces of lithia in the stones of Waconda, Kansas, 

 and Bishopville, South Carolina. Others report it determined 

 by spectroscopic methods. 



Platinum, palladium, and iridium. — Platinum, palladium, 

 and iridium come in for occasional reference as meteoric con- 

 stituents, but almost invariably in amounts too small to weigh, 

 and often in analyses made under such conditions as to give 

 rise to a feeling of doubt as to their correctness. Trottorelli's 

 reported finding of platinum has already received attention. 

 J. M. Davison\ obtained from 6086 grams of the Coahuila 

 iron 0*014 grams of platinum; from 464 grams of the Toluca 

 iron a few crystals of potassium platinic chloride were obtained 

 which showed a reddish color and probably contained iridium. 

 Tassin*"* reported the soluble portion of the Persimmon Creek 

 iron as containing traces of platinum too small to weigh. 

 Mallet's work on the Canyon Diablo iron is likewise confirma- 

 tory. (See page 514.) 



* Journ. andProc. Roy. Soc. of N. S. W., vol. xxxv. 

 fPhil. Mag., x, 12, 1855 ; also this Journal, xxiii, 118, 185T. 

 \ This Journal, xlix. 305, 1870. 

 ^Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc, clx. 206-7. 1870. 

 || This Journal, xiii, 212, 1877: xxxviii, 226, 1869. 

 «TIbid., vol. vii, 1899. 

 **Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xxvii, 959, 1901, 



