METEORIC IRON. 



and a weak pearly lustre. Massive. H. 2 

 to 2-5. S.G. 2-52, 



METEORIC MINERALS. 



23/ 



Comp. 2Mg S + Mg 4 

 Analysis, by Plattner . 



Silica . 



Alumina 



Magnesia 



Protoxide of iron 



Lime . 



Water . 



2H. 



40-0 

 10-7 

 32-8 

 2-3 

 1-1 

 12-6 



99-5 



Localities. Schwartzenberg in Saxony. 

 Windisch Matrei,in the Kaiser Valley, Tyrol. 



Name. From AtST«?(«, silk. 



Brit. Mus., Case 25. 



Meteoric Iron is principally an alloy 

 of iron and nickel. It generally contains 

 from 1 to 20 per cent, of nickel, with small 

 quantities of cobalt, chromium, copper, man- 

 ganese, and tin ; also carbon, chlorine, phos- 

 phorus, sulphur, &c. 



Analysis of the Pallas Meteoric Iron from 

 Siberia, by Berzelius : 



Nickel . . . 



. 10-73 



Manganese . 



. 0-13 



Cobalt . 



. 0-46 



Copper and tin . 



. 0-07 



Magnesium . 



. 0-05 



Carbon 



. 0-04 



Sulphur 



. trace 



Insoluble 



. 0-48 



100-00 

 Analysis of the insoluble residue left on 

 dissolving the Pallas iron in dilute muriatic 

 acid: 



Iron 48-67 



Nickel . 



■ * 



. 18-33 



Phosphorus 



. 18-47 



Magnesium . 



. 9-66 



Copper and tin . 



. trace 



Carbon and loss . 



. 4-87 





100-00 



Analysis of Meteoric Iron 



from Zacatecas, 



in Mexico, by Hugo Miiller 



; 



Iron . . . . 



. 90-91 



Nickel . 





. 5-65 



Cobalt . 





. 0-42 



Phosphorus 





. 0-23 



Sulphur 





. 0-07 



Silica . 





. 0-50 



Copper . 





. trace 



Magnesia 





. trace 



Insoluble res 



due . 



. 2-72 



100-50 



The insoluble residue obtained in the 

 foregoing analysis was magnetic. It con- 

 sisted of a black flocculent substance, and a 

 heavy shining body consisting of irregular 

 flattened and pointed particles of the colour 

 of pure nickel, which possessed all the cha- 

 racteristic properties of Schreibersite. On 

 analysis it afforded — 



Iron 75-02 



Nickel 14-52 



Phosphorus .... 10-23 



99-77 

 The black substance was present only in 

 very small quantity. 



It was not Graphite, or any other form 

 of carbon, but most likely some sulphide 

 soluble only in concentrated muriatic acid. 

 {Hugo Miiller.') 



Brit. Mus., Cases 1 and 1 A. : see also a 

 large mass placed against the wall under 

 the window. 



M. P. G. Principal Floor, Wall-cases 

 18 : also 40 (Canada). 



Meteoric Iron -is perfectly malleable, and 

 admits of being made into cutting instru- 

 ments, and used for the same purposes as 

 manufactured iron. It is also remarkable for 

 exhibiting, Avhen polished and etched with 

 acids, linear and angular markings (termed 

 Widmannstetten's figures), from which aa 

 impression may be printed on paper. (See 

 M.P.G. Wall-case 18.) It generally oc- 

 curs in irregular, frequently cellular, masses, 

 or imbedded in meteoric stones — rarely 

 crystallized in octahedrons. (See Meteo- 

 ric Stones.) 



Meteoric Minerals. See Apatoid, 

 Chantonnite, Chladnite, Dyslytite, 



lODILITE, HoWARDITE, MeTEORIC IkoN, 



Olivinoid, Partschite, Schreibersite, 

 or Shepardite, Sphenomite. 



Brit. Mus., Cases 1, 1a, 1*. 



Meteoric Stones, or Meteorites, are 

 not strictly simple minerals, but compound 

 bodies, resembling greenstone and other 

 rocks, which have fallen from the sky. The 

 surface of these is generally covered with 

 an exceedingly thin, black and shining crust, 

 presenting an appearance of superficial fu- 

 sion, or of a coating of pitch. S.G. 3-35 to 

 4-28. 



Meteoric stones have been divided by 

 Berzelius into two classes. — 1st. Those con- 

 taining Meteoric Iron, either in the form of 

 disseminated grains, or as a continuous ske- 

 leton (see Meteoric Iron), together with 

 other minerals (see Meteoric Minerals). 

 — 2nd. Those containing no iron, and pos- 



