MEMOIR ON METEORITES. 



273 



The exterior is covered with oxide of iron ; in some places 

 so thin as hardly to conceal the iron, in other places a quarter 

 of an inch deep. Its hardness is so great that it is almost 

 impossible to detach portions by means of a saw. Its color is 



Fig. 1. 



white, owing to the large amount of nickel present; and a 

 polished surface, when acted on by hot nitric acid, displays 

 in a most beautifully regular manner the Widmannstattian 

 figures. The specific gravity taken on three fragments se- 

 lected for their compactness and purity is from 7.88 to 7.91. 



The following minerals have been fourid to constitute this 

 meteorite : 1. Nickeliferous iron, forming nearly the entire mass. 

 2. Proto sulphur et of iron, found in no inconsiderable quantity 

 on several parts of the exterior of the mass. 3. Schreibersite, 

 found more or less mixed with the pyrites and in the crevices 

 of the iron, in pieces from the thickness of the blade of a pen- 

 knife to that of the minutest particles. 4. Olivine;, two or three 

 very small pieces of this mineral have been found in the inte- 

 rior of the iron. 5. Protochloride of iron; this mineral has been 

 found in this meteorite in the solid state, which I believe is the 

 first observation of this fact; it was found in a crevice that 

 had been opened by a sledge-hammer, and in the same crevice 

 schreibersite was found. Chloride of iron is also found deli- 

 quescing on the surface ; some portions of the surface are 



