356 A. LIVERSIDGE, 



Eli Elwah or Hay Meteorite. 

 This meteorite was exhibited at a meeting of the Royal 

 Society of N.S.W., on November 7th, 1888, by Mr. H. O. 

 Russell, c.m.g.,f.r.s., Government Astronomer, 2 who states 

 that it had been found on Mr. J. Russell's Station Eli Elwah 

 some 15 miles west from Hay, N.S.W., 451 miles south-west 

 from Sydney; it was taken to the station by one of the 

 men, who said that he saw it fall ; but it had apparently 

 been lying exposed for a considerable time, oxidation was 

 going on very rapidly and it was probable that the stone 

 would not last very long. 



The fragment of this meteorite, given to me for examin- 

 ation and analysis by Mr. Russell, c.m.g., f.r.s., had a 

 weathered and rusty look, but the interior is tenacious 

 and hard enough to scratch glass ; I understand however 

 that the main mass of the meteorite originally 35i fbs. in 

 weight is rapidly disintegrating (Plate 15). Mr. Russell 

 found the specific gravity of the whole mass to be 3*537. 



Externally the fragment looks like a piece of dark brown 

 haematite with a blistered somewhat shiny surface. The 

 rusty appearance of a freshly fractured surface is due to 

 the dark brown colour of the material of the meteorite and 

 to the presence of a yellow-brown mineral, probably olivine. 

 Scattered through the mass are a few small cavities (rather 

 unusual in meteorites), not exceeding 1 mm. in diameter. 

 The meteorite gives a dark grey almost black streak on 

 porcelain. 



(a.) Moisture, lost at 110° to 115°= -543°/°. 



(b.) Portion soluble in ivater, = # 474 /°. 



As it was thought that the meteorite from its weathered 

 appearance might contain soluble salts a portion of the 

 powdered material (3*0 grammes) was extracted with 



* Journ. Roy. Soc, N.S.W., p. 341. 



