1872.] Meteoric Iron from Augusta Co., Virginia. 



367 



rubber tube, with the annular space between the tubes filled with glyce- 

 rine. A plate of glass floating on the mercury in the funnel at top served 

 to prevent the risk of air being carried down, as the metal was gently 

 poured on through another and smaller funnel with narrow aperture. 



A good vacuum having been obtained in the cold, lighted charcoal was 

 placed in the furnace, and gas very soon began to come off. 



It was determined to analyze separately that collected at the beginning, 

 middle, and end of the process, in order to see whether the different con- 

 stituent gases were given off at the same or at different rates. The total 

 amount obtained was 36'33 cub. centims., reduced to 0° C, and 1 metre 

 pressure. This was divided into three portions for analysis as follows : — 



h m 



Portion A. . . . 52'02 per cent, of the whole was collected in 2 30 



Portion B 24*11 „ „ „ 2 20 



Portion C 23'87 „ „ „ 9 40 



100-00 14 30 



It will be seen that the greater part came off within the first two hours 

 and a half ; but the process lasted fourteen hours and a half and was not 

 entirely over at the end even of this time. The heat had been gradually 

 raised from dull redness to something nearly approaching whiteness at the 

 end of the time ; and when the experiment was stopped very small but still 

 perceptible traces of gas were still coming off, though their appearance 

 was immediately arrested whenever the temperature was allowed to fall 

 but a little below the high point which had been reached. 



The piece of iron taken out from the tube when it had become quite cold 

 was found glazed by a thin film of fused phosphide of iron and nickel 

 (Schreibersite), thickest on the edge which had been lowest, this phosphide 

 having oozed out from the mass at the very high temperature used. 



The tubes used to collect the gas during the first portion of the time 

 occupied in the experiment were found slightly moistened on the inside, 

 and the moisture, which had a distinctly acid reaction, was proved to 

 contain hydrochloric acid, this having no doubt been derived from the 

 chlorine existing in the iron in combination with that metal and with nickel. 



Careful analysis of the gas yielded the following results by volume for 

 the three portions separately collected : the fourth column of figures, ob- 

 tained by summing up the three which precede it, gives the percentage 

 composition of the whole of the gaseous matter extracted from the iron : — 





Portion A. 



Portion B. 



Portion C. 



Total gas 





22-12 



10*52 



3-19 



35-83 



Carbonic oxide . . . 



. 15-99 



11-12 



11-22 



38-33 



Carbonic anhydride 



. 7-85 



1-02 



•88 



9-75 



Nitrogen 



6-06 



1-45 



8-58 



16-09 





52 02 



24-11 



23-87 



100 00 



