SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY. 
205 
portion of the body pursued its way onward over the State of New York 
and out of the earth’s atmosphere seems doubtful. Its path was nearly 
parallel to the surface of the earth, and might easily be upward in its latter 
part. But if the sky was then clear over western New York, the meteor 
would in such case certainly have been seen in that region. The path was 
N. 75° E., and nearly or quite a straight line, not less than 1,000 miles 
long. The duration of flight was variously estimated from fifteen seconds 
up to three minutes, but of course no one saw the body through more than 
a fraction of its path. It entered the air in a course differing only about 
30° from the earth’s motion, and was overtaking the earth. Its real motion 
therefore made a still smaller angle with that of the earth, but the relative 
velocity was so slow, probably not more than ten or fifteen miles per second, 
that the earth’s attraction must have changed its direction greatly. Pre- 
vious to the change it must have been coming from a point near and a little 
south of the ecliptic, in the eastern or southern part of the constellation 
Copernicus, but there appears to be no known meteor radiant at that time 
near that part of the heavens. According to the “Western Review” 
(February, 1877), the meteor was first observed at Hays City, Kansas, 
passing slowly along at an altitude of about 25 degrees above the horizon. 
In passing over Kansas City (Missouri), it is said to have appeared “ about 
as large as the full moon, with a train from 25 to 100 feet long, of a red- 
dish or orange colour, and entirely unattended with any noise or sound.” 
MINERALOGY. 
Native Metallic Iron from Brazil. — M. A. Damour has communicated to 
the French Academy of Sciences ( Comptes rendus, March 12, 1877) a notice 
of a native metallic iron from Santa Catharina, in Brazil, which is sup- 
posed to be of meteoric origin. The mass resembles wrought iron in appear- 
ance, can be worked with the file, and, although malleable, breaks easily when 
strongly bent. Its fracture is fine grained, and shows an appearance like 
stratification in some parts. A polished surface, when treated with acid, 
showed Widmanstatten’s figures. Its filings, when moistened and exposed 
to the air, do not oxydize. The specific gravity of various fragments was 
found to be 7*747, 7*825, and 7*836. M. Damour describes the ; process of 
analysis to which he subjected this substance, and gives the following as 
the result : — 
Iron . 
0*6369 
Nickel 
0*3397 
Cobalt 
0*0148 
Sulphur 
0*0016 
Phosphorus . 
0*0005 
Carbon 
0*0020 
Silicium 
0*0001 
Total . 0*9956 
The proportions of carbon and silicium are therefore very nearly the same 
as are found in the best samples of iron ; and the amount of nickel is very 
