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of a mass of native iron in Brasil. 275 
hitherto noticed in meteoric iron, but as your specimen shows 
this circumstance very well, I need not describe it. 
None of the fragments possess magnetic poles. 
No vitreous substance appears about the mass, as in many 
of the known blocks of meteoric iron. 
Having taken a few reagents with me, for the examination 
of the thermal springs which had been pointed out to me, I 
tried the malleable part of the mass on the spot, for nickel, 
and I thought at the time that its presence was indicated ; but 
I am now satisfied that the phenomena which I noticed, might 
have arisen from iron alone. 
I have found my specimens more liable to rust, I think, 
than wrought iron generally is ; and in a damp atmosphere 
a liquid oozes out from the crevices. 
I repaired to the spot where the mass was discovered, 
namely, on a rising ground on the left bank of the river 
Bendego, and caused the soil and gravel to be removed until 
we came to the bed described in the government documents. 
We found it at less than three feet depth. I had expected 
to find in it a considerable protuberance, such as might have 
fitted the cavity underneath the mass of iron, for I was con- 
vinced that the block itself must have been firmly attached 
to the bed, otherwise it would not have required such a con- 
siderable power to turn it on its side. 
However, I did not; and thinking that we were not exactly 
on the spot, I caused two trenches to be opened down to the 
bed, and crossing each other, the one being between two and 
three yards long, and the other between one and two. Every 
part of the bed that was uncovered was perfectly flat and hori- 
zontal, except where we dug first ; there it was broken, and, 
MDCCCXVI. O O 
