VICTORIAN METEORITES, WITH NOTES ON OBSLDIANITES. 
and consisted of dull black, carbonaceous-looking grains (the sub- 
stance of investigation), a little greyish -black graphite, and ex- 
traneous quartz. The black grains turned red and fused to a 
black magnetic globule when heated on charcoal by the blowpipe 
flame. Digested with strong nitric acid and fused in the borax 
bead, the reactions were quite similar to those characteristic of 
the Cranbourne No. 2 material. It was thought that the rather 
severe hydrochloric acid treatment the powdered crust had 
received, would have removed all the troilite. Apparently, how- 
ever, that mineral occurred as a fine impregnation throughout the 
black grains, and was only partly dissolved out, for after grinding 
and further digestion with hydrochloric acid, copious sulphuretted 
hydrogen was given off and the solution strongly reacted for iron. 
It was evident, therefore, that the behaviour on charcoal was 
at least partly owing to the presence of troilite. 
Some of the powder which had been treated with hydrochloric 
acid until reactions for iron and sulphur ceased, was treated 
with petroleum ether for twenty-four hours. 
The residue from this treatment was then submitted to hot, 
strong nitric acid, which completely decomposed it with the separa- 
tion of free sulphur. In addition to sulphur, strong reactions were 
obtained for nickel and iron in the nitric acid solutions, while cobalt 
was found in smaller quantity, and chromium was unmistakably 
present. Taking the chromium as representing daubreelite, the 
tests show the compound to be a sulphide of nickel and iron with 
some cobalt. As mentioned under Cranbourne No. 2, the substance 
is likely enough identical with the unknown cobalt compound 
referred to by Smith in his work on a graphitic nodule from 
Cranbourne No. 1. The evidence seems definite enough to 
justify the inclusion of the substance as a meteoric constituent. 
The ether solution was allowed to evaporate. In the first place 
small crystals adhering to the side of the beaker appeared 
when about half of the ether had evaporated ; secondly, on complete 
evaporation similar but larger crystals, including some acute octahedra 
ot a pale yellow colour, and white acicular crystals, forming feathery 
aggregates were deposited. The crystals which adhered to the 
beaker produced a copious sulphur sublimate when heated in the 
closed tube. Heated in the open, a not unpleasant odour was first 
detected, and this was succeeded by a smell of sulphur. The crystals 
from the first treatment of the Langwarrin material showed many 
simple, acute, apparently rhombic octahedra, besides others 
more or less modified. At times also the oscillation of the 
octahedra produced long constricted crystals, tending to develop 
into acicular forms, which seemed to merge into the white 
aggregates The latter were for the greater part confined to the 
upper part of the evaporating dish, but everywhere were more or 
less mixed with the yellow crystals. Gently heated, the yellow crystals 
