VICTORIAN METEORITES, WITH NOTES ON OBSIDIANITES. 
evaporated, when it yielded a faint deposit which gave a slight 
smell on heating. The powder was washed with ether, dried and 
allowed to remain in ferric chloride solution for several days. It 
was then thoroughly washed with water, and treated with ether 
for a similar period.. The ether solution was then poured off, and 
on its evaporation, crystallized products were obtained, identical 
in all respects with those dissolved by the same agent out of the 
black grains of the undetermined sulphide. Tests proved them to 
be pure sulphur. It is evident from this that the presence of free 
sulphur may be brought about by the action of lawrencite on 
troilite. In all probability, in no instance does sulphur occur 
as an original constituent in meteorites. It may be noted here 
that pyrrhotite behaved in exactly the same way when submitted to 
similar treatment. In regard to the hydrocarbon it was thought 
that decomposition of the cohenite by lawrencite may have, in some 
way, brought about its formation, but experiments with ferric 
chloride gave only negative results. It is possible that this failure 
was owing to the treatment not being continued over a period long 
enough to allow the chloride to take effect. Some significance 
however, may be attached to the fact that Hall in dissolving the 
Langwarrin cohenite in aqua regia for analysis, found that a brownish 
substance was formed, which produced effects in filtering similar 
to those obtained by treating some pure iron ore ground up with 
bituminous brown coal with aqua regia. 
Fletcher, 1 also, in his paper on the taenite of the Youndegin 
meteorite, refers to some insoluble reddish-purple pulverulent 
mattei left after dissolving taentie m aqua regia, which disappeared 
on ignition. He regarded it as an organic compound, and that it 
was possibly due to the action of aqua regia on a trace of cohenite. 
Silicious Residue. — The difficulty of obtaining residues free 
from contamination was even greater than in the case of the Cran- 
bourne No. 2, for the crust in places enclosed a large percentage of 
quartz sand and possibly also other minerals, and there was no 
knowing how far some of these extraneous bodies may have found 
their way into the part of the meteorite used in the tests. 
Some of the taenite, showing the fine prismatic and other crystals, 
was dissolved, and the residue left behind contained fine transparent 
particles of quartz and opaque white ones of a similar appearance 
to those observed in the residue of the Cranbourne No. 2. 
BENDOC [BENDOCK] METEORITE. 
Class. — Siderolite. 
Weight . — About 60 lbs. 
Locality. About 7 miles from Bendoc (Lat. 37° 11' S Rnna 
148° 58' E) close to N.S.W. border and 63 miles N.E. from Orbost' 
county of Croajmyolong. 5 
* Min. Mag., 1899, Vol. XII, pp. 173-74. 
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