VICTORIAN METEORITES, WITH NOTES ON OBSIDIANITES. 
NOTES ON CHEMICAL PROCEDURE. 
Mr. P. G. W. Bayly supplies tlie following notes on the methods 
used in the chemical investigation of the Cranbourne No. 2, Lang- 
warrin, and Yarroweyah meteorites : — - 
“ General Method of Analysis. — Solution was best effected 
by dilute nitric acid, followed by hydrochloric acid, the solution 
evaporated just to dryness with hydrochloric acid, taken up with 
the same acid and water, boiled and filtered. 
The iron (with phosphoric acid) was precipitated by ammonia 
and filtered, dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and precipitated by the 
basic acetate method and filtered, dissolved in nitric acid, repre- 
cipitated by ammonia, ignited and weighed. The use of basic 
acetate is necessary, and the procedure adopted proved satisfactory 
in separating the nickel. The iron precipitate, after weighing, was 
dissolved and tested for nickel, a trace only being found. 
Phosphorus (P) was determined in the iron precipitate except 
where sufficient material was available for a separate test. The 
phosphorus was separated by double precipitation with ammonium 
nitromolybdate, according to the method of Woy. The combined 
filtrates from the iron separation were concentrated, the copper, 
cobalt, and nickel precipitated as sulphides and ignited. The 
copper was then separated in acid solution as sulphide, and deter- 
mined by colorimetric method as ferrocyanide. 
The cobalt was precipitated by potassium nitrite, and weighed 
as Co 3 0 4 , or as sulphate. The nickel was precipitated by dime- 
bhylgly oxime, filtered through a Gooch crucible and weighed. 
. Troilite. The sulphur of the troilite was determined by fusio n 
with sodium carbonate and potassium nitrate. 
Schreibersite. — This substance was isolated by continuous 
treatment of the fragments of the meteorite with hydrochloric acid 
Ihe taenite flakes were picked out, and the light carbonaceous 
residue washed off from the schreibersite. The mineral was treated 
continuously with copper-ammonium chloride until no fur the 
action was observed— indicated by the absence of liberated carbon, 
the residue consisted of schreibersite and rhabdite, and the latter 
was removed as far as possible by sifting over unglazed paper, 
which served to retain the light, acicular crystals. The amount 
of rhabdfie obtained from the Cranbourne No. 2 meteorite was not 
sufficient for analysis., while the Langwarrin contained only a trace 
ihe residual schreibersite was a bright, pyritic-looking material 
[54] * 
