VICTORIAN METEORITES, WITH NOTES ON OBSIDIANITES. 
Collection . — National Museum, Melbourne. 
References..— I (p. 58), 2, 14, 19, 22 (pp. 885-886), 23 (pp. 59-60), 
29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 39 (pp. 129, 248, 285), 42 (pp. 24-26), 46, 
54, 55, 57 (pp. 259, 261, 268, 271, 272), 60. 
Until now this meteorite had not been systematically examined. 
Zimmerman, in his letter (60, p. 557), says that Abel made some 
tests which indicated the presence of a new iron, and suggested for 
it the name “ meteor in.” This iron, as already mentioned, is taenite 
and Avas more fully investigated by Flight in Ins examination of the 
Cranbourne No. 1, and called by him edmondsonite. Zimmerman 
also states that the meteorite was coated with a thick crust of hydrous 
oxide of iron and chloride of iron, and gives the specific gravity of 
the unaltered iron as 7 ’50. 
Haidinger (32, p. 469), evidently from information obtained from 
a private report of Neumayer, speaks of the specimen as having no 
real crust, but rather a heavy coating of oxide of iron. He mentions 
besides the presence of hygroscopic masses, considered to contain 
chloride of iron. These points are of some interest, and will be 
referred to again later. Neumayer obtained schreibersite from the 
meteorite. The Avriter (57), in addition to schreibersite, records 
graphite and troilite, all of which were determined by a superficial 
examination of the polished face of the specimen. Daubreelite was 
also mentioned as a possible constituent, but the investigation since 
undertaken, the results of which are given here, failed to affirm the 
presence of this mineral. 
Karl Ritter von Hauer (32, p. 470) analyzed samples from the 
R. K. Hofmuseums, sent to him by Haidinger (presumably some of 
the pieces received from Neumayer), and gives the nickel and iron 
contents, but it is not certain from which of the two large Cranbourne 
meteorites the samples came. 
Seen as it now rests on one side in the Museum, the meteorite 
has, roughly, a rectangular outline. 
It has three well-defined sides, the two larger of which are 
approximately at right angles to one another, while the remainder 
of its surface forms a fairly regular, unbroken, convex curve The 
largest of the three sides is almost flat, and the other two slightly 
concave These features, together with the angular intersections, 
strongly convey the impression that the three sides have been produced 
bv fracturing The sides differ also in superficial structure from the 
curved convex face, about a fifth of which still retains the characteristic 
furrows and thumb-marks of an original meteoric surface. Besides 
this on the curved face, but not Avithin the particular area ]ust referred 
to there are a number of cavities, varying in diameter up to 2 inches, 
and lined with ferric oxide, shoAving imperfectly a concentric arrange- 
ment These cavities undoubtedly have been formed by the de- 
composition and removal of troilite nodules. Here and there traces 
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