Metals, MINER 
but the difference is accounted for by the cellular and. 
porous character of the native lubftance. It contained 
iron 98-3, nickel 17. The analyfes of other varieties of 
native iron, except in one or two inftances, correfpond 
clofely with that of the Siberian. And, fince they almoft 
univerfally contain a portion of nickel, they feem more 
piioperly to belong to the next lpecies.' 
z. Ferrum meteoricum, or meteoric iron : amorphous, 
of a granular texture, outwardly covered with a black 
fcoriaceous cruft, internally alhy-grey mixed-with minute 
fliining particles. Found at Wold Cottage in Yorkshire, 
in Scotland, various parts of the continent, at Benares, 
and in America and Siberia, where they have been depo- 
fited by the burfting of meteors ; at firft, when they fall 
from the atmofphere, they are laid to be hot, and their 
defcent to be accompanied with a loud explofion and hif- 
fmo- noile; they are found of various magnitudes, from a 
few ounces to feveral tons in weight. See the article 
Fire-ball, vol. vii. p. 386. 
It is worthy of oblervation, that a fimilar alloy of iron 
and nickel is conftantly met with in thefe compound 
bodies, which are found in equally infulated fttuations 
with the mafles of native iron already mentioned ; and the 
-tradition and account of the origin of the compound and 
of the metallic bodies is the fame; for it is aflerted that 
■ both have fallen from the air. However improbable this 
opinion may appear at the lirft view ; yet, when we con- 
fider that thefe lubftances differ in their compofition from 
all hitherto known, and at the fame time remarkably re- 
lemble each other; that, in very different parts of the 
world, they are met with under circumftances which in 
themfelves might lead to the fuppofition that they had, 
fallen from a great height on the fpot where they now 
are; and that ,the tradition and accounts of thole who 
live in the neighbourhood almoft invariably corroborate 
this opinion ; and, laftly, that in one or two inftances 
they have appeared for the firft time at the moment of 
the explofion of a meteor; and have then been of a much 
higher degree of temperature than they have ever fince 
been, or in their prelent fituation can be :—when all thefe 
circumftances are confidered, it would hardly be a mark 
of wildom to dilbelieve at leaft the pofiibility of fuch an 
origin as that to which they are generally alcribed. 
Some have fuppofed that thefe mafles have been pro¬ 
jected from another planet; beyond the fphere of whole 
attraction they have been carried, by a force which has 
■brought them within the fphere of this. The notion is 
uncommon, but cannot be called abfurd. 
Mr. Howard has given an accurate account of thefe 
earthy lubftances in the fame paper which contains an ac¬ 
count of the native iron of Siberia. He lays that they are 
upon the whole diftinguifhed by the following characters : 
Their form is irregular. Externally they are covered 
with a thin incruftation of a deep black colour; the lur- 
face of which is rough, like fifh-lkin, and without the 
fmalleft glofs ; this incruftation feems to poffefs the pro¬ 
perties of iron in a low Hate of oxydation. Internally 
they are of a greyifti alh-colour. Their texture is granu¬ 
lar, and refembles that of a coarfe grit-ftone. Small grains 
of a yellow colour and metallic appearance, not unlike 
iron pyrites, are irregularly diftributed through their fub- 
ftance ; thefe when powdered are black, and are not at¬ 
tracted by the magnet. Particles of perfeClly-metallic 
iron are alio found in the fubftance of thefe ftones ; but 
not in fuch abundance as the laft-mentioned particles ; 
they are completely malleable; are attracted by the mag¬ 
net themfelves, and communicate the fame property to 
the ftone ; of the whole weight of which they conftitute 
about one fiftieth part. The two foregoing fubftances, 
together with numerous globular or elliptical bodies 
which vary in fize from that of a fmall pin’s head to a pea, 
are cemented together by means of a friable earthy lub¬ 
ftance of a whitilh-grey colour. - Thefe ftones have no ar¬ 
gillaceous fmell when breathed on. 
A L O G Y. Metals. 405 
Mr. Howard examined three different varieties of thefe 
ftones: one of which came from the Siennefe territory, in 
Italy ; another, from Yorklhire ; (fee Fire-ball, p. 389.) 
and the third, from the neighbourhood of Benares, in 
India. The foregoing defeription, though applicable to 
all in general, is derived from the laft, as polfeffmg the 
mod diftinCt characters. It was part of a ftone which fell 
with many others, one of which weighed almoft three 
pounds, at about the diftance of fourteen miles from 
Benares, on the 19th of December, 1798, at eight o’clock- 
in the afternoon. The iky was perfectly ferene for many 
days before and after the fall. 
The fpecific gravity of the ftone from Italy was 3-41 
- - -- - - -- -- -- - Yorklhire 370 
- ---------- - - Benares 375 
A piece of the Yorklhire ftone contained, in 150 parts, 
filex 75, magnefia 37, oxyd of iron 48, oxyd of nickel 2, 
making an excefs of 12 from the ablorption of oxygen 
during the procefs of analyzation. The Benares and 
Sienna ftones gave nearly the fame proportion of oxyd of 
nickel as that of Yorklhire. 
Let us repeat, that, with one exception, native iron in¬ 
variably contains nickel; as do alfo the metallic particles 
of the ftones above delcribed. The other conftituent 
parts are the fame in both; and only differ in their pro¬ 
portions. If therefore we fuppofe the metallic particles of 
the ftones, or the globular earthy particles of the native 
iron, to be increafed in quantity, the latter at the fame 
time lofing their tranfparency; the native iron and ftones 
would approach nearly to the fame ftate; and, from the 
above data, Mr. Howard conjectures there may be a na¬ 
tural connexion between the two fubftances ; and that 
both have been depofited originally from meteors. 
3. Ferrum chalybeum, or hard iron : attracted by the 
magnet, reducible to grains, black with a black ftreak, 
of a compaCt texture, and common form. Found at the 
bale of the mountain Urdjumlki in Siberia, and in the 
mines of Sweden : it ftrikes fire with fteel, and is malle¬ 
able after fufion: contains from 50 to 60 per cent, of good 
iron, which is con vertible into the bell kind of fteel, and 
a little fulphur. 
4. Ferrum feleCtum, or fine iron: attracted by the 
magnet, reducible to grains, black with a black ftreak, of 
a very-finely-granular texture, and common form. Found 
in molt iron-mines; and yields a confiderable proportion 
of good iron, 
5. Ferrum commune, or common iron: attracted by the 
magnet, reducible to grains, black with a black ftreak, of 
a coarfer granular texture, and common form. Found in 
molt countries containing mines of iron, and is fubjeCt to 
many varietiescontains a large quantity of ore, and fome- 
times fome fulphur. 
6. Ferrum cryltallinum, or cryftallized iron : attracted 
by the magnet, black with a black ftreak, in the form of 
cryltals. Found in various parts of Britain, Norway, Swe¬ 
den, Germany, Corfica, See. generally ftrongly attached to 
their matrix : the primitive form of the cryltals is regu¬ 
larly eight-fided, or cubical, or in fix-lided prifms termi¬ 
nated by three quadrangular faces: colour greyilh-black 
or grey, with more or lets of a metallic luftre, and they 
give a black powder. Specific gravity, from 4-200 to 
+‘ 939 - „ . „ 
7. Ferrum glareofum, or magnetic fand : attracted by 
the magnet, black with a black ftreak, in the form of 
fand. Found in Italy at the bafe-of volcanic mountains, 
in the rivers and on the Ihores of Great Britain, Siberia, 
Greenland, Bohemia, Jamaica, and India; and feems to 
be the fragments of other ores walhed down and commi¬ 
nuted by torrents and the w-aves of the lea. The grains 
are obtufe-angled, deep glittering, very hard and mag¬ 
netic, of a conchoidal fraCture, not altered by the blow¬ 
pipe, melting into a black glafis with potalh, and into a 
green glafs with microcoftnic fait. Specific gravity, 4-6. 
8. Ferrum hepaticum, or hepatic iron ; attracted by the 
magnet. 
