CRANBOURRE, ROWTON, AND MIDDLESBROUGH. 
891 
Iron. 
= 63-613 
FeS requires 
63-64 
Sulphur .... 
= 36-333 
36-36 
Copper .... 
= 0-079 
. . 
Chlorine .... 
= 0-130 
100-155 
100‘00 
Y. Square, strongly magnetic, prisms of iron-nickel phosphide. 
The next mineral, the composition of which we have to consider, is that forming the 
prisms which, as we have already seen, are scattered throughout the mass of the nickel- 
iron and form nearly 1 per cent, of its mass. They resist the action of hydrogen 
chloride and are only dissolved after long treatment with very strong acid; they 
dissolve, on the other hand, easily in hydrogen nitrate. They exhibit strong magnetic 
characters. They seem to be identical with the mineral to which Gustav Bose gave 
the name of rhabdite. They appear to form square prisms, and the terminal faces of 
the prism could rarely be met with. 
The prisms were exceedingly brittle and were rarely, if ever, of their normal length. 
It was a difficult matter to obtain the prisms quite free from organic matter (dried 
varnish, &c.), but the following very pure material was at last obtained :— 
I. 
II. 
in. 
Mean. 
(Fe 4 Ui 3 )P. 
Nickel . . 
. 49-715 
.. 
48-955 
49'335 
48-38 
Iron . 
. 36-666 
39-519 
38-540 
38'242 
38-23 
Phosphorus . 
. [13-619] 
12-586 
12-645 
12-950 
13-39 
100-00 
The specific gravity of several specimens of the prisms gave numbers varying 
from 6-326 to 6*78. 
A few years ago Professor Daubree* pointed out the great resemblance which he 
had traced between the artificial phosphide of iron, Fe 8 P, which M. Sidot had 
succeeded in preparing, and the rhabdite of meteoric iron. I have to offer my hearty 
thanks to Professor Daubree for permitting me to inspect some of M. Sidot’s crystals, 
which bore the closest resemblance to the above crystals. More recently, in the 
spring of last year, M. E. Mallard! communicated a note to the ‘Comptes Bendus/ on 
phosphide of iron found among the products of the spontaneous fires in the coal mines 
at Commentry. The crystals are square prisms, terminated by a pyramid, are strongly 
* G. A. Daubree, ‘Comptes Rendus,’ lxxiv., 1427 j and M. Sidot, ‘Comptes Rend us,’ lxxiv., 1425. 
t M. E. Mallard, “ Sur la production d’un phospliure de fer cristallise et du feldspath. anorthite, dans 
les incendies des Rouilleres de Commentry.” ‘ Comptes Rendus,’ 1881, xcii., 933. 
