174. Fretp Museum oF NaTuraL History — Geo.oey, VoL. III. 
of the iron was quite resistant and hence the cutting was performed 
with some difficulty. Beneath the surface the iron is relatively soft. 
The depth to which the hardening extends is small and unmarked by 
any change of structure that can be observed either on etched or 


Fig 1. Etching figures of Quinn Canyon meteorite. X2. 
unetched sections. Mr. Jenney describes the meteorite as covered 
with a “thin, smooth skin of magnetic oxide’’ which he considered 
to have protected the mass from corrosion. It is true that the color 
of the surface of the meteorite is brownish-black as compared with 
the nickel-white color of the interior, and this surface color probably 
indicates superficial oxidation. The coating of oxide is, however, 
exceedingly thin. The interior of the iron is of nickel-white color 
