The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-11-11

for generations, and by disposing 81 bits
to various European museums on his way
home was able. he said. 70 pay all the en-
penses OF his trip 10 Tcheran.
The Harvard collection Is cataiogued 40
cording 10 date OF supposed fall, although
Il Ia admitted that these dates are often
very uncertain. A the author OF tho cass
aioxne says: The connection between the
fire-baii which attracted attention and the
meteorite subsequently, found is often
only assumed. and not established
A msteorite however. u more valuable N
seen 10 fail Next to the prehistoric Ohio
specimens. tho earliest falls represented
~ Cambridge are three dating back 10
ilet. two In saxnny and one IN bohemia.
One each IL asoribed 20 the fourteenth.
fifteenth ana sixteenth centuries. and
eighteen 70 the eighteenth The earliest
American fall recorded In Campo del Cfeio,
from the Argentine Republic IN tsS3, ana
the frst IN the United States Ia the wea-
ton Comm. isa.
Not every specimen offered 70 the COL
iccinr % masnoritrx Is genuine. indeed,
mistakes are common. Not long ago an
old farmer wrote to the Harvard rnnaeuru
stating THAI when he was . boy In ists
he had seen shooting star fan In the
held back of hts house. this he had nov
dug ~. and he was ready 10 resolve an
offer for II from the museum. ON exam
ination the supposed rnete0rits proved to
be common boulder. which had lain tn
the old mAn's field for sl.eo years, mora
or lees. II IL oftentlmes very dtfficitIt
thing 10 locate the exact spot where .
msteorise falls. The hilnainx light. the
whole startling nature OF the phenoms-
non. viii ofsen cause an observer 80 thsua
that Il has fallen close at hand. shsn in
reality the distance may be as much as
txepiy~fivc o. even fsty miles.
MetoofifeN are either of stone, or ~
from mixed with nickel Before the latter
are put on exhibition they srs usually cut
sn two TO show a polished surface which
il etched with acid to bring out the va.
riety 81 the structure. Certain sneteor-
ties thus treated show what are called
Naturalization gaKHres~a form ~ crys.
talitxati0n IT great beauty which IN found
IN terrestrial iron. and then irnpeffectly,
only To specimens from Disco island,
Greenland, where rnAss 81 bsssit has
flowed 10 from the interior ~ the earth.
MstsoriteK. ~ course, are the only phys
icsl evidences We have Of the connpositisa
~ other celestial bodies than snF own.
Their general scientific interest "a that
they probably represent the eonpositl0n
~ the Interior ~ our earth. Although
the GF@snland iron j. the anIY terrestrial
iron resembling true nsstsssic iron. ths
crust - tbs earth contains rpeks very
similar % both the sten4 ard tha Iron
neseorftsas wlih ths sxcepiiSn that tbs
neseoric lFoa IA represented b. some form
81 oxidiEafiGn % iron. The oxidation
has taken plaes, ~ course. in the paesaEa
81 these rocks upward through the eArth's
crust Another analogy ~ drawn from
the connection bsfwesn iron azd dls-
Yn0nds. In south Africa diamonds appear
IN rock narh like an frou neteorfte.
with the distinction ~ oxidation. and
the arst successful Production ~ Arfsa-
r.Ai diamonds WAS from the cooling az
melted iron under pressure, ADJ 70 these
facts one nlure-that the Canon Disblo
msteorlse has been found 30 contain mi
croscopic diampnds-and IL viii be seen
how Interesting a comparison Of tsrres-
trial ana celestial usinerxiogy may bseonA