The Florence daily tribune., 1902-01-15

Prof. George P. Merrill, curator OF
the department of geology of the Ma
tional Museum, VINO is engaged in
making chemical analysis of the
specimen known as Ardmore meteorite.
has recently issued a statement con-
cerning a stony meteorite which fell
near Felix. Perry county, Ala. on May
Is, 1900, says the Washington Times.
This meteorite has many points OF re-
semblance to the Ardmore meteorite,
which latter stone contains an element
SO difficult of classification as to lead
many scientists to believe that Prof
Merrill Ia on the point of discovering
a new mineral. Prof Merrill. however,
does not share this belief, thinking that
under further examination the battling
constituent Will prove to be known
quantity. For the details concerning
the fall of the Alabama meteor, as well
as for securing the specimen itself, the
National Museum is indebted to j. w
Coleman, who visited the locality and
obtained the statements of eye wit
nesses. Prof Merrill describes the gen.
eral appearance of the state as follows:
so far as can be learned-a part OF
the information being obtained by Mr.
Coleman from negroes-the state at the
time of the explosion broke into thrsa
pieces, the largest of which was the
one brought to Mr. Sturdevant, and is
said to have originally weighed about
seven pounds, as already noted An
other small piece was found, but has
disappeared, and the third, if such
there was, was never found. The stone,
as obtained by Mr.. Coleman, was
broken into five pieces, which weighed
altogether 2,049 grams. 1t is about
thirteen centimeters in It's greatest
length by nine in breadth, and about
the same thickness. and was covered.
except where broken, by very thin
black crust, nowhere more than half a
| millimeter in thickness. The color on
the broken surfaces is dark smoky
gray, almost black. 1t is very fine
| grained, with numerous small dark
chondrules, not more than one or two
millimeters in diameter at most, and
with no metallic iron visible to the
naked eye The mass is quite soft and
friable, and resembles in a general way
the stones of Warrenton Warren coun
| ty. Mo-, and Lance France, more close
| ly than those of any locality with
which the author is acquainted. The
color is however, darker than is the
Warren county stone, and the chon-
| dritic structure more pronounced than
| in that of Lance 1t is, moreover. uni
formly gray in color, and not speckled
with white, AS is the last named I'm
der the microscope the stone is seen at
once to belong to the chondritic type
as is indeed evident on close inspection
by the naked eye. The essential min
erals are olivine, augite and enstatite
| with troilite and native iron the sill
Gates occurring in the form of chon-
| drules or associated in more or loss
| fragmental particles, embedded in a
| dark Opaque or family translucent
| base which is irresolvable, so far as
the miscroscope is concerned. The
structure is pronouncedly fragmental,
and the stone belongs beyond question
to the group of tufts"
After a careful and minute investiga-
| ton into the microscopic structure OF
the specimen Prof. Merrill determined
the mineralogical composition to be as
follows: Metal. 3.0i per cent; troilte,
476; chromite, III: graphite, 0.36; SOL
uble silicate (olivine in parD, 1850; in
soluble silicate (enstatite and augite in
parD, 1907.