ilex.

posed to the air a slight flocculent precipitate of oxide of manganese falls down. On filtering afresh the solution has a fine yellow colour, which would be supposed to be owing to chrome. It was then saturated with nitric acid, and evaporated to dryness. During this operation it assumed the appearance of a jelly, which indicated the presence of silex. The nitrate dried, and redissolved in water, communicated to it but a very slight tinge. The silex, which had been separated, was perfectly white. The solution of nitrate of potash, tried in all ways with solutions of silver, mercury, and lead, even after having been considerably concentrated, did not exhibit the least sign of the presence of chrome. It appeared therefore, that the yellow colour of from the plati. the solution was owing to a small quantity of platina taken iia of the cru- up by the potash from the crucible in which the stone had by the potash, been treated.

No chrome.

Yellow colour

cible acted on

Residuum.

Silex.

Müriatic solution.

Lime.

The residuum, which had been separated from the green alkaline solution, was diluted in water, and supersaturated with muriatic acid, which dissolved it completely. This solution, which had a fine yellow colour, was evaporated to dryness, then diluted in acidulous water, and filtered. The sitex, collected on a filter, was perfectly white, and was added to that before obtained.

The muriatic solution freed from silex was of a lemon colour. Being decomposed by ammonia in considerable excess, a very bulky brown precipitate was formed, which was collected on a filter. To the ammoniacal liquor oxalic acid was added, which produced a very copious precipitate of oxalate of lime. This was carefully filtered. Though the solution was colourless it was evaporated to dryness; and, after having beeu strongly heated, to volatilise part of the sal ammoniac, it was redissolved in water, and made to boil. On adding some potash a light black precipitate was obtained, which was carefully collected. This precipitate, while still wet, was dissolved in muriatic acid. The solution, which was yellow, was diluted with a pretty large quantity of water, and decomposed by saturated carbonate of potash, which occasioned some light flocks, that could not be collected without great trouble. The colour of these Яocks was a greenish white; and they dissolved in ammo

aia, which they tinged blue. This blue solution being evaporated, a little oxide was left, which could not be weighed ; but it was treated with muriatic acid, and a slip of iron immersed in the solution, which did not become coated with copper. It is evident therefore, that this small quantity of matter was nickel. The liquor containing saturated Nickel. carbonate of potash had retained a little manganese, but Manganese. not the slightest trace of magnesia. No magnesia.

I boiled the brown precipitate formed by ammonia in a Alumine. solution of pure potash, which took up some alumine. This was separated, and treated with sulphuric acid. The alumine still retained a small quantity of silex and lime. After having let the oxide of iron dry, I treated it with Silex. muriatic acid, and evaporated to dryness; when a small portion of silex again separated from it. All the silex was mixed together, and heated red hot. The muriatic solution of iron was decomposed by saturated carbonate of potash, filtered, and evaporated; when it still yielded a little More manga oxide of manganese, without any magnesia being discover-nese, but no

able.

magnesia.

1

As I suspected, that the oxide of iron might still retain Iron and a lit a little lime, or magnesia, I redissolved it in muriatic acid, tle lime. and precipitated by oxalate of ammonia; but I obtained only a light yellow precipitate, which was oxalate of iron. mixed with a little oxalate of lime. This I heated red hot, and then redissolved in muriatic acid. This solution I decomposed by ammonia, to get the oxide of iron; and precipitated the lime by oxalic acid. To precipitate all the iron from the solution to which oxalate of ammonia had been added, I employed the hidrosulphuret of ammonia, which formed a black precipitate. This was well washed, dried, calcined, then redissolved in muriatic acid, and precipitated afresh by ammonia. The solution decomposed by hidrosulphuret of ammonia contained no lime.

It follows from all the facts exhibited in this analysis, Component that the aerolite of Stannern contains silex, alumine, lime, parts, accord iron, manganese, nickel, and sulphur; but I found neither ing to Vaumagnesia nor chrome.

quelin.

The

Muriatic acid found in it, Differences in

Oxide of manganese

Oxide of nickel, a slight trace, scarcely

to be estimated at 001

Sulphur, an atom

101.

In another examination of this stone pretty evident traces of muriatic acid were found.

These results differ a little from those obtained by Mr. the two results. Moser: 1st, iu exhibiting no magnesia; 2dly, in containing nickel; 3dly, in a slight increase of weight, instead of loss; an increase necessarily consequent to the oxidation of the iron. This increase would have been still greater, if I could haye calculated the quantity of sulphur disengaged by means of the hidrogen.

Differs from This aerolite then is of a different species from those that ther aerolites, have hitherto been analysed, since it contains neither magnesia, nor chrome, substances constantly found in the other aerolites; and in containing a considerable quantity of alumine, traces of which alone have been found in others.

get certainly

enc.

Existence of -lumine in meteoric stones doubted,

Yet this Moravian aerolite has all the external characters, that distinguish productions of this sort; and from the account given me it appears unquestionable, that it fell from the atmosphere.

Note. It appears from a former paper in the Annales de Chimie, vol. LXIX, p. 280, that the Institute had entertained some doubts of the reality of the existence of alumine in meteoric stones, announced by Mr. Sage; see Journal, vol. XXIV, p. 190; because it had not occurred in the stones analysed by others. Mr. Vauquelin accordingly analysed a stone, that had fallen no long time before near Parma, but "could not discover in it at most above 0015 of alumine." He would willingly have analysed a specimen

firmed.

specimen of the stone, in which Mr. Sage had found it; but this gentleman had none left, except the piece fashioned into a vase. Mr. Vauquelin however saw the products obtained by Mr. Sage, and was induced to think, that what he had considered as alum was a mixture of the sulphates of alumine, iron, and nickel. The subsequent analysis by but now conMr. Vauquelin however, given above, not only confirms the existence of alumine in these stones; but that, as Mr. Sage observed, it is in very different proportions; for the stone of Stannern contained more than either of the stones analysed by Mr. Sage. In the following extract of a letter from Mr. Klaproth we find farther confirmation of the fact. C.

VIII.

Extract of a Letter from Mr. KLAPROTH to Mr. Gehlen*.

I HAVE just finished the analysis of a meteoric stone, Analysis of

that fell in the afternoon of the 13th of May, 1807, in the district of Juchnow, in the government of Smolenski, during a very heavy thunderstorm with a cloudy sky. It weighed 4 poods, or 120lbs. Berlin weight [124lbs. avoir.]. Like all meteoric stones it is covered with a slight grayish black crust. Interiorly it is of an earthy ashen gray. It is mixed with many little specks of pyrites, globules of iron, and many spots of brown oxide of iron. Its specific gravity is 3-7. It gave me as its component parts:

another mete

oric stone.

That of Ensisheim contains. alumine,

Alumine in

easily over.

Jooked.

Terre terte.

It is somewhat remarkable, that I found alumine and lime in this meteoric stone, since no mention has been made of alumine in particular in the analysis of meteoric stones hitherto published. It is true Bartholdi, of Colmar, announced 0.17 of alumine in the stone of Ensisheim; but Vauquelin assures us, that he found this stone like all others.

As I have a specimen of the stone of Ensisheim in my ́collection of meteorolites, I subjected a certain quantity to analysis, and found in it 1 per cent of alumine.

Ac

It is very easy however, to overlook alumine, when it is small quantity contained in very small quantity in stones, as you justly observed on my analysis of the terre verte of Verona. cordingly on repeating this analysis I found, that, by boiling the recently precipitated oxide of iron with a solution of caustic potash, I obtained 175 of alumine: this there fore is a principle to be added to those of the earth of Verona, and its weight must be deducted from that assigned to the oxide of iron.

Analyses seldom exact.

Decomposition

To speak generally I am far from pretending, that my analyses, even the most accurate, are perfectly just and exact; it is only by a careful repetition of them, that we can approach as near as possible to the truth.

Among all the experiments of Ritter on Davy's decomof the alkalis. position of the alkalis I found the phenomena exhibited by tellurium most interesting. [See Journal, vol. XXIV, p. Tellurium will 318.] This property of tellurium leads us to expect, that probably de compose water we may accomplish the decomposition of water so that the by attracting hidrogen shall enter into combination, and the oxigen be its hidrogen. separated in the form of gas. It is much to be wished, that this metal was more easy to be procured, that we might pursue these experiments; for at present we have no way of obtaining it but from the foliated ore of Nag

Alk. line m tais

krep well un

yag.

The products of soda and potash, which we obtained in the er at of tur laboratory of the academy, in conjunction with Mr. Simon pentine, but and Mr. Ermann, by employing the galvanic apparatus, have kept very well for three months under oil of turpentine, retaining their metallic lustre, particularly the large pieces. The oil of turpentine has acquired a transparent brown red co

convert it to a soap,

lour,