* Astronomy

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE DEAL METEORITE.
BY F. J. KEELEY.

In the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1830, Volume VI, page 182, Mr. Robert Vaux and Dr. Thos. M'Euen described the fall of a small stone meteorite at Deal, Monmouth County, New Jersey, August 14, 1829, 11.30 P. M., a portion of which they presented to the Academy.
In 1851, Shepard, who had received part of this specimen from the Curators of the Academy, published some further information, including a determination of its specific gravity, which he reported as 3.25 to 3.30.
At the present time, but thirty grams of this meteorite is known to be in existence, hence, sufficient material for adequate investigation is not available without too greatly impairing the specimens, but it seems desirable that at least some additional description be recorded.
The Academy's specimen, which weighs 20.8 grams, and there- fore constitutes over two thirds of the known material, consists of one end of a stone that may have been originally three times as large. Its length is about 35 mm., width 25 mm. and thickness 15 mm. and on more than half of it, the original surface is preserved, rounded and pitted by fusion, and covered with a dull black crust averaging .3 mm. in thickness.
The broken surface, of about 30 mm. by 25 mm., when examined with the microscope, is extremely fine and uniformly grained and of pale pearl gray color, penetrated by a few narrow black veins which are continuous with the crust and branch and anastomose. Scattered through the mass are innumerable minute grains of metal and sulphide, the largest of the former not exceeding 1 mm. and few being over .2 mm., while the grains of sulphide average even smaller with no tendency to form larger nodules. There are also a few small black particles and a slight rusty tint is visible over much of the surface but no exudations of molysite to indicate the presence of lawrencite. A careful study of the entire broken surface under a binocular compound microscope with magnification of about 40, failed to reveal a single chondrule or larger crystalline mass, but near one end there is a spherical depression about 1.5 mm. in diameter which looks as if it might have been the matrix of a chondrule.

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