than two diameters," and from this Mr. L. Fletcher concludes "that a meteorite of large size would not be prevented by the earth's atmosphere from having a penetration effect sufficient for the production of such a crater."[238] The meteoric origin of this remarkable "crater" is strongly favoured by Mr. G. P. Merrill, Head Curator of Geology, U.S. National Museum. The Canyon Diabolo meteorite above referred to was found to contain diamonds! some black, others transparent. So some have said that "the diamond is a gift from Heaven," conveyed to earth in meteoric showers.[239] But diamond-bearing meteorites would seem to be rather a freak of nature. It does not follow that _all_ diamonds had their origin in meteoric stones. The mineral known as periodot is frequently found in meteoric stones, but it is also a constituent of terrestrial rocks. In the year 1882 it was stated by Dr. Halm and Dr. Weinhand that they had found fossil sponges, corals, and crinoids in meteoric stones! Dr. Weinhand thought he had actually determined three genera![240] But this startling result was flatly contradicted by Carl Vogt, who stated that the supposed fossils are merely crystalline conformations.[241] Some meteorites contain a large quantity of occluded gases, hydrogen, helium, and carbon oxides. It is stated that Dr. Odling once "lighted up the theatre of the Royal Institution with gas brought down from interstellar space by meteorites"![242] On February 10, 1896, a large meteorite burst over Madrid with a loud report. The concussion was so great that many windows in the city were broken, and some partitions in houses were shaken down![243] A very brilliant meteor or fireball was seen in daylight on June 9, 1900, at 2{h} 55{m} p.m. from various places in Surrey, Sussex, and near London. Calculations showed that "the meteor began 59 miles in height over a point 10 miles east of Valognes, near Cherbourg, France. Meteor ended 23 miles in height, over Calais, France. Length of path 175 miles. Radiant point, 280°, 12°."[244] It was decided some years ago "in the American Supreme Court that a meteorite, though a stone fallen from heaven, belongs to the owner of the freehold interest in the land on which it falls, and not to the tenant."[245] With reference to the fall of meteoric matter on the earth, Mr. Proctor says, "It is calculated by Dr. Kleiber of St. Petersburgh that 4250 lbs. of meteoric dust fall on the earth every hour--that is, 59 tons a day, and more than 11,435 tons a year. I believe this to be considerably short of the truth. It sounds like a large annual growth, and the downfall of such an enormous mass of meteoric matter seems suggestive of some degree of danger. But in reality, Dr. Kleiber's estimate gives only about 25 millions of pounds annually, which is less than 2 ounces annually to each square mile of the earth's surface,"[246] a quantity which is, of course, quite insignificant.