1890.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 35 



quantity of squeaking sand pressed between the thumb and fore- 

 finger produces, when wet, a peculiar, shrill squeak — a pheno- 

 menon which we think well explained by the attrition theory. 

 The magnificent acoustic display which I have witnessed in the 

 Desert of Sinai, and the somewhat less striking phenomenon at 

 Kauai, are, however, manifestly due to greater freedom of oscil- 

 latory motion than is possible if the particles merely scrape 

 against each other. 



Mr. Carus-Wilson announces a second edition of his paper on 

 musical sand. Dr. Julien and I await it with peculiar interest, 

 and shall be very much obliged to him for giving a large circu- 

 lation to the results we have obtained by extended travel and 

 years of study, though we would prefer to present the results to 

 the scientific public in our own way. 



[Specimens Exhibited. — Musical sand from Mana, Kauai, and 

 from Kaluakahua, Niihau. Also, for comparison, from Jebel 

 Nagous, Arabia. Musical sand from Masconomo Beach, Mass., 

 that was collected and bottled July 9th, 1884. This, when 

 tested in a bag, gave the characteristic sounds, easily heard by 

 the entire audience. Also two bags from Rockaway, L. I., col- 

 lected in 1885 and kept free from dust in a tin box. These still 

 preserve their musical power. The large bag of sand from Kau- 

 ai gave a much deeper musical note than the smaller bags from 

 Massachusetts and New York. Also very coarse black lava 

 sand from Punaluu, Hawaii ; ditto (finer) from Hilo, Hawaii ; 

 olivine sand from Kaumuhonu, Niihau ; volcanic ash from be- 

 low surface in Honolulu ; squeaking sand from Maine ; and 

 following rocks : amygdaloid from the Pali, Honolulu ; the 

 same from Haleakala, Maui ; scoriaceous and massive lava from 

 the same ; oo-vesicular lava from Mauna Loa, Hawaii ; lava col- 

 lected only twenty-four hours after flowing from Dana Lake, 

 crater of Kilauea, Hawaii.] 



At the close of the paper the subject was discussed by De. 

 Julien and Prof. D. S. Martin. 



November 3d, 1890. 

 Regular Business Meeting. 

 The President, Dr. Newberry, in the chair. 

 About twenty-five persons present. 

 The minutes of October 27th were read and approved. 



