1884. 99 Trafts. N. V. Ac. Sci. 



other way. On writing these views to Professor Ward, he replied in a 

 letter acknowledging their correctness. All the travelers, however, con- 

 cur in describing quartz sand resting on an incline and possessing very 

 great sonorous power. Agitation of the sand causes it to slide down 

 the incline, and, as it moves, a noise resembhng at first a humming, 

 then a roaring, increasing in volume until it is likened to distant 

 thunder. Professor Palmer noticed also the production of a slight 

 sound by sweeping portions of the sand rapidly forward with the arm, 

 which, moreover, caused a peculiar tingling sensation in the operator's 

 arm. All the observers agree in noting the perfect dryness of the sand, 

 and Professor Palmer thought the heated sand issued louder sounds 

 than that in the shade. The Arabs residing in Tor ascribe the sounds 

 to strokes by a priest on a nakous, or gong, calling his fellow-monks 

 to prayers in the monastery concealed within the bowels of the earth. 



Two wonderful sand-hills have been described by travelers in Afghan- 

 istan. One, forty miles north of Cabul, was visited by Sir Alexander 

 BURNESin 1837; the second, 150 miles south of Herat, near the borders 

 of Persia, was visited by Capt. Evan Smith in 1870-72. The general 

 characters of these places resemble those of Jebel Nakous, and the 

 sounds emitted by the moving sand are similar. Reports have been 

 made of a sonorous dune in Nevada, twenty miles south of Stillwater, 

 in Churchill County. This dune is said to be 100 feet to 400 feet high 

 and four miles long ; when agitation of the sand starts it sliding, a noise 

 is produced like that from telegraph wires fanned by a breeze. 



The localities in which sonorous sand is found may be divided into 

 three classes : first, sea and fresh-water beaches, where all the sand 

 possesses the sound-producing quality permanently, as at Eigg, Man- 

 chester, Plattsburg, etc. ; secondly, sea-beaches where small tracts of 

 the sand possess acoustic properties transiently, as along the Atlantic 

 coast, in New Jersey, North Carolina, and on the Baltic ; thirdly, 

 sand-hills in the interior or otherwise, whose steep slopes give rise to 

 acoustic phenomena of great magnitude, as at Kauai, in Nevada, and 

 at Jebel Nakous and Reg Ruwan. 



Investigations to determine the true cause of the sonorous property 

 of sand are in progress. Any information concerning new localities, 

 and samples from the same, will be received very gratefully. 



May 5, 1884. 



Regular Business Meeting. 



The President, Dr. J. S. Newberry, in the Chair. 

 A large audience was present. 



