Trans. N. Y. Ac. Set. 74 March lo, 



the summer season. On Chesapeake Bay the areas of sand having 

 sonorous properties occur in the midst of ordinary sand beaches of 

 great extent, and, since the eye cannot distinguish the sonorous from 

 the non-sonorous sand, the existence of the former is hardly recog- 

 nized, save by local fishermen and natives of the region. 



The experience gained on the visits to these five beaches led Dr. 

 Bolton to believe that sonorous sand is far more common than sup- 

 posed ; so he called to his assistance the services of Mr. S. I. Kim- 

 ball, Superintendent of the U. S. Life Saving Service, who kindly 

 sent out in his own name a circular, prepared by Dr. Bolton, ad- 

 dressed to the 200 keepers of Life Saving Stations in the United States. 

 From these keepers letters and samples are now frequently arriving. 

 Already forty-six (46) localities of sonorous sand have been reported, at 

 various points on the Atlantic coast, from Maine to North Carolina, 

 and on Lake Michigan. The speaker stated he had a list of 66 

 localities in all, including foreign. 



In conclusion. Dr. Bolton said he had not attempted to include in 

 his remarks accounts of many foreign localities on his lists, and that 

 he hoped on some future occasion to give the Academy particulars of 

 the remarkable hills in Arabia Petraea and in Afghanistan, already 

 alluded to in a previous communication. The microscopic examina- 

 tion of the samples of sand collected not being as yet completed, he 

 is unable to advance as yet any satisfactory theory as to the causes 

 of the singular phenomenon he has attempted to describe. Since 

 the acoustic properties are not confined to any particular variety of 

 sand (calcareous, quartzitic, and feldspathic sands alike are sonorous), 

 the problem is a difficult one. It is possible that different causes 

 are in operation at different localities. Information as to new local- 

 ities, and samples of sand, are earnestly desired by the author of the 

 paper and by his co-laborer on the subject. Dr. ALEXIS A. JULIEN. 



During his remarks. Dr. BOLTON opened a jar of the sonorous sand 

 which he had collected at Manchester-by-the-Sea on September 5, 

 1883, and which had remained tightly closed since that date. On 

 rubbing this sand briskly between the palms of his hands, a sound 

 was elicited which was distinctly audible to all in the audience. This 

 experiment established the fact that the sand will preserve its acoustic 

 properties when hermetically sealed. 



DISCUSSION. 



Dr. A. A. JULIEN reported provisionally on his microscopic examina- 

 tion of the sonorous sands. As to the materials of which they are 



