REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 47 



celebration of its tercentenary, and Hon. J. Eussell Lowell, American 

 minister to England, was requested by the Institution to act in that 

 capacity. He did so to its entire satisl'action and gratification, and oc- 

 cupied quite a prominent place on the occasion in question. 



Sonorous Sand. — An interesting problem to physicists and geologists 

 has been a sand found in certain localities, which, when placed in motion 

 by sliding, sometimes produces a very sonorous or resonant sound quite 

 peculiar in character and quite difficult of explanation. The subject 

 has received considerable attention from specialists, and Prof. H. C. 

 Bolton, of Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., desirous of making re- 

 searches on the subject, and especially in studjdng the microscopical, 

 chemical, and physical peculiarities of the grains, requested the aid of 

 the Institution in obtaining materials for the purjjose. Letters were 

 addressed to parties in the Sandwich Islands, the coast of Oregon, Ger- 

 many, and many other places, and a considerable variety of specimens 

 from various localities has been-received in resi)onse. These are now 

 in Professor Bolton's hands, who will prepare a report on the subject. 



The Mercer EUcde. — References have been made in previous reports 

 respecting the will of the Eev. Dr. Mercer, of ISTewport, in which the 

 Smithsonian Institution and Harvard and Yale Colleges are made trust- 

 ees to administer certain scholarships. 



A question arose as to whether these designations meant the present 

 incumbents of the offices or those who might be in power at the time 

 when the provisions of the will should take effect. 



This question having been brought before the courts of Ehode Island, 

 it was decided that reference was made to the officers in the abstract, 

 and not to the individuals, so that whoever may be in charge of the es- 

 tablishments in question when the provisions of the will are carried 

 into effect will be competent to take action. The amount involved at 

 present is about $300,000, and is likely to be doubled before action is 

 required. This action is contingent upon the death of certain legatees, 

 which will not take place, according to the tables of mortality, for about 

 thirty-five years. 



Walker Prize. — Dr. William J, Walker a number of years ago be- 

 queathed to the Boston Society of Natural History a prize fund, from 

 the income of which an annual award was to be made to the compet- 

 itor having written the best essay on specified topics. In addition to 

 these annual awards, an honorary prize of from five hundred or one 

 thousand dollars (at the discretion of the society) is founded, to be 

 awarded every five years, "for such investigation or discovery as may 

 seem to deserve it, provided such investigation or discovery shall have 

 been made known or published in the United States at least one year 

 previous to the time of award." The prize is to be bestowed on recom- 

 mendation of a special commission appointed by the society for the pur- 

 pose. 



