1897.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 99 



calities where nothing could be made to grow, though the cover- 

 ing is thick and apparentl}' good. Claj^ taken from a deep 

 excavation in Hamilton and placed on a garden proved almost 

 barren for three years despite the addition of many amendments. 

 At the same time when mingled with disintegrated " sandstone " 

 and vegetable matter, it eventuall}- becomes a soil of remarkable 

 fertility, so that the insignificant patches within the " sinks " 

 are valued at a price which seems far too high, yet is not, for 

 owners easily obtain a rental which in the United States would 

 be regarded asabsurdly exorbitant. 



The existence of this clay on a point so far from an^- other 

 land was perplexing, the material being clearly a residual prod- 

 uct. Its origin was pointed out by Thomson,* who found that 

 similar material is present in coral sand to about one per cent. 

 Manning's analysis appended to the chapter in which Thomson 

 makes this statement shows that coral itself contains about .65 

 of one per cent. But as will be seen, the Bermuda rock con- 

 tains, besides coral, remains of other forms in larger proportion, 

 in which the amount is somewhat greater, approximating that 

 given by Thomson. 



The Dune Sands. 



The north shore has few beaches, but the south shore, where 

 violent storms are more frequent and more effective, not only 

 because of the direction of the wind but also because of the 

 greater depth of the water and the absence of broad shallows, 

 shows long stretches of beach from a few feet to many rods 

 wide. Sand hills were seen at many places along this shore, but 

 the only extensive dunes examined are those near Tuckertown 

 in Hamilton and near Elbow bay in Paget parish. The dune at 

 the former locality is at the extreme northeast point of Hamil- 

 ton island and begins at nearly a mile beyond Tuckertown baj^ 

 whence it extends southwestward along the coast for more than 

 two miles. Beyond Tuckertown it is low, as the strip of land is 

 narrow and much of the sand has been carried over into Castle 

 harbor, as also at Tuckertown bay, which is now too shallow 

 for any except small fishing boats, though fifty years ago it ad- 

 mitted the smaller West Indiamen. Southwestward from the 

 line of that ba}^ the sand has been carried in some places to 

 fully one hundred feet above the tide, for the signal staff near 

 that village is reported to be set deeply into the sand. The ad- 

 vance, except near Tuckertown bay, has been checked and in 

 many places the dune is covered with vegetation. A few 3'ears 

 ago, one could see the chimney of a buried house near the cable 



*The Atlantic, p. Vol. I, p 295. 



