1890. | NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, 30 
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 Hxhibited.—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 Dr. 
JULIEN and Pror. D. 8. 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. 
