Trans. N. Y. Ac. Sct. 74 March 10, 
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 Petra and in Afghanistan, already 
alluded to ina 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 allin 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 
