NIAGARA. 245 



them. But no human instrument has been brought to 

 bear upon these stones. They have been wrought into 

 their present shape by the wind-blown sand of Lyell's 

 Bay. Two winds are dominant here, and they in 

 succession urged the sand against opposite sides of the 

 stone ; every little particle of sand chipped away its 

 infinitesimal bit of stone, and in the end sculptured these 

 singular forms. 1 



The Sphynx of Egypt is nearly covered up by the 

 sand of the desert. The neck of the Sphynx is partly 

 cut across, not, as I am assured by Mr. Huxley, by 

 ordinary weathering, but by the eroding action of the 

 fine sand blown against it. In these cases Nature 

 furnishes us with hints which may be taken advantage 

 of in art; and this action of sand has been recently 

 turned to extraordinary account in the United States. 

 When in Boston, I was taken by my courteous and help- 

 ful friend, Mr. Josiah Quincey, to see the action of the 

 sand-blast. A kind of hopper containing fine silicious 



1 ' These stones, which have a strong resemblance to works of 

 human art, occur in great abundance, and of various sizes, from 

 half-an-inch to several inches in length. A large number were 

 exhibited showing the various forms, which are those of wedges, 

 knives, arrow-heads, &c., and all with sharp cutting edges. 



'Mr. Travers explained that, notwithstanding their artificial 

 appearance, these stones were formed by the cutting action of the 

 wind-driven sand, as it passed to and fro over an exposed boulder- 

 bank. He gave a minute account of the manner in which the 

 varieties of form are produced, and referred to the effect which 

 the erosive action thus indicated would have on railway and other 

 works executed on sandy tracts. 



' Dr. Hector stated that although, as a group, the specimens on 

 the table could not well be mistaken for artificial productions, still 

 the forms are so peculiar, and the edges, in a few of them, so 

 perfect, that if they were discovered associated with human works, 

 there is no doubt that they would have been referred to the so- 

 called "stone period."' Extracted from tlw Minutes of the Welling- 

 ton Philosophical Society, February 9. 1869. 



