SANDWICH SANDWICH ISLANDS. 



91 



has been formed at, different periods, under different 

 circumstances, and is hence associated with differ- 

 ent rocks. Red sandstone is sometimes connected 

 with coal. Sandstone, more particularly in the 

 older formation, sometimes contains metallic sub- 

 stances disseminated through the mass, or in beds 

 or veins. Among these are sulphurets of iron, 

 mercury, lead and copper, pyritous copper, and 

 arsenical cobalt. Various organic remains occur in 

 sandstone, among which are reeds, impressions of 

 leaves, trunks of trees, and shells, both fluviatile 

 and marine. Sandstone, in some of its varieties, is 

 very useful in the arts, and is often known by the 

 name of freestone. When sufficiently solid, it is 

 employed as a building stone. In most cases, it 

 may be cut equally well in all directions ; but some 

 varieties naturally divide into prismatic masses. 

 Some varieties are used as mill-stones for grinding 

 meal, or for wearing down other minerals, prepara- 

 tory to a polish. These stones, while rapidly re- 

 volving, sometimes burst with a loud and danger- 

 ous explosion. When the texture is sufficiently 

 porous, sandstone is employed for filtering water. 

 Some varieties are used for whetstones. Some 

 sandstones absorb moisture, and, by exposure to the 

 changes of the atmosphere, are gradually disinte- 

 grated; others become more solid by much expo- 

 sure. Pudding-stone, or conglomerate, is only a 

 very coarse sandstone. It is composed of siliceous 

 pebbles of quartz, flint, siliceous slate, &c., united 

 by a cement, which is usually siliceous, sometimes 

 both siliceous and ferruginous, and sometimes a 

 little argillaceous. These pebbles vary in size from 

 that of a pea to that of an egg. They are ordinarily 

 rounded or oval ; and it is, in fact, chiefly by the 

 more or less rounded form of these pebbles that 

 puddingstone is distinguished from breccia. It is 

 sometimes employed for mill-stones, and some varie- 

 ties receive a good polish. All true conglomerates 

 must of course be composed of fragments of previ- 

 ously existing rocks. They have, however, been 

 ibrmed at very different periods. A breccia is an 

 aggregate of angular fragments of the same mineral, 

 or of different minerals, united by some cement. 

 Sometimes, however, a few of the fragments are a 

 little rounded. 



SANDWICH, a cinque-port and market-town in 

 Kent, sixty-eight miles east by south from London. 

 The town is situated on the river Sfour about two 

 u.iles from the sea, and near the commencement of the 

 Watling Street of the Romans; the streets though 

 irregularly built, are well paved and lighted, and 

 the inhabitants are supplied with excellent water 

 from the river and also from a spring which rises 

 near Eastry, and is brought to the town by a canal 

 three miles long, called the Delf, cut in the reign 

 of Edward I. The river, which is navigable for 

 small vessels only, is crossed by a bridge of two 

 arches, with a swing-bridge in the centre, to allow 

 them to pass without lowering their masts; this 

 bridge connects the town with Stonar and the Isle 

 of Thanet. The port extends from the North 

 Foreland, to the north-east, six miles from the 

 shore in eleven fathoms of water, and to the south 

 as far as the head of Goodwin Sands continuing 

 along ror five miles to Sandown Castle; and in a 

 south-west direction to the quay at the mouth of 

 the Gestling. It includes within its jurisdiction as 

 a cinque-port, Fordwich, Sarr, Ramsgate, Deal, 

 Walmer, and Stonar. The foreign trade of Sand- 

 wich, is for the most part with Norway, Sweden, 

 and the Baltic, in timber, iron. &c. ; and the home 



trade consists in exporting corn, flour, hops, and 

 seeds, malt, fruit, and ashes. Ship building and 

 rope-making are carried on to a certain extent, but 

 the silk-weaving and woollen manufactures intro- 

 duced by the Flemings, have dwindled away. Po- 

 pulation in 1841, 2913. 



Sandwich gives the title of Earl to the Montague 

 family ; at the coronation of kings it sends three 

 barons to assist at the solemnity, and when there is 

 a queen, six. The modern term Sandwich, applied 

 to a lunch of bread and ham, is said to have arisen 

 from an eccentric or penurious earl of the name 

 having been in the habit of providing himself with 

 one in his pocket, to avoid dining in town. 



SANDWICH ISLANDS; a cluster of islands in 

 the North Pacific ocean, discovered by captains 

 Cook and King in 1778, who gave them their pre- 

 sent name in honour of the first lord of the admiral- 

 ty. The group consists of ten islands, of which 

 eight are inhabited, and extends from lat. 18 5CK 

 to 22 2(X N., and from Ion. 154 53 to 160 15' 

 W., lying about one third of the distance from the 

 western coast of Mexico to the eastern coast of 

 China. The population of the whole group was 

 estimated by captain King at 400,000, but, accord- 

 ing to Ellis, does not at present exceed 150,000, 

 the diminution being owing partly to the desolating 

 wars of Tamehameha's reign, and partly to the 

 ravages of a pestilence, brought in by foreign ves- 

 sels, which has twice prevailed in the islands. The 

 total superficial extent is about 6000 square miles. 

 The principal islands in extent and population are 

 Hawaii (Owhyhee), 4000 square miles, 85,000 in- 

 habitants ; Maui (Mowee), 600 square miles, 20,000 

 inhabitants; Oahu (Woahoo), 520 square miles, 

 20,000, containing the town of Honolulu, the resi- 

 dence of the king, of the foreign functionaries, and 

 twelve or fourteen merchants, chiefly Americans, 

 with about 7000 inhabitants : Tauai (Atooi,), 525 

 I square miles, 10,000 inhabitants. The latter island 

 and Nihau (Oneehow) are distinguished for the 

 cultivation of the yam, and are much resorted to 

 by ships for supplies of that article. Most of the 

 islands are volcanic and mountainous. In some 

 places, the volcanoes are in activity. Several of 

 the summits are of great height. The loftiest, 

 Mouna Roa, and Mouna Kea, are estimated at about 

 15,000 feet. The climate is warm, but not un- 

 healthy, the winter being marked only by the pre- 

 valence of heavy rains between December and 

 March. A meteorological table gives as the greatest 

 heat during the year, 88 of Fahrenheit, as the 

 least 61. The only quadrupeds originally found 

 in these islands were a small species of hogs, dogs, 

 and a sort of rat. There are now large herds of 

 cattle in Hawaii, and many tame ones in the other 

 islands, goats, sheep, and horses. There are no 

 poisonous reptiles, excepting centipeds, which are 

 neither large nor numerous. There are an abundance 

 of sea-fowl on the coasts, and in the interior a species 

 of parrot and a kind of woodpecker, with which the 

 images of the gods were formerly adorned. The 

 vegetable productions are taro (arum esculentum), 

 yam, bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, and strawberry. 

 Oranges, grapes, and other tropical fruits, have 

 been introduced, and thrive well, and some culinary 

 vegetables are cultivated for the shipping which 

 resorts thither. The situation of the Sandwich 

 islands renders them important to vessels navigat- 

 ing the Northern Pacific, partly for repairs and pro- 

 visions, and partly in commercial respects. After 

 the visit of Vancouver (1792), they were not much 



