CHAPTER IV 



SOME EXPERIMENTS WITH THE SAND 



Apparatus required. 



Sand, about 6 lbs. ; clay, about 6 lbs. Six funnels, 

 stands and dishs [1]. Six glass jars [2]. One box 

 with glass front shown in Fig. 13 filled with clay and 

 sand as indicated. Quarry chalk {about 5 lbs.). Six 

 beakers [1]. Six egg-cups [1]. 



If there is a sand pit near you, or a field of sandy 

 soil, you should get a supply for these experiments ; if 

 not, some builder's sand can be used. When the sand 

 is dry you will see that the grains are large and hard. 

 Further, they are all separate and do not stick together ; 

 if you make a hole in a heap of the sand, the sides fall in, 

 there is nothing solid about it, and you can easily see the 

 mistake of the foolish man who built his house upon 

 the sand. When the sand is wet it sticks better and 

 can be made into a good many things ; at the seaside 

 you can make a really fine castle with wet sand. But as 

 soon as the sand dries it again becomes loose and begins 

 to fall to pieces. 



Strong winds will blow these fragments of dry sand 

 about and pile them up into the sand hills or dunes 

 common in many seaside districts (Fig. 11). Blowing 

 sands can also be found in inland districts ; in the 

 northern part of Surrey, in parts of Norfolk and many 



