57 



of Bradford; Moses Howe, Austin P. Nichols, and James Gale, of Ha- 

 verhill. 



Monday, July 16, 1866. Regular Meeting, 

 Vice President Goodell in the chair. 



The following persons were elected Resident Members : — John 

 Mullen and Thorndike D. Hodges, of Salem; Thomas Scott Abbott 

 and Edwin Genn, of Beverly ; William L, "Weston and John H. Sears, 

 of Dan vers. 



Thursday, August 2, 1866, Field Meeting at Manchester. 



This meeting was very largely attended. The morning was spent 

 as usual in rambles to the various interesting localities in the neigh- 

 borhood. The botanists sought the woods, which here offer one of 

 the finest resorts for their researches. Another party went to " Kettle 

 Cove," which presents much of Geological interest, and other parties 

 to the ponds ; but by far the larger number were attracted to the sea- 

 shore, where "Eagle Rock" and the several fine beaches offered great 

 attractions. The " Musical Sands," which are situated on part of what 

 is known as the " Old Neck Beach," were visited by many, and consid- 

 erable interest was manifested in this rare and singular phenomenon, 



Hugh Miller, in his " Cruise of the Betsey; or, A Summer Ramble 

 among the Hebrides," p. 75, describes a phenomenon so similar to the 

 one observed on the beach in Manchester, that we cannot give a better 

 description of our " Musical Sands " than copy the account of his. " I 

 was turning aside this sand of the Oolite, so curiously reduced to its 

 original state, and marking how nearlj^ the recent shells that lay em- 

 bedded in it resembled the extinct ones that had lain in it so long be- 

 fore, when I became aware of a peculiar sound that it yielded to the • 

 tread, as my companions paced over it. I struck it obliquely with my 

 foot, where the surface lay dry and incoherent in the sun, and the 

 sound elicited was a shrill, sonorous note, somewhat resembling that 

 produced by a waxed thread, when tightened between the teeth and 

 the hand, and tipped by the nail of the forefinger. I walked over it, 

 striking it obliquely at each step, and with every blow the shrill note 

 was repeated. My companions joined me ; and we performed a con- 

 cert, in which, if we could boast of but little variety in the tones pro- 

 duced, we might at least challenge all Europe for an instrument of the 

 kind which produced them. It seemed less wonderful that there should 

 be music in the granite of Memnon, than in the loose Oolitic sand of 

 the Bay of Laig. As we marched over the drier tracts, an incessant 

 woo, woo, woo, rose from the surface, that might be heard in the calm 



PROCEEDINGS ESSEX INST. VOL. V. 8 APRIL, 1867. 



