8l& Quick Sand. 
er, they would become more moveable among themselves, and the 
mass would be rendered more fluid. 
Prof. Hitchcock* describes quick sand under the name of muck 
sand, from the idea that it might prove valuable as a manure. 
The beds of which he speaks occur in the alluvial deposites on 
the Connecticut river, and its tributaries. In speaking of these 
beds he says: 
"In the banks of our streams, this stratum is the first one from 
the surface that arrests the water in its descent into the earth: and 
hence water is seen oozing out from it in almost every place. It 
frequently lies immediately above a stratum of gravel. It is also 
remarkable for its yielding nature when wet: it being easy to run 
a pole several feet into it, and unless covered with turf, a man 
in walking over it will sink into it several inches. The cause 
of its arresting water in its descent, and also of the extreme 
mobility of its particles among themselves, is probably chiefly 
dependent upon the fineness of its texture, and the form of its 
particles, rather than upon its chemical composition. When an 
attempt is made to dig into it with a spade, or trowel, it conducts 
very much like soft suit. And yet its composition is decidedly 
sandy: and therefore I call it muck sand, although it generally 
goes by the mean of quick sandJ' 
To show the difference in the chemical constitution of quick 
sand, from different localities, we will here give several analyshs 
of it: 
Quicksand from Massachusetts. 
LOCALITY. 
Soiulerland. 
Sheffield. 
Water, of absorption, 
- 3S0 
200 
Organic matter, 
3-50 
2-00 
Silica, ... 
- 64.01 
70-68 
Alumina, 
15-03 ) 
- 12-04 S 
27-07 
11-61 ) 
Oxide of iron, 
10-10 i 
Lime, 
0-10 
0-SO 
Magnesia, 
- M6 
1-63 
Salts soluble in water. 
0-10 
0-15 
Sulphuretted hydrogen and loss, 0-26 
1-03 
21-71 
fioo-oo fioo-oo 
• Final Report on the Geology of Massachusetts, vol. i., p. 107- 12. 
t Analysis by Prof. Hitchcock. 
