CHAPTER V 
THE SANDS. 
ORIGIN OF SAND—SAND NOW CARRIED DOWN TO THE SEA—THE SANDS OF 
EGYPT AND THE ADJACENT DESERT-THE SUEZ CANAL-THE SANDS OF EGYPT 
-COAST DUNES AND SAND PLAINS—SAND BANKS—DUNES ON COAST OF AMER¬ 
ICA—DUNES OF WESTERN EUROPE—FORMATION OF DUNES-CHARACTER OF 
DUNE SAND-INTERIOR STRUCTURE OF DUNES-FORM OF DUNES-GEO¬ 
LOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF DUNES—INLAND DUNES—AGE, CHARACTER, AND 
PERMANENCE OF DUNES-USE OF DUNES AS BARRIER AGAINST THE SEA— 
ENCROACHMENTS OF THE SEA—THE LIIMFJORD—ENCROACHMENTS OF THE SEA— 
DRIFTING OF DUNE SANDS—DUNES OF GASCONY—DUNES OF DENMARK—DUNES 
OF PRUSSIA-ARTIFICIAL FORMATION OF DUNES-TREES SUITABLE FOR DUNE 
PLANTATIONS—EXTENT OF DUNES IN EUROPE—DUNE VINEYARDS OF CAPE 
BRETON—REMOVAL OF DUNES-INLAND SAND PLAINS—THE LANDES OF GAS¬ 
CONY-THE BELGIAN CAMPINE—SANDS AND STEPPES OF EASTERN EUROPE— 
ADVANTAGES OF RECLAIMING DUNES—GOVERNMENT WORKS OF IMPROVEMENT. 
Origin of Sand. 
Sand, which is found in beds or strata at the bottom of the 
sea or in the channels of rivers, as well as in extensive de¬ 
posits upon or beneath the surface of the dry land, appears to 
consist essentially of the detritus of rocks. It is not always by 
any means clear through what agency the solid rock has been 
reduced to a granular condition; for there are beds of quart- 
zose sand, where the sharp, angular shape of the particles ren¬ 
ders it highly improbable that they have been formed by 
gradual abrasion and attrition, and where the supposition of a 
crushing mechanical force seems equally inadmissible. In 
common sand, the quartz grains are the most numerous; but 
this is not a proof that the rocks from which these particles 
