THE SINGING SANDS 
Best Example of Musical Quartz is 
on the Scotch Isle of Egg 
(From the London Standard) 
A lecture given at the Royal so- 
cieties club by Cecil Carus-Wilson 
was devoted to a consideration of 
the extraordinary sands known as 
‘““musical’’ or ‘‘ Singing ’”’ sands. 
The best singing sands in the world 
come from the isle of Egg, off the 
coast of Scotland, and it is com- 
forting to know that whatever fig- 
ure Britain may cut in grand opera 
she is at least pre-eminent when it 
comes to a question of singing sand. 
But what is singing sand? Mr. 
Carus- Wilson went to great pains to 
leave no doubt on the subject, and 
although his audience contained 
many eminent geologists he asked 
leave to begin at the very beginning 
and to treat his audience ‘‘as an 
audience of boys.’’ 
The lecturer showed how the 
rocks of which the earth is com- 
posed are decomposed by the ac- 
tion of natural causes, chiefly the 
weather; how cliffs become bowl- 
ders, how bowlders become pebbles, 
and pebbles in turn become sand. 
In the course of time it occurs that 
Nature, that most versatile old lady, 
produces a kind of sand which has 
music in its soul; a sand composed 
-of quartz, rounded and highly pol- 
ished, of a uniform size and very 
clean. 
And when these are agitated so 
as to produce vibrations, by means 
of the wind, by being trodden upon, 
or by being struck they produce 
musical notes. Such perfect depos- 
its are found in the isle of Egg, and 
it was by means of samples of the 
real egg variety that the lecturer 
produced musical notes. 
Filling a wooden eggeup with 
sand from the isle of Egg he 
stabbed the sand with a wooden 
ninepin abstracted, he said, from 
the nursery at home and produced 
a high musical note. The sand be- 
haved better in the eggeup than in 
anything else. In a cardboard box 
its musical note remained dumb, as 
it did in a flower pot and in the half 
of a rubber ball. In half a wooden 
Easter egg the sand from the isle of 
Egg, as the lecturer remarked, 
‘‘nositively reveled’? in its sur- 
roundings and emitted a_ sharp 
jovous saueaking. 
Musieal sands have been known 
for 1000 vears and it is believed 
that there is a reference to them in 
one of the tales of the ‘‘ Arabian 
Nights.’’ But Nature, who con- 
ducts experiments on quite a dif- 
ferent scale from those of last night, 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
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~” SOCIETY NOTES. 
Dr. James Henry Lancashire of 
Detroit, has secured Mrs. Wm. H. 
Howard’s cottage at West Manches- 
ter for the coming season. The Lan- 
eashire family will arrive early and 
remain late. Mrs. Laneashire, dur- 
ing a visit in Boston, came to Man- 
chester twice and found that portion 
of the North Shore very attractive 
in its winter dress. The Lanecashires 
have occupied the Hood cottage at 
Manchester for several seasons. 
MANCHESTER CHURCHES 
BAPTIST CHURCH— Rev. A. G. 
Warner, pastor. Public worship, 
10.45 a.m. Bible school, 12.15, ves- 
try. Men’s class, 12.15, auditorium. 
Young People’s union, 6.00. Eve- 
ning service, 7.00. Prayer meetings 
Friday evening at 7.30. Communion 
first. Sunday in the month. All 
seats are free at every service. 
ORTHODOX CONGREGATIONAL 
—Rev. L. H. Ruge, pastor. Sunday 
morning worship, with sermon, 
10.45. Bible school 12.00. Evening 
worship with sermon, 7.00. Prayer 
meeting Tuesday, 7.30, in the chape) 
Woman’s Missionary society the Ist 
Thursday of each month. Sittings 
ean be obtained of A. S. Jewett. 
SACRED HEART CHURCH—Rev. 
Mark Sullivan, pastor. Masses, 
7.00, 8.30 and 10.30 o’clock. Sun- 
day school at 2.30 o’clock. Rosary, 
Instruction and Benediction of the 
Blessed Sacrament, 3.30 o’clock. 
Week Days.—Morning mass at 7.30 
o’clock. Advanced class Friday 
evening at 7.30 o’clock. 
Harmony Guild will meet at the 
chapel next Monday evening, March 
18th, at 7.45 o’clock. Please bring 
Scissors. 
A reception will be given by the 
Junior Union of the Baptist church 
Saturday afternoon at 3 0’clock. Pic- 
tures of an illustrating nature of 
California will be thrown upon the 
screen. All are welcome. 
produces much finer results. There 
is the mountain of the bell on the 
shores of the Red sea, which makes 
extraordinary sounds and boomings 
when the wind sets the countless 
millions of particles rubbing against 
each other and vibrating. 
Darwin discovered the ‘‘Roarer’’ 
in Chile. which also makes tremen- 
dous noises and there are many 
other examples in various parts of 
the world. 
13 
The Annual Roll Call. 
The annual roll-call of the Con- 
gregational church, Manchester, took 
place Thursday evening. About 
eighty members responded to their 
name with Biblical and other apt 
quotations. 
The musical feature of the oceas- 
ion was the solos by Choirmaster 
Bezanson, Miss Jessie Hoare, accom- 
panist. 
Several of the deacons of ithe 
church delivered appropriate re- 
marks and addresses. Deacons 
Knight and Roberts, after the open- 
ing prayer by Rev. Mr. Harri- 
son and a few apt remarks by the 
pastor, expressing the hope that the 
growing cordiality and_ hospitality 
of the echureh might increase. 
Rev. Mr. Gleason, a former pastor, 
delivered an address and read several 
original poems which were very 
happily received. 
The committee on entertainment, 
Albert Cunningham, chairman, then 
furnished refreshments and a very 
sociable hour was spent for the re- 
mainder of the evening. Everyone 
expressed themselves as delighted 
with this annual gathering. 
WEST GLOUCESTER 
For other West Gloucester news 
see page twenty. 
At the regular meeting of the 
West Gloucester Grange held in the 
vestry of the Congregational church 
Tuesday evening, Worthy Master 
Walter F. Lufkin presided. In spite 
of the rain and muddy walking a 
fair showing of attendance was 
made. The feature of the evening 
was the address made by Rev. Wil- 
ham L. Muttart, pastor of the Con- 
gregational church, who gave some 
good practical advice relative to the 
church and the grange. 
The men of the Congregational 
church met with the pastor, Rev. 
Wilham L. Muttart at the parsonage 
Wednesday night and formed a 
men’s club. It is the first organiza- 
tion of its kind ever formed in con- 
nection with the church, and it is 
expected to be a big success, as all 
West Gloucester organizations usu- 
ally prove to be. 
Mrs. -Tibs: ‘‘Just think! That dia- 
mond that Mrs. Jibbs wears used to be- 
long to a hideous idol in Japan.’’ 
Mrs. Snibs: ‘‘ Well, it hasn’t improved 
its setting much.’’ 
‘Poor Mrs. Sniffey is in black, has 
she lost some loved one?’’ 
‘‘T think not, I heard it was her hus- 
band,’’ 
