The Dickinson press., 1890-10-04
A SAND THAT BARKS.
AN AccouNT OF THE MUSICAL EARTH
OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.

AN ACCOUNT OF THE MUSICAL EARTH
OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.
A snvant Describes a Curious Portion of
h Globe Makeup-Musical Sand Is
Found in Several Countries-Some Hy-
potheses to Explain the Cause.
The so-called s'barking sands" o Kauai
are mentioned in the works of several
travellers in tho Hawaiian islands, and
have a worldwide fame as q natural curl
osity. AS rule, however, the printedac
counts are meager in details, and show
the authors to have been unacquainted
with similar phenomena elsewhere.
Jointly with DIR. Alexis A. Julien, of
Columbia college, New York, 1 have been
studying the properties of sonorous sand
for u long time, and have visited many
localities in America, Europe and Asia;
hence l was able during a recent visit to
Kauai to make some notes and compare
sons that may interest the residents of
this kingdom.
Notwithstanding recent rains l found
the sand on tho dune at Mana dry to the
depth of four Or five inches, and when
pushed down the steep incline it gave
out n deep base note having a tremulous
character. This hardly resembles the
"%barking' of a dog, but n sound somc-
what like it is produced by plunging the
hands into the sand and bringing them
vigorously together. Another way is to
fill a long bag three-quarters full of sand,
parts, holding mi in each hand, to clap
the two portions together. This l had
found to be a good method for testing
the s-onorousness of sand on sea beaches.
A bag of the sand will preserve its
acoustic qualities a long time if kept dry
and not too frequently manipulated.
The angle at which the sand lies where
it falls over the dune is 81 degrees; the
sonorousness extends several hundred
feet along the dune, being interrupted
by Il creeping vine that thrives marvel
ously i'll such a soil.
A similar dune of onorous sand &C.
ours on Niihau, as has long been known
to residents Of the island, and it has been
also reported to occur near Koloe.
These observations, simple as they are,
have been of special interest to me, be-
they show that the sand of these
localities forms a link between that of
the sea beaches and that of a certain hill
on the Gulf of Suez known as Jebel Ma
gous, and which I visited in April, 1889.
Sonorous sand is of more common occur
renee than generally supposed. 1t is
found on the Atlantic coast Of the Unit
ed States from Maine to Florida, ON the
Pacific coast, in Europe, Japan, Africa,
Tasmania, ETC., as well as on the shoresof
many fresh waterlakes. In these localities
it forms areas generally between low
tide and the base of adjoining dunes, and
emits sounds only when subjected to
friction by the feet and hands or in u
bag as described. At Jebel Nagous, in
Arabia, on the other hand, the sand rests
in a %ravine, and produces sound only
when it rolls down the incline (Which it
often does spontaneously and fails to re-
spond to kicks and cuffs.
The sand at Mana, rs shown, unites in
itself both these acoustic properties. The
angle at which the sand lies at Jebel
Nagous is the same rs at Mana, 81 de-
grees being the "angle of rest" for fine
dry sand. The musical notes obtained
at these far separated localities are also
the same, but in Arabia the incline is
300 feet high, and consequently the
sounds are far louder, especially as they
are further magnified by being echoed
from adjoining cliffs.
The sand at Kauai and Niihau is made
up Of fragments of shell and coral, while
that Of all other localities known to us
lover 100 in number) is siliceous. This
shows that the sonorousness is indie
pendent of material. Examination under
the microscope further shows that the
sonorous quality is not connected with
the shape of the grain.
Sonorous sand is distinguished by
being Gree from fine dust or silt; the in
dividual grains are very uniform in size.
1t is very easy to deprive sand of its
acoustic power by mixing a little earth
with it or by wetting it. 1t is difficult,
if not impossible, to restore to sand its
sonorous quality when once CHILLED"
A number of hypothesis have been
proposed to explain the cause of this Gu
rious property of certain sands. Tho
prevalent idea in these islands that the
sound is due to the cellular structure Of
the sand must be abandoned, since most
sonorous sand is not SO constituted, that
of Kauai forming an exception. Some
have attributed the sonorous quality to
saline crusts, others to electricity, effer-
vescence of air between the particles,
reverberation within s~ubterranean cav
tiles and to solarization, and one author
attempts to explain the phenomena by
writing of "a reduplication of impulses
setting air in vibration in a focus If
echo"
These theories DR.. Julien and 1 reject
for reasons I cannot here detail, and we
believe the true cause of s~onorousness to
be connected with thin pellicles or films
Of air or of gases thence derived, depos.
tied and condensed upon the surface Of
the sand grains during gradual evapora.
ton after wetting by seas, lakes or rains
By virtue of these films the sand grains
become separated by elastic cushions Of
condensed gases, capable of considerable
vibration, whose thickness we have ap
proximately determined. The extent o.
the vibration and the volume and pitcl
of the sound produced we also find to b.
largely dependent upon the forms, struct
ures and surfaces Of the sand grains, ant
especially upon their purity or freedom
from fine silt or dust.
We have shown that the pitch of tn
musical notes obtained on sea beaches j
proportional to the mass of sand moved
the greater the mass the lower the tones
On the dunes of Kauai and Niihau tn
same holds true.-H. Darlington Bolton
Phi. D., in Honolulu Commercial Adve,
tiser.
Over 100000 copies of Mr.. Child
"Recollections of Gen. Grant" hav
been sold.
The Blood Brotherhood.