The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-02
ABOUT QUICKsAND.
The General Public Knows Very Lit
tie of This Substance.

From Invention
very little is known blythe general pub.
lie about quicksand, and that little is usu-
ally obtained from novels. Such informa-
ton is usually wrong, being composed OF
"a pinch of truth and a handful of fiction.
The sensational novel goes even SO far as
to give to quicksand some attributes that
belong only to living creatures No ordi-
nary observer could distinguish ouicksand
from any other, if 1t were dried and if
he wished TO restore its fatal property arti-
hcially, he would, in all probability, fail
Suppose he fills a bucket with water: Il
does not in consequence become mobile.
If he drains the water off from the bottom.
the sand will be found wedged firmly in
place, and If the water be measured it will
be found to equal 30 per cent. of the bulk
of the sand, or about 20 per cent of its
weight. From this we may infer that
cubic foot of dry sand weighs nearly nine
ty-four pounds.
This, for sand, is a very light weight
for there are other qualities of sand which
weigh as much as III pounds. Quicksand,
when examined under microscope, will
be seen to have rounded corners like river
sand, as distinguished from angular or
sharp" sand, which will pack more solidly
than the other 1t is qucksand that is used
in the hour-glass and in the smaller egg
boiler, partly because of Its fineness and
partly because ii does not obscure the in
ner surface of the glass by scratching
The lightness of quicksand is the quality
which will lead us most surely 10 the
cause of its reputation, and to illustrate
this the bucketful of sand must be loas-
ed with water from below, and made 10
overflow very slowly. The upward current
will be found to loosen the sand and TO
raise the surface very slightly, separating
and lubricating the particles so that they
are easily displaced.
The bucket now contains quicksand, and
this sand from the support it receives
from the water has its weight or sup
porting power reduced In the dry state
it weighed nearly ninety-four pounds, but
if weighed in the water 1t is reduced 10
thirty-two and one-half pounds, and its
mobility prevents any animal from walk
ing on il. The mixture Of sand and water
weighs quite liz pounds per cubic foot,
or nearly twice the weigh of water. and
bulk for bulk, nearly twice the weight Of
a man, but 1t is too thick to swim in, ana
the person engulfed would soon be too
exhausted to escape. He would probably
die of suffocation If not drowned by an
advance tide, for quicksands are found
mostly within the influence of tides. He
would not be swallowed by The quick
sand, because il is so much heavier than
his body.
Qu.cksands require In all cases an up
ward current which is not quick enough
TO form, what is called a spring or foun-
tain. II may be formed in two ways: In
tidal rivers and on the shores Of tidal scar
the rising tide may. satursteql a +porous
stratum OF ground below high water mark
and when the tide fall. the return current
is established through the same porous
SANDY ground with sufficient velocity
10 loosen the sand as above described
Tbs sand as soon as the rising tide re
verses the current ceases to be quick"
The other case is that when a slow cur
rent of fresh water finds an exit through
a surface Of sand above or below water
This is a permanent auckland. Amy sand
and almost any material might have the
quality of quicksand impaired to il by
means of 4 suitable current,,rs
Coal is separated from shaleain an ND
current of water, so regulated that the
coal is made TO float while the ahalN
falls to the bottom and heavy iron tools
have been carried TO the surface by The
sudden discharge of artesian wells Quick
sands that are encountered during the
sinking of wells and foundations are all
due to the influx Of water when the work
gets below Spring level" or the level Of
water in the ground. The sand. being
deprived OF the support of the excavated
part, is pushed from behind by the water
current flowing In from all sides.