The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-06-09
UNSTABLE QUlCKSANDS.
Explanation Of Ono Of Natures Most Curl
Gus Phenomena.

Explanation Of One Of Natures Most Curl
Gus Phenomena.
Very little is known by tho general pub
lie about quicksand, and that little Is
usually obtained from novels. Such in
formation Is usually wrong, being COM
posed of pinch Of truth and handful Of
fiction. The sensational novel goes even
30 fur as to give to quicksand some attri-
butes that belong only to living creatures
No ordinary observer could distinguish
quicksand from any other if it were dried,
and If he wished to restore Its fatal prop
erty artiflcially he would in oil probability
fail Suppose he fills bucket with wa
ter 1t does not in consequence become
mobile If he drains the water off from
the bottom, the sand will be found wcdged
firmly in place, and If the water be meas
ured it will be found to equal so per cent
of the bulk of the sand, or about 20 per
cent of its weight. From this we may in
fer that cubic foot OF dry sand weighs
nearly "a pounds.
This for sand Is very light weight, for
there are other qualities of sand which
weigh as much as III pounds. Quicksand
when examined under a microscope will
be seen to have rounded corners like river
sand as distinguished from angular or
sharp sand, which will pack moro solid
ly than the other. 1t is quicksand that
Is used in the hourglass and in the small
er egg boiler, partly because of its f1neness
and partly because it does not obscure tho
inner surface of the glass by scratching.
The lightness of quicksand is the quality
which will lead us most sureIy to the cause
of its reputation, and to illustrate this tho
bucketful of sand must be loaded with
water from below and made to overflow
very slowly. The upward current will be
found to loosen the sand and to raise tho
surface very slightly, separating and iubri-
eating the particles SO that they are easily
displaced
The bucket now contains quicksand,
and this sand from the support it receives
from tho water has its weight or support
ing power reduced. In tho dry state it
weighed nearly "a pounds, but il weighed
in the water 1t is reduced to 32H pounds,
and its mobility prevents any animal from
walking on it. The mixture OF sand and
water weighs quite 1l2 pounds per cubic
foot, or nearly twice the weight of man.
but it is too thick to swim in. and the per-
son engulfcd would soon be too exhausted
to escape. He would probably die of SUI
location if not drowned by an advance
tide, for quicksands are found mostly
within tho influences of tides He would
not BIO swallowed by the quicksand be-
cause 1t is so much heavier than his body
QuicksanIs require in all cases an up
ward current which is not quick enough
to form what is called spring or foun-
tain. It. may be formed In two ways In
tidal rivers and on the shores of tidal seas
the rising tide may saturate a porous
stratum Of ground below high water mark,
and when the tide falls the return current
is established through the same porous
SANDY ground with sufficient velocity to
loosen the sand rs above described This
sand rs soon as the rising tide reverses tho
current ceases to be 'quick." The other
case is that when slow current of fresh
water finds an exit through surface of
sand above or below water. This is per-
manent quicksand. Any sand and almost
any material might Eavo the quality of
quicksand impaired to it by means Of
suitable current.
Coal is separated from shale in an up
current of water so regulated that tho
coal is made to float while the shale falls
to the bottom, and heavy iron tools have
been carried to the surface by the sudden
discharge of artesian wells. Quicksands
that are encountered during the sinking
of wells and foundations arc all due to tho
influx of water when the work gets be-
low 'sprng level, or the level of water
in the ground. Tho sand, being deprived
of the support Of the excavated part, is
pushed from behind by the water current
flowing in from all sides-InYention.