Natural History, #c. 185 



III. NATURAL HISTORY, 8fc. 



1. MECHANISM OF THE HUMAN VOICE IN SINGING. 



A memoir on this curious subject has been read to the Academy of 

 Sciences by M. Bennati, and examined by MM. Cuvier, Prony, and 

 Savart. The former of these three philosophers has reported 

 thereon to the Academy. The principal object of the memoir is 

 to make known the powers of an organ in effecting the modulations 

 of the voice, which in this point of view has been little attended 

 to by physiologists. This is the soft palate, or the narrow part 

 of the gullet formed above by the uvula, at the sides by the 

 arches, and at the bottom by the root of the tongue. M. Bennati 

 has succeeded in constructing an instrument which can include 

 three octaves. He points out in his memoir the precautions 

 which should be taken in this respect for the instruction of young 

 persons destined to be vocalists; amongst one of the principles, is, 

 to interrupt the exercises at the period when the voice changes. M. 

 Bennati concludes his memoir by this proposition, that it is not only 

 the muscles of the larynx which serve to modulate the sounds, but 

 also those of the os hyoides, of the tongue, and of the veil of the 

 palate ; without which all the degrees of modulation necessary in 

 singing cannot be attained. From hence it results that the organ of 

 voice is an organ mi generis, an instrument inimitable by art, be- 

 cause the materials of its mechanism are not at our disposal, and 

 we cannot conceive how they are appropriated to the kind of so- 

 norousness which they produce. This result, although not entirely 

 new to science, appears to the reporters to be proved by M. Bennati 

 by new facts and observations, and to have acquired such develop- 

 ment as to fix the attention of physiologists*. 



2. GLOBULES IN THE HUMOURS OF THE EYE. 



MM. Ribes and Donne have lately discovered globules in the 

 humours of the eye, of a smaller size than those of the blood. 

 There are three orders of them : the first are in sinuous chaplets, 

 and very apparent ; the second are isolated, larger than the others, 

 aud surrounded by a black circle ; the third are least distinct, arid 

 resemble a kind of mist. The authors are disposed to question the 

 utility of so many parts of the visual organ in the production of 

 impressions on the retina. It is known that the removal of the 

 crystalline lens by extraction does not destroy vision. The rays 

 of light must be considerably modified by the globules of the 

 humours t. 



* Revue Ency. xlvi. 502. 

 f Archiv. General. Medical Journal, v. 148. 



