272 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Missing or broken teeth, especially in the case of the front teeth 

 which are more concerned in voice production, give rise to defects which 

 are corrected when the teeth are replaced or repaired. 



A catarrhal condition in the upper part of the throat, filling it 

 with secretion, interferes with the free vibration of sound and gives 

 an effect very similar to that due to an obstruction in the rear portion 

 of the nostrils, as is sometimes the ease in the later stage of a severe 

 cold. 



There seems to be much misconception regarding the tonsils as a 

 factor in voice production. It is of common occurrence for mothers 

 to ask the physician before an operation upon the tonsil if it will not 

 injure the voice. As a matter of fact, the healthy tonsil has no effect 

 upon the voice, while the diseased tonsil can have only an injurious 

 effect either directly by its size, interfering with the free vibration of 

 the voice, or indirectly by setting up an irritation of the throat and 

 causing the voice to be weak. The correction, or even removal, of a 

 diseased tonsil can, therefore, have only a good influence on the voice. 



There is another unhealthy condition of the throat of children 

 which is now receiving more attention, due to the so-called 'adenoids.' 

 In this there is an enlargement of the tissues in that part of the throat 

 just back of the nostrils. This growth may interfere with speech either 

 on account of the secretion which it produces or by its size, in either 

 case obstructing the entrance of the nasal sounds into the nostril. 

 The presence of this abnormal growth is injurious not only on account 

 of its effect on the voice but also on the general health, as it prevents 

 the child from breathing in the manner intended by nature, that is 

 through the nostrils. 



The nostrils are not simply openings for allowing the air to reach 

 the lungs, but their special function is to warm, clean and moisten 

 the air which is intended for respiration. Proof of this is shown by 

 the fact that if we suffer from a 'cold' so that the nostrils are ob- 

 structed, an irritated throat is a certain result the next morning, being 

 due to the fact that the unprepared air has irritated the delicate tis- 

 sues of the throat. In diphtheria, for instance, if the membrane has 

 developed in the throat and threatens the breathing of the child, and 

 this be overcome by a tube inserted in the throat below the false mem- 

 brane, respiration must now go on without the air passing through 

 the nasal passages. The only way to counteract the evil effects of this 

 abnormal breathing is to place the child in a room which is warmed 

 to almost the normal temperature of the body, artificially saturated 

 with moisture, and every endeavor made to keep it free from impurities. 

 Even with this, the patient may develop a bronchial affection due to 

 the absence of nasal breathing, but without it, a bronchitis, even of a 

 fatal character, would develop in a short time. I go to some length 



