92 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1883. 



F sharp, 1 A open, 2 B closed (see Plate), 3 C open and 4 D closed ; 

 G natural, 1 A open, 2 B half-closed, 3 C open, and 4 D closed; 

 A flat or G sharp, 1 A, 2 B, 3 C open, and 4 D closed. A natural, 

 the seventh of the scale, 1 A open, 2 B closed, 3 C and 4 D open. 

 B flat, octave, is obtained by leaving all the holes and the bell 

 open.^ It becomes apparent by the above scales obtained upon 

 these four-fingered clay flageolets, representing the keys of B flat, 

 B natural, C natural and F sharp, that many interesting combi- 

 nations could be obtained by their simultaneous use, such as con- 

 certed pioces, each flageolet sustaining a part. 



Professor J, S. Cox says : " I cannot imagine what object they 

 had in view for pitching their flageolets in different tones, unless 

 each instrument was intended to perform a separate part, which 

 when played together produced harmonious sounds ; this method 

 is used in our day by some of the fife and drum corps, there being 



three, different kinds of fifes used in concert They 



are too truthful in their various pitches (such as B natural, 

 C natural, B flat, F sharp) for these to be accidental." These 

 opinions of Professor Cox, whose reputation as a soloist upon 

 the Boehm-flute is well known in America, cannot fail to impress 

 the cautious observer that something more than mere accident 

 is represented by these instruments standing in diflTerent keys. 



The Aztec whistles, or pitch-pipes, in the collection of antiqui- 

 ties already mentioned, were ascertained to stand in the key of 

 E flat, and together yield a full octave, so that four persons could 

 play simple melodies upon them.^ The fact that duplicates exist 

 in several of the above-mentioned whistles and flageolets adds 

 much probability to the theory already advanced, that these are 

 not tones which happen to stand in the keys enumerated, but that 



^ It has been suggested that it was possible to produce the entire scale 

 (without closing the bell) by means of careful fiuger-inanipulation upon 

 any reed-formed instrument with four holes. Six notes can be obtained 

 by careful fingering ; an approach to the seventh (though very imperfect 

 and flat in sound) can be produced by leaving all the holes open, and 

 blowing strongly. After repeated trials, I am of the opinion that there is 

 no way of producing the octave upon these four-holed Aztec instruments, 

 except by means of finger-stopping. 



^ I have numbered these pipes from one to eight (tonic to octave). 

 They, with their existing duplicates, may be seen in the museum of the 

 Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 



