MUSIC IN THE PLANT WORLD 
mony to the sounds produced by certain man- 
made instruments. Art which is restricted to 
workings in oil may be very pleasing but it is 
also very much limited. Music which is only 
interpreted on a violin or a piano falls far short 
of its grandest possibilities. ‘To certain minds, 
the sighing of the wind through a Pine forest 
is more exquisitely expressive than a hundred 
breath-blown symphonies. When men cannot 
agree as to what is music among the sounds pro- 
duced by their self-created instruments, dare 
they lightly ignore the many pleasing sounds 
which accompany the operations of Nature?’ 
To an American ear, Chinese singing sounds 
like squealing and a Fiji concert like a vocifer- 
ous boiler factory. Yet a Chinaman or a Fiji 
Islander will leave our grandest operatic ef- 
forts in disgust, though he may be pleased with 
the preceding orchestral tunings. Where are 
we to set the standard? Is it not safest to fall 
back on Nature for our truest conceptions? 
The real sublimity of Nature lies in her 
vocalism. A soundless world would be greatly 
lacking incharm. ‘The endearing noises of the 
woods and the fields often become so familiar 
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