226 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [VoL. IV. 



to slightly notice the many muscles of the face required to express the 

 emotions and perform other vital acts and concentrate attention on 

 (i) the orbicularis oris, that purse-string muscle which surrounds the 

 mouth by its action and produces the ^-family of vowels par excellence ; 

 (2) the elevators of the upper and lower lips, causing their protrusion, 

 producing the ^-family of vowels. In ^-vowels purse-string contraction 

 or true "rounding" prevails; in ?/-vovvels, protrusion. A marked 

 parallel obtains between the orbicularis muscle surrounding the eye, 

 shutting the lids and throwing the skin into transverse wrinkles. The 

 elevator of the upper lid is analogous in function to the elevator of the 

 upper lip. The Roman alphabet is an admirable one for annotating 

 vowel sounds, because it divides the vocal scale into five grades, which 

 (in descending pitch) are z, e, a, 0, u. In English we appear to have 

 developed open o into a new primary vowel, making i, e, a, o, o, «, as 

 heard respectively in machine, vein, art, law, no, truth. It is remarkable 

 that we in Canada should be so slow to adopt Roman or Continental 

 pronunciation of Latin, while it is taught everywhere else, even in the 

 seats of learning in conservative Britain — a reflection on our educationists 

 which they should not be slow to rectify, unless willing to lag behind the 

 age. The f-family of vowels, or those in which circular contraction is 

 exclusive or predominant, was then taken up seriatim in English 

 (standard and dialectic) and some chief forms in French and German. 

 Then the 7/-famil}-, in which protrusion prevails, was treated. The 

 regular labial consonants f, v,p, b, m, were then explained as to their 

 formation, as were also Spanish b, German w, Japanese and Hungarian 

 V, Greek b, and ph, and the two consonants beginning the French words 

 vui and Jiuile. 



THIRD MEETING. 



Third Meeting, 19th March, 1892, the President in the chair. 



Dr. Meredith and Messrs, Pearce and McCrossen were elected dele- 

 gates to the Prison Reform Conference. 



Donations and Exchanges, 70. 



Prof L. E. Horning was elected a member. 



A paper by Rev. John McLean, M.A., Ph.D., on the " Social Organiza- 

 tion of the Blackfoot Indians" was read by Mr. Alan Macdougall, C.E. 



A paper by H. R. Wood, M.A., entitled, " Contributions to Canadian 

 Mineralogy," was read by Mr. G. Kennedy, LL.D. This short paper 



