CHAPTER XVII 
THE BELL TOURS 
HE name “ Hollow Bell,” as given to one of the 
£ tours of the Roller Canary, speaks for itself; it is 
a bell tour with a hollow sound. The bord sr limit 
‘'setween bell and hollow bell can scarcely be described 
: words; it is a difference which the breeder must him- 
-sc#t discover. As a rule it should not be a diiftctit 
matter to a well-attuned ear to apprehend the difference 
between the two. In the first place, Hollow Bell is 
pitched deeper than Bell, and the ground tone is a full 
sounding U (the French u), and sometimes “ ou,” while 
the Bell Tour simple is sounded on “ ee.” 
HOW BIRD-SONG IS PRODUCED 
If we examine the difference in our own mode of 
delivery, we find that, on pronouncing this syllable 
“ee,” the sound is a shallow one, whereas to pronounce 
the French u (ii) the mouth widens and arches some- 
what; in other words, hollows itself. The tongue also 
is set further back, and thus widens the space round the 
palate, and, in consequence, the ii sounds fuller, 
rounder, more hollow than the ee. 
In a similar fashion, the variations of tone are pro- 
duced in the bird’s throat; his vocal chords produce the 
ground note, and in the “ hollowing ” of his throat and 
beak are the secrets of its fullness and tonality. 
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