11 



VOICE AND SPEECH.* 



VERY little new information has been contributed to this department of 

 physiology, since the period at which the second volume of Professor 

 Muller's Elements of Physiology was published in this country. A more 

 extended and detailed account of his experiments on the production of 

 the voice, than was contained in the body of his work, has indeed been 

 furnished by Professor Mullerf himself, but these details are chiefly 

 explanatory and confirmatory of his former views. 



It may be desirable to make some allusion to a highly-ingenious 

 piece of mechanism constructed by M. Faber, a German, and exhi- 

 bited in this country about two years ago. By means of this curious 

 apparatus, which appears to be by far the most perfect speaking machine 

 yet invented, the peculiarities of the human voice in speaking, singing, 

 and whispering, are very closely imitated. The various difficulties in- 

 volved in the construction of such an apparatus appear to have entailed 

 many years of close labour upon the inventor; but, as yet, he has not 

 published any account of the methods by which he has so successfully 

 overcome these difficulties. J 



Ventriloquism. The general correctness of Professor Muller's account 

 of the probable mode of production of this peculiarity of the human 

 voice, has been confirmed by M. Colombat,|| who states that by con- 

 tinually practising, in a manner somewhat similar to that pointed out 

 by Professor Miiller, he was enabled to attain considerable skill in the 

 production of this variety of voice. The essential mechanical parts of the 

 process consist in taking a full inspiration, then keeping the muscles of 

 the chest and neck fixed, and speaking with the mouth almost closed, 

 and the lips and lower jaw as motionless as possible, while air is very 

 slowly expired through a very narrow glottis ; care being taken also, that 

 none of the expired air passes through the nose. But, as observed by 

 Professor Miiller, much of the ventriloquist's skill consists in deceiving 

 other senses than hearing. 



Falsetto notes. Professor Muller's explanation of the probable mode of 

 production of falsetto notes has been questioned by MM. Petrequin and 



* Section iii. chap. i. p. 972, Muller's Physiology. 



t Ueber Compensation, der phys. Krafte am Menschl. Organ. Berlin. 1839. 



About six years ago, indeed, a description of this apparatus, as far as it was then 

 contrived, was given by Dr. E. Schmulz. (Casper's Wochenschrift, 1842, p. 785.) But at 

 that period M. Faber does not appear to have brought it to the state of perfection it has now 

 attained. The essential parts concerned in the production of speech, such as the vocal cords, 

 the tongue, and the walls of the mouth and nose are said to be formed of caoutchouc. 



Physiology, p. 1054. 



II Frorieps N. Notizen, 1840, No. 290, s. 55. 



