WITH NOTES. 441 



But the highly popular work of Hero of Alexandria 

 promulgated several similar schemes. He shows how 

 to make an artificial bird sing by flowing water, or 

 alternately sing and be silent. See Mr. WoodcrofVs 

 handsome edition of Hero s Pneumatics, 4to. 1851. 



William Bourne, also, in his &quot; Inventions or Devices,&quot; 

 1 578, treats of &quot; birds of wood or metal made by art to 

 fly,&quot; and of others, &quot; to sing sweetly at certain hours 

 appointed.&quot; 



Bate, in his &quot; Mysteries of Nature and Art,&quot; 1635, 

 treats, at page 24, &quot; How to make that a bird sitting on 

 a basis, shall make a noise, and drink out of a cup of 

 water, being held to the mouth of it ;&quot; and further, 

 a Advice whereby several voices of birds chirping may 

 be heard.&quot; 



So again Isaac De Caus, in his u Eare Inventions of 

 Water Works,&quot; folio, 1659, at page 20, gives instruc 

 tions &quot; To counterfeit the voice of small birds by 

 means of water and air.&quot; And in Plate XIV. &quot; To 

 represent divers birds which shall sing diversly when 

 an owl turns towards them ; and when the said owl 

 turns back again they shall cease their singing.&quot; 



These later examples show that the Marquis was 

 neither altogether original nor singular in attempting 

 improvements in these automatic toys, which from the 

 time of Hero of Alexandria were accounted sufficiently 

 wonderful evidence of mechanical ingenuity to attract 

 the serious attention of even the most talented engi 

 neers of the last century. Of such mechanical achieve 

 ments of the ingenious a full account may be read in 

 Montucla s edition of Ozanam s &quot; Mathematical Kecrea- 

 tions.&quot; 



Volant automata, as he calls them, did not escape 

 the attentive consideration of Bishop Wilkins, and he 

 says enough on this class of mechanical curiosities to 



