874 Popular Science Monlhhj 



Overcoming the City Boy's Fear 



H' 



all 



jys are proud of their knowledge that 

 snakes are not poisonous or dangerous 



E\'1-3R since tlic old days in the Garden 

 of Eden, wlien the first snake pla\-ed 

 its mean trick on human nature, man lias 

 been suspicious and even afraid of the 

 whole writhing genus. But not all snakes 

 are enemies to man. The farmer has found 

 that many kinds of them arc his friends. 

 Superintendent Charles H. Woodhall, of 

 the Boys' Club of Tro>-, New York, has 

 started a collection of the harmless species 

 and is making a l)ig success of it. His boys, 

 most of them street urchins, are very 

 enthusiastic over the snakes. Mr. Wood- 

 hall specializes in work for bo^s. He takes 

 long "hikes" with the lads into the country, 

 and leads them to observe everything in 

 outdoor life. 1 le soon saw that the aNerage 

 boy is mortalK' afraid of snakes. The city 

 boys, who tried to kill every snake, saw 

 Mr. Woodhall catch the creatures in his 

 hands, and exi)lain their wonderful struc- 

 ture. .'\t first the youngsters woukl riMi 

 away in fright, but when they saw that the 

 snakes were h.irmless, they, too, learned 

 to handle them. The snakes were then 

 taken to the Boys' Club, to form the 

 collection of li\ ing specimens. 



The lads became fascinated with this 

 study of naturi- and li\ing things, and 

 explained the wonders of snake-life to 

 other boys. The boys are proud of their 

 knowledge of the reptiles, and are helping 

 sprea<l the news tliat snakes are iht- 

 friends of the farmer, for they devour sik h 

 pests as young rats, moles, and otlur 

 grain-destroying creatures. 



Now What Would You Call This 

 New Musical Instrument? 

 IIDLEV WATTY, of Groton, 

 Connecticut, has iinented a 

 pu/./ling musical instrument. On first 

 examination it looks like a \iolin. But 

 then it has a horn attached to its 

 lower extremitv . What is it? The 

 lines of the instrument above the horn 

 part are not at all in keeping with the 

 construction of the violin. There is a 

 long finger-board provided with frets, 

 but there is only one string. The 

 number of frets, however, is supposed 

 to gi\e as many different tones to the 

 one string as would be obtained from 

 the four strings of the \iolin. 



The specific use of the horn is to 

 magnify the vibrations of the string. 

 The horn is of aluminum. The 

 transmission-bar, which has one of 

 its ends connected with a diaphragm at 

 the base of the horn, has its other 

 end indirect communication with the string, 

 thus serving as a bridge. 



The musical tones are not exactly similar 

 to those of the \iolin. Neither are they 

 the tones of the mandolin, guitar or any 

 other stringed instrument. They are 

 emitted through the horn, which gives 

 them a distinctly different quality. 



Willi one string and »n cxiiu-long finger-board 

 provided with numerous frets it produces as 

 great a variety of musiciil tones as does the violin 



