STUDYING THE ECHO 



By JOHN T. TIMMONS, Cadiz, Ohio 



[Editor's Note: The author of this paper is deprived of sight, a 

 fact which gives added interest to this article.] 



Any of our young readers may spend an interesting after- 

 noon or, better still, a few hours of the early morning, in the 

 study of an echo. It will depend much upon the location of the 

 student and the shape of the surrounding country. The best time 

 to get good results is in the early morning, prior to a heavy rain 

 or electrical storm. The atmosphere is heavier at this time 

 and the echo seems to be louder and more easily located. If it is 

 possible, the student should make his way to the country, and 

 if the grass is wet with dew it will be best to follow the country 

 road, for it is just as easy to find a hill or slight elevation off to 

 one side of the road as it would be to discover suitable conditions 

 if fields were traversed. 



How are we to tell when we find an echo? That is very 

 easy. Perhaps our lungs need exercise in the fresh morning air, 

 and we can accomplish great good to ourselves by calling out in 

 a loud, clear voice, either our own name, or the name of some 

 friend, and if we hear it repeated away across the fields, or on 

 some hillside, we will know we have found an echo. At certain 

 times an echo at a given point is quite indistinct, while at other 

 times it is very plain, and the words or any sound we see fit to 

 make comes back almost as loud as the original. Words and 

 short sentences should be used, for if we attempt to use long 

 sentences we will hear only the last few words, and the experi- 

 ment will not be satisfactory. A few clear notes on a flute or 

 some other instrument produce good results, and a few words 

 of a song are pleasing, as the tune as well as the words are repro- 

 duced. A gunshot is apt to stir up some wonderful echoes, but 

 as such things are dangerous in the hands of our young friends, 

 we would recommend the use of two blocks of wood, or the 

 clapping of the hands, which will produce good results. 



If we are fortunate in our search for suitable locations, we 

 may find a spot where we may hear two or more echoes, coming 

 from different points. It is best to keep in the valley or follow 

 the hillside, and the surrounding elevations may be located so as 

 to cause the soundwaves to be thrown back from different direc- 

 tions. Occasionally we will find a spot where the echo will pro- 



