168 



POPULAR SOIEI^CE IvTEWS. 



[November, 1889. 



vibration. The note produced by any vibrat- 

 ing string depends upon its size, length, and 

 tension, — the smallest, shortest, and most 

 tightly stretched strings giving the highest 

 notes. Such a number of strings necessarily 

 makes the instrument very heavy and expen- 

 sive, and simpler forms have been devised, 

 like the violin, guitar, banjo, etc., which are 

 small and light, and have but a few strings, 

 which are made to produce any desired note, 

 by varying their length by the fingers of the 

 player. The harp and zither also belong to 

 the piano class of instruments, but are not 

 very much used. 



It has been found, however, that a material 

 string is not necessary to produce a note, but 

 that a vibrating column of air, enclosed in a 

 pipe or tube, answers equally well. The air 

 may be set into vibration either by a vibrating 

 tongue of metal called a reed, as in the 

 cabinet organ and clarinet, or by a current of 

 air passing through a narrow orifice in the 

 pipe, which sets the 

 adjoiningcolumn di- 

 rectly into vibration, 

 as in the common 

 type of church organ 

 and flute. In the 

 organ,like the piano, 

 there is a separate 

 pipe for every note, 

 but in the smaller 

 instruments a single 

 column of air is made 

 to produce different 

 notes by varying its 

 length. In the clari- 

 net, flute, bassoon, 

 and similar instru- 

 ments, this is accom- 

 plished by opening 

 or closing certain 

 holes in their sides, 

 which produces the 

 same eflect as the 

 fingers of the violin player when they 

 touch the strings. In the trombone, the 

 length of the column of air is altered by slid- 

 ing the tubes into each other, and the cornet 

 is provided with valves, which open or close 

 certain convolutions of the tube with a similar 

 result. In this latter class of instruments, the 

 lips are used in place of a reed, and aid in 

 producing the different notes. 



The human vocal apparatus is a true reed 

 instrument, and is most wonderfully con- 

 structed. Two delicate membranes, known 

 as the vocal cords, which can be adjusted at 

 will to produce any desired note, form a most 

 perfect reed, and set the air in the windpipe, 

 mouth, and adjacent cavities, into the most 

 perfectlv regular vibrations. In the act of whist- 

 ling, the lips act as the vibrating body, and pro- 

 duce different notes according to the varying 

 size of the orifice and the force of the breath. 



Drums, cymbals, and bells can hardly be 

 classed as musical instruments, although the 

 vibrating brass or sheepskin produces sounds 

 which may sometimes give a good effect in 

 connection with more civilized instruments. 

 The peculiar sound of the drum is partially 

 due to the cords which are stretched against 

 the lower end, and are struck by the vibrating 

 leather. The air in the drutn is also set into 

 vibration, and adds to the intensity of the sound. 



This sympathetic vibration, or resonance, 

 is a very important principle, by which any 

 body having the same period of vibration as 

 another, is set vibrating by the simple sound 

 of the first — a sort of acoustic induction, as it 

 were. Thus, if two strings are tuned to the 

 same note, and one is sounded in the vicinity 

 of the other, the second will also be thrown 

 into vibration, and both will sound together. 

 A certain note of a piano will often cause 

 some article in the room to vibrate with it, as 

 every musician has observed. Stringed instru- 



same pitch and intensity gives a very different 

 sound when produced by a violin, for in- 

 stance, than by a flute. The researches of 

 Helmholtz have shown that this is due to the 

 fact that musical sounds are generally com- 

 pound — that is, made up of several distinct 

 notes of different pitch, and known as over- 

 tones, or harmonics. He devised several 

 ingenious pieces of apparatus, by which he 

 was not only able to analyze the tones of 

 different instruments, and prove the presence 

 of these harmonics, but also to recombine 

 them and reproduce the original tones. 



The laws of harmony upon which our modern 

 science of music is founded, are very intricate, 

 but the best introduction to the science is the 

 possession of that rather rare natural gift, ' 'a mu- 

 sical ear," without which no amount of stud}- 

 will enable one to thoroughly enjoy good music 

 or produce it for the enjoyment of others. 



ments are provided with a sounding-board, a 

 thin sheet of wood forming one side of a box 

 over which the strings are stretched . The wood 

 and air in the box vibrate in unison with the 

 strings, greatly strengthening the comparatively 

 feeble sounds of the strings themselves. The 

 purity of tone of a fine piano or violin depends 

 in a very large degree upon the care and skill 

 with which the sounding-board is constructed. 



The distinction between sound and noise is 

 not a very marked one, as every noise is to 

 some degree a musical note, and, with 

 proper care, music can be obtained from the 

 most unpromising articles. Bottles, ffower- 

 pots, strips of wood, and glasses of water, may 

 be arranged to produce the liotes of the scale 

 when struck, and a skillful performer can 

 obtain very pleasing results. 



The color, or timbre, of musical notes 

 should also be referred to. A note of the 



DISCOVERY OF FLINT IMPLEMENTS. 



A MOST interest- 

 ing and important 

 discovery of flint 

 implements of the 

 palaeolithic age, has 

 recently been made 

 by M . Arm a nd Vi re , 

 near the village of 

 Lorrez - le - Bocage, 

 about sixty miles 

 south of Paris. In 

 a valley through 

 which runs a little 

 stream, the Lunain, 

 M. Vire has found 

 the remains often or 

 more prehistoric set- 

 tlements, all of 

 which were very 

 rich in relics of those 

 ancient times. The 

 one mentioned 

 above, however, 

 seems to have been the most important, and, 

 from the immense quantity of flint implements 

 and refuse there found, is supposed to have been 

 a manufacturing village, where the flint was 

 worked into the various shapes required by 

 the savage men of those times. Some speci- 

 mens of stone only occurring in a distant 

 locality were also found there, which strength- 

 ens this supposition. 



The most important discoveries at this 

 place, however, were some flint implements 

 of an entirely novel type. Certain minute 

 and finely finished stone hatchets were found, 

 too small for any practical use, and, from 

 their perfect condition, not intended — or, at 

 least, not used — as playthings for children. 

 M. Vire considers them to be funereal or 

 votive offerings, perhaps intended to be placed 

 in the graves of departed warriors, in place of 

 the more useful implements, just as the 



