356 HISTORV OF ACOUSTICS. 



the complex effect of the elasticity and other pro- 

 perties of the reed and of the air together, is a 

 problem of which we can hardly hope to give a 

 complete solution till our knowledge has advanced 

 much beyond its present condition. 



Indeed in the science of acoustics there is a vast 

 body of facts to which we might apply what has 

 just been said ; but for the sake of pointing out 

 some of them, we shall consider them as the sub- 

 jects of one extensive and yet unsolved problem. 



