THE PHONOGRAPH, OR VOICE- 

 RECORDER. 



IN the preceding essay I have described the wonderful in- 

 strument called the telephone, which has recently become 

 as widely known in this country as in America, the country 

 of its first development I propose now briefly to describe 

 another instrument the phonograph which, though not a 

 telegraphic instrument, is related in some degree to the 

 telephone. In passing, I may remark that some, who as 

 telegraphic specialists might be expected to know better, 

 have described the phonograph as a telegraphic invention. 

 A writer in the Telegraphic Journal, for instance, who had 

 mistaken for mine a paper on the phonograph in one of 

 our daily newspapers, denounced me (as the supposed 

 author of that paper) for speaking of the possibility of 

 crystallizing sound by means of this instrument ; and then 

 went on to speak of the mistake 1 (that is, said author) had 

 made in leaving my own proper subject of study to speak of 

 telegraphic instruments and to expatiate on the powers of 

 electricity. In reality the phonograph has no relation to 

 telegraphy whatever, and its powers do not in the slightest 

 degree depend on electricity. If the case had been other- 

 wise, it may be questioned whether the student of astronomy, 

 or of any other department of science, should be considered 

 incompetent of necessity to describe a telegraphic instrument, 

 or to discuss the principles of telegraphic or electrical science. 

 What should unquestionably be left to the specialist, is the 



