with Reference to Sound. 221 
sooner, some later. 
_ This will account for the phenomena of double sounds, some- 
times heard in particular states of the atmosphere, and (it seems 
tous,) also, for the peculiar harshness and discordant nature of 
musical tones, when heard in similar circumstances. Every mil- 
itary band which attempts to play in the early morning, when 
the air is loaded with vapors, and the earth reeking with fogs and 
exhalations, is conscious of the unusual difficulty attending the 
effort, and the listener, under such conditions, cannot fail to re- 
mark the unsatisfactory nature of the music. Hence we can 
understand the importance of measures to preserve the air within 
& concert room in a uniform state. 
_ On the other hand, it is a curious fact, that, in their passage ' 
through a bland and pure atmosphere, even inharmonious sounds * 
will amalgamate and strike upon the ear with a pleasant accent. 
Space or distance, in this case, seems to act as a purifier of soun 
art, perhaps, in the greater permeating power of musical or har- 
Monious sounds over mere noise (for such all discord ma 
other in immediate contact, when the homogeneity of either is dis- 
turbed, is obtained in the experiment originally made by Chladni: 
By reproduci “gree” 
ucing the effervescence, the sound is again deadene 
~ The Cause of the result obtained by M. Chladni, is, says Mr. 
sos Seats, Vol. XV, No, 44.—March, 1853. 29 
