358 



SCmNGE 



[Vol. LVI, No. 1448 



Public attention is jnst now attracted, more- 

 over, 'to the field of another sense-department, 

 one "which, indeed, has usuallj^ followed vision 

 tooth in historical discussions and gGiietically in 

 the race, viz., 'hearing. We have lately wit- 

 nessed an immense development in the photo- 

 graphic and cinematographic industries; now 

 comes the prospect of an even wider applica- 

 tion of wireless telephony. "With its problems 

 added 'to the problems that are already facing 

 us in 'acoustics, it would be wise, it appears to 

 the wi'iter, to provide a sort of clearing-house 

 for work done in acoustics by the various sci- 

 ences. There are constantly occurring phases 

 of problems and partial problems that need to 

 be referred to the authority of those vi'liose 

 training and equipment guarantees satisfac- 

 tory envisagement and promises sound conclu- 

 sion. Not only would the various sciences have 

 something to contribute to an acoustic sympo- 

 sium, but with closer cooperation, a pace could 

 be set, an impetus given, toward 'more intensive 

 investigation. With this we do not want the 

 type of overhead organization that will throttle 

 endeavor and spontaneous effort, but we need 

 the kind that will insi^ire research and provide 

 intelligent aid. 



Already there are a considerable number of 

 institutions where work of a higbly valualble 

 nature is being done in ■the auditory field. 

 Some of this is cooperative. The acoustical 

 laboratory at tlie Case School of Applied 

 Science has 'become an outstanding post of re- 

 search under the direction of Professor D. C. 

 Miller. At the State University of Iowa Dean 



occur to the writer are: (1) the Mellon Institute 

 of the University of Pittsburgh; (2) the Eeseareli 

 Bureau for Eetadl Training and the Bureau of 

 Personnel Eegeareh, both at the Carnegie Insti- 

 tute of Technology at Pittsburgh; (3) the Amer- 

 ican Institute of Baking of Chicago, and (4) the 

 newly organized Department of Engineering Ee- 

 search at the University of Jliohigan. Some of 

 these undertakings are entirely, some only in part, 

 financed by commercial corporations which are 

 interested in the problems investigated. In addi- 

 tion mention should be made of a considerable 

 number of industrial fellowships of various de- 

 scriptions that are maintained by industrial con- 

 cerns at our larger universities. 



C. E. Seashore has for many years done note- 

 worthy work in supervising research in several 

 branches of the auditory field and has recently 

 enjoyed the cooperation of Professor G. W. 

 Stewart in some of these undertakings. At 

 Harvard the late Professor W. C. Sabine con- 

 tributed largely to an understanding of the 

 auditory properties of architectural interiors, 

 a problem which Professor F. R. Watson, of 

 the University of Illinois, has also largely and 

 ably devoted his attention. The psychological 

 laboratories of Clark, Cornell, Illinois, Mis- 

 souri, Ohio State have added considerably to 

 our store of knowledge on the subject, while 

 Professor G. E. Shambaugh, of -the University 

 of Chicago, stands among those who have clone 

 original work in connection with the physio- 

 logical theory of audition. The private labora- 

 tory of Colonel Fabyan at Geneva, III, has 

 busied itself to a large extent with auditory 

 phenomena, and a number of industrial enter- 

 prises, like the phonographic laboratories, 

 have carried on investigations allied t« their 

 work. This brief resume is doubtless inade- 

 quate but serves to show many of the sepai-ately 

 organized establishments in acoustic research. 

 Some of the problems that would lend them- 

 selves advantageously to cooperative investiga- 

 tion are summarized below : 



(1) Sound localization. Further investigation 

 of intensive and qualitative factors in the binaural 

 ratio as applied to the detection of the direction 

 of the source of tones and noises throughout the 

 ranges of intensity and quality; experimental 

 study of sound localization through all three types 

 of media, gaseous, liquid and solid; phantom 

 sounds; polarized sound. 



(2) Qualitative and quantitative threslwlds of 

 sound. Careful serutinj' of the liminal values for 

 both tones and noise; standardization of inten- 

 sive units of sound ; re-investigation of the upper 

 and lower pitch limits of tone ivith carefully 

 calibrated instruments. 



(3) The attyihutes of tone and noise. Sys- 

 tematic review of the tonal manifold with an em- 

 pirical attempt at classification of the variable 

 characteristics; distinction between noise and 

 tone; question of vowel tones. 



(4) Consonance and dissonance. Working out 

 the higher difference and summation tones; fur- 

 ther analysis of harmony; question of beat-notes. 



