Figure 35. — Morse system equipment of the 

 1850's. a. Key; h, register, c, relay; d, e, two 

 types of sounders. From G. B. Prescott, 

 History, Theory, and Practice oj the Electric Tele- 

 graph, Boston, i860, pp. 75, 78, 80, 91, 92. 



stamped on a paper tape. In the meantime the tape 

 had been advanced to receive the next letter. The 

 House machine was used extensively on short lines 

 until it was replaced by a better system invented in 

 1856 by David Hughes, a professor of music in 

 Kentucky. 



Hughes' instrument (fig. 37) was based on synchro- 

 nous movements of corresponding parts at transmitter 

 and receiver. These movements were kept in syn- 

 chrony by setting a vibrating spring so that it pro- 

 duced a musical note of a certain pitch. The House 



machine could not be used over very long lines, but 

 it could send from 10 to 20 words per minute, while 

 the speed attained by the Hughes machine was some- 

 what lower. However, the Hughes telegraph could 

 be used over longer lines than could the House device, 

 and, in its later modifications (fig. 38), the Hughes 

 system was used on the continent of Europe as a 

 printing telegraph until the turn of the century. The 

 Wheatstone automatic telegraph was used for the 

 same purpose in England. 

 Several years after the invention of the Hughes 



302 



BULLETIN 228: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



