1808.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
149 
A Wonderful Musical Instrument. 
A gentleman In this city recently exhibited the powers 
of a musical Instrument remarkable for its construction 
and for the almost endless variety of tones produced with 
it. All the ordinary notes, as heard in conversation or in 
;n [ing, the cries of different animals, the songs of birds, 
.if many different wind and Btringcd instruments, were 
brought out with clearness, and the volume of sound 
i raid be increased so as to be heard a quarter of a mile, 
or in an instant reduced to the gentle sound made by tho 
r« (ailing leaf. It consisted of n simple tab 
of several pieces joined together so that the partswere 
easily moved by bands and Btringa attached. Inside the 
tube were two ■ null, thin Blips which vibrated easily, after 
the manner of arced in a cabinet organ. The tube was 
1 toam iderate-sized pair of bellows, so construct- 
ed that a small or large quantity of air could be forced 
from them at the will of the operator, Prom an exami- 
nation of theinstr nt no one would suspeel thai its 
power of expression could be bo varied. Amostinter- 
cstlng part of the performance was where the different 
i by the 
tione of Bound. Anger, fear, hope, joy, love, and 
even the more delicate shades of feeling, such as distrust, 
basufulncss, and vanity, were clearly represented. For- 
tunatclyfor the enjoyment of the public the instrument 
is not patented, the inventor having left it open for free 
nse by th" public. We understand that several hundreds 
have already a brought into use in different parts of 
the country. Any on, desiring to know more about it 
should take pains to cultivate his voice, and he will dis- 
cover that this wonderful instrument is situated In bis 
own throat. If properly used il will do all We have said, 
and much more. We think it should be considered 
all tin- more valuable becati ■ it is so very common. 
!""£-;la. 
Such a collection of scaly fellow I as is here represented 
can rarely be found. We nave not counted the number of 
faces which can be made out by examination of this sin- 
gular special in : whichever way it is turned, new combi- 
nations and n iw features appear. It i- I 
one of our agists. Perhaps he had eaten too 
li tartily of ti-li for supper, and this nightm ire apparition 
Impressed his fancj . Hoivnv ny human faces can you find? 
Puzzle for t?»c Eye. 
- carefully at the straight lines that ran lengthwise 
across the engraving, and try to judge ho* much more 
widely aparl they are at one end th in at tl her. Prob- 
ably not ouo person in ten will mi estimate 
on the i'n-t examination. After having measured the 
is with the eye. apply a rule or other measure, and 
ult will probably cause some surprise, 
Avarice Outwitted. 
The following case is reported as having been decided 
in one of the courts of law. A wealthy man died leaving 
the singular will that his executors should have the use 
of his property until his son, then a young man. should 
come of age, and that then they should give him such a 
No. 302. Labyrinth.— Find your way from the entrance to the Fish Pond without crossing a lino 
portion as should pleat* Ho m. having full confidence in 
their friendship. When the time came, the greedy ex- 
ecutors assigned him one-tenth of the estate, and kept 
the rest. The young man, being naturally dissatisfied, 
brought suit against them, a trial was had, and the judge 
decided that he should have the nine-tenths, .nnd tho 
executors the one-tenth, on the ground that they bad 
shown by their conduct that the nine-tenths plta-'/d Horn. 
What Is a Month ? 
"Four weeks," answers a boy just from school, who 
has been learning the ''Tables" in his Arithmetic. 
"Thirty days," says a clerk, who has been reckoning in- 
terest on a note. " The twelfth part of a year," sine.: 
some thoughtful scholar, after thinking of the matter a 
moment. Neither answer is entirely correct. February 
is tie- only month consisting of four weeks, and it has 
more than that iu leap year; the other mouths have 
either 30 or 31 days, neither of which is the twelfth part 
of a year. The word "month" was formed from the 
Saxon word Mona (the moon). Formerly a month meant 
the time of one revoluti ' the moon around the earth, 
equal to 29 days, IS hours, 44 minutes, and 3 seconds. 
Ten such months were counted a year in the time of 
Romulus, King of Rome. March was reckoned as the 
first month. The names of the nine following ones wore 
the same as uow, exceptingJuly and August, which were 
called Quiutilis and Sexlilis. It was found before long 
thai the seasons did not keep pace with the year ; March 
did not bring spring again, and the following seasons 
were equally tardy. To remedy Ibis, the Emperor Numa 
added two months, January to the beginning, and Feb- 
ruary to the end of the year. This was afterward changed, 
ami February placed where it now stands, the second 
month. At that time the months contained 28 and 30 
days alternately, which would give 354 days, to which 
one wasadded to make an odd number, which was sup- 
posed to be more lueky. Still, the seasons would not 
eon. i- regularly at the same time of the year, because 
their changes are produced by the earth's revolution 
about the enn, which requires 865^ days very nearly, and 
the year should therefore be of this length, to have tie' 
same month bring the same kind of weather every year. 
It was therefore ordered that another month, of 22 and 
23 'I ii- alternately, should bo inserted every second year 
befrn n the 2.id and 21th of February, This would have 
ed the purpose for a long period of ; ars, but the 
ruling powers occasionally interfen I with il to 
i irt n the time of hoi din | offk !. II I ■ I :l1 
: decreed that the year should c ain 8G5 day-. 
with one day added every fourth year. He also di 
that the odd months, that is, the first, third, etc., Bhonld 
have "t days, the others SO, excepting Febrnarj 
should have 28, with one added every fourth year. The 
names Quiutilis and Sextilis were changed to July and 
August, in honor of the Roman emperors Juliu- I 
and Caesar Augustus. The latter emperor also 3 
that August should have 31 days, as he was not willing t" 
have July contain more than ibe month named after 
himself. This arrangement has continued until the pres- 
ent time, excepting that in ISS2 it was decreed b 
Gregory XTn. that the added day for leap year sbonld be 
omitted in years ending in centuries, excepting the 400th 
and the years which are multiples of 400: this makes the 
civil year correspond almost exactly with the solar year, 
and the four seasons continue to occur- with regularity 
during the same months of each year. 
Comical Aofliioji Puzzle. 
This is best performed in a company of a dozen or 
more, but will give amusement wherever tried. Lei all 
be seated around a table. At a signal from the leader, the 
fellow ing three motions are to lx'madc : first, strike with 
both hands, palms downward, upon the table; second. 
clap the hands together ; third, with the right hand take 
hold of the nose, and with tee- left band seize the light 
car. These motions are to be made quickly, and it wiil 
usually cause a hearty laugh to see what directions the 
puzzled hands will lake. After a little practice has made 
it easy, reverse Ibe hands, seizing the nose with the left 
band, and the left ear with the right hand. 
No. 303. w iisi mini Retui.—A truth to be remembered 
Vnswers to Problems anrt Puzzles. 
The following are answers to the puzzles in the March 
number, page 107. No. 200. Shadow - Shad oh). .. No. 
: teas; east (a point of tie' eonipa-s ,. . . . Xo. 
:;ni Ul's well that ends well.... The following have senl 
correct answers to some of the puzzles |,,v, iousiv pub- 
lished. Arthur T. Butler. Walker Adam-, c Lane. Ion. 
X liitel.C. A.MrCartnov. Tbos. .1. Lanron. Frank 
V. Robinson. \\". Anderson. Eliger S. Dodge. Eli. Mrs. (J. 
K. Barker, D. Van Bnrcn, R. G. W. English. I.innie La- 
throp, W. J. Brown, Daisy Wilder, Joseph Sheets. J. 
Milton Snyder, I i Heorgc c. Pfontz. Fran- 
cis F. Bulklev. Robert F.. Moodv. L. M. Wright. Nashua, 
N. II., Wm. Reynolds. Frank A. White, Henry E. Nelson. 
