186 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
the letters as written. In 1450 metal blocks were substi¬ 
tuted for wooden ones. Peter Schceffer (son-in-law of 
John Faust) introduced movable metal type. The Muntz 
Bible is the first important specimen of metal-type print- 
in", supposed to be published between 1450 and 1455. 
The Italic type was the invention of Aldus Manntius, the 
celebrated printer at Venice, about 1500, and dedicated by 
him to the States of Italy, from which it took its name. 
I. T. E. sends a puzzle for the little ones to draw on 
Fig. 3. —PUZZLE DRAWING. 
their slates, (see fi". 3). They are to draw it without 
crossing a line, and without removing the pencil. 
The Cat and the Rats.— It is quite a long time since 
the cat and rat problem had a run, so we will start it on 
its rounds again. D. F. B. sends it to us this time. If 3 
cats kill 3 rats in 3 minutes, how many cats will it take 
to kill 100 rats in 100 minutes ?—I shall be happy to re¬ 
ceive solutions to this. 
Thanks, for letters, puzzles, etc., to Lee Sharp, II. S. 
Bean, II. Ashland, Jacob H., F. D. C.. Benny, Lizzie D., 
Martin M. S., Cyrene G., “ Rev.” Monticello, (I am al¬ 
ways pleased when the seniors join in the fan), and to 
Theo. F. S. 
The I>octor’s Correspondence. 
I have been expecting it, and it has come at last—in¬ 
deed, several have come—requests that I would tell the 
youngsters 
“All Atoout tlie Telephone.” 
Those who request another to tell them “all about” 
anything, have little idea how much they ask. Very few 
people in this world know “ all about ” anything. I say 
that I expected the request, because so many accounts 
of the wonderful doings with the Telephone, have been 
given in the papers all over the country, that I was very 
sure that some of my youngsters would wish to know 
about it. So before the first of the requests came, I ex¬ 
amined the Telephone very carefully, intending to say 
something about it, even if you did not ask, for it is 
really a wonderful thing, and a great wonder about it is, 
that the accounts, for once, have generally been very 
true. In the first place we must ask 
“ Will at is a Teleipljone ? ” 
“see ” through three miles of brick buildings, I could not 
understand. We talked awhile, every word being per¬ 
fectly distinct, and after that Mr. A. asked her to sing, 
when "Red, White, and Blue,” was very neatly done ; 
then another lady having joined the one at the Fair 
building, I had a pleasing duet. These are some of the 
things the Telephone will do, and you want to know 
“How Sloes It 3»o It?” 
The Telephone is no new thing, for there were at¬ 
tempts of the kind years and years ago, but it is only of 
late that it has been a success, because Prof. Bell, and 
others, have hit upon the present way of doing it. To 
understand the Telephone now in use, you must know a 
little about electricity and the magnet, and something 
about the laws of sound. Let us leave the electricity for 
the present, and see how much you know about sound. 
Why S>o We Hear a Sound or Noise ? 
Something must set the air in motion before we can 
hear anything. If you throw a pebble into still water, 
yon see the little waves form a circle, which spreads, and 
spreads, so that after a while they strike the shore or 
spread so that you can not see these rings' of waves, they 
become so small. When yon clap your hands, you make 
similar waves in the air to those the stone makes in the 
water. They spread in all directions until they strike 
some one’s ear ; the waves of the air hit the “ ear drum,” 
which is like a drum-head. A stretched membrane, or 
kind of skin, that takes on the motion from the waves of 
air, sets some little bones—very curious they are, too—to 
shaking, and finally the disturbance in the air, caused by 
your “ spatting ” your bands together, gets through the 
ear-drum, the little bones and other parts of the ear to 
the brain of another person, and he hears the noise. 
Sounds of all kinds, from the least whisper, and the 
softest musical note, to the thunder, all come to our brain 
—are heard, through a disturbance in the air, which is 
set in motion in one way or another. Now the Telephone 
is a contrivance for disturbing the air in a particular man¬ 
ner, so that it will repeat the sounds of music, or of a 
voice, at a great distance—50, or 100, or more miles. The 
contrivance by which this is done, I must tell you of at 
another time. The Telephone repeats a sound at a dis¬ 
tance, by the vibration of—what do you suppose ?—a plate 
of iron 1 The arrangements of the very simple parts for 
doing this, I will try to show another month. That vibra¬ 
tions caused by the voice may be carried a long distance, 
is shown by the little toy now called the “ Street Tele¬ 
phone,” but which, a few years ago, was sold as “ The 
Lovers’ Telegraph.” This is easily made of two tin 
cylinders; mustard, or spice boxes, with the bottom 
knocked off—placing the box on the stove, until the 
solder which holds the bottom is melted. Over one end 
of each cylinder is tied a piece of wetted parchment (no 
doubt bladder would answer as well): this, when dry, 
will be as tight as a drum. Now take a small cord, or 
twine, 50 or more feet long; make a small hole in the 
center of each parchment head, pass one end of the cord 
through, and make a knot on the other side—or inside— 
to hold it; the engraving shows the thing, but not the 
whole length of the cord. To use this, two persons, each 
taking one of the tin drums, and stretch the string a little 
tight. One talks into the open end of the tin, while the 
other holds his to his ear. The voice sets the parch¬ 
ment to vibrating; these motions are carried along the 
string, and set the other parchment into the same kind of 
motion, and this allows the car of the other to hear what 
was said quite plainly. This is but a toy, but it shows 
one way in which words may be carried to a distance. 
for there are several of them. Its name gives a hint as 
to its use. You know that a T^tescope allows one to 
see things that are far off; a Tefegraph allows one to 
write at a great distance, and you are prepared, from the 
resemblance of the word Tele phone, to know that it lias 
something to do with distances. The name means to 
sound a-far off, but with the present instruments it is 
not merely a sound, but it carries voices and words, and 
by it persons can converse when miles apart. When I 
first saw the Telephone, I went to the “Tribune” 
Building, which is just across the Park from the office 
of the American Agriculturist, and there found Mr. 
THE STREET TELEPHONE. 
Applebaugh, whom I had known in telegraph matters, in 
charge of the Telephone. Although he has to do with 
Tele, or “far off” things, he is by no means a distant 
person himself, but showed me the Tele phone inside and 
out. A wire extended from his office up to the building 
of the American Institute, where the Fair was being 
held, and distant three or four miles, at least. lie took 
up a sort of wooden pepper box, and introduced me to 
a lady at the Fair. He gave me another pepper-box to 
hold to my ear, and I heard very distinctly that the lady 
waB “very glad to see me,” though how she could 
•--— 
Antal Smo’s S B «izzle»?£«>x. 
TRANSPOSITIONS. 
(Fill the blanks in each sentence with the same word 
transposed.) 
1. If he doesn’t take-he will lose the-. 
2. The route runs on a-with the-. 
3. lie looked-when he took the —-. 
4. The-had to go through several-. 
5. He took good care to-his beautiful-. 
Nip. 
DIAMOND PUZZLE. 
1. Part of a cabbage. 2. An animal. 3. A kind of lily. 
4. A certain kind of transportation. 5. A city in the 
United States. 5. Hibernating animals. 7. A surgical 
instrument. 8. A mineral. 9. Part of a bean. 
Denver, C. T. 
RHOMBOID TUZZLE. 
Across. 
1. What the baby does when the mos¬ 
quitoes trouble him at night. * * 
2. What day-laborers always welcome. * 
3. What Noah did when he first put his 
foot on the ark. 
4. Exactly the same as number 3. 
Downwards. 
1. Without this we never should get wet. 
2. Often a bad position for a man’s hat. 
3. A despicable individual. 
4. Ascertain kind of people or things. 
5. A conjunction. 
6. A verb. 
7. The first and last of every deed. 
[May, 
BIBLICAL ENIGMA. 
I am composed of 28 letters: 
My 5, 24,1,13, 8,12, was a city celebrated for its commerce 
and literature. 
My 9, 4, 10, 1, 27, 23, a beautiful, fertile plain of Palestine. 
My 14. 17, 2, 15, 20, 1. is the refined spirit or quintessence. 
My 17,11.3, 2, 7, 10, a band of soldiers in the Roman army. 
My 22, 18, 21, 0, 28,.9, is a European city. 
My 25, 10, 17, 19, 10,20, was an ancient measure of money. 
My whole is part of a verse of Proverbs. Isola. 
NUMERICAL ENIGMAS. 
1. I am composed of 45 letters : 
My 21,35, 43,1.12, 20, 45, 31, is a celebrated philosopher. 
My 41, 17, 37, 7, 9, 24, is flic name of a prophet. 
My 19, 28, 44, 5, 23, a city in France 
My 22,14, 8, 40, 6, 4, 25, 42. is something we all have 
of which no one can rob us. 
My 16, 13, 2, 33. 36, 20, is a bird. 
My 32, 3, 3S. 34, 45, 39, is a constellation. 
My 15, 10, 27, 30, 0. 14, 9, is a country of old Europe. 
My 25, 11, 34, 18, 29, 9, is a city of Greece. 
My whole is all too true. ' ' Fanny Bond. 
2. I am composed of 10 letters : 
My 1, 2, 7, is a pronoun. 
Mv 6. 10, 3, 9, is a fruit. 
My 9, 8, 4, 10, is a tool. 
My 5, 2, 7. 10, 6, is an animal. 
My whole is a well-known author. 
Kate J. Curtiss. 
3. I am composed of 10 letters : 
My 4, 2, 9. 6, 10, is a fastening. 
My 4, 2. 9, 10. 5, is a machine. 
My 4, 2, 1, 10, is a stick of wood. 
My 3, 8, 7, 9, is a bar for fastening. 
My whole is an article of every day use. J. & C. 
4. I am composed of 17 letters : 
My 8, 6, 7. is a girl's nickname. 
My o, 2, 9, 9, 13, 14, is pliant. 
My 1. 3, 4, is an insect. 
My 11, 14, 1, 13, is ardor. 
My 12, 16, 3, 14, is a girdle. 
My 15, 7, 1, 10, 17, are much discussed by young ladies at 
hoarding-school. \ 
My whole is something to which we all look forward with 
interest and pleasure. Sydnora. 
HOUR-GLASS PUZZLE. 
******* 
***** 
* * * 
* 
* * * 
***** 
******* 
1. An enemy. 2. Unmerciful. 3. A girl’s name. 4. A 
consonant. 5. To prosecute. 6. Resentful. 7. To search 
thoroughly. The central letters, read downwards, name 
what we should all avoid. Try Again. 
ALPHABETICAL ARITHMETIC. 
G A L ) G R ITMLTIKLSAIGL 
G A L 
‘ L R T M 
L G I A 
O L R L 
O S A I 
L S R T 
L S O G 
G A H 
G A L 
T Chas. A. Sfroat. 
cross words. 
1. My first is in lmwthorne hut not in pine, 
My next is in brandy hut not in wine, 
My third is in teach but not in learn, 
M'y fourth is in scald but not in burn, 
My fifth is in voice but not in tone, 
My whole is what all men like to own. Robt. F. Q. 
.2. My first is in pudding but not in pie. 
My next is in nearly but not in nigh, 
My third is in distance but not in length, 
My fourth is in power but. not in strength, 
My fifth is in pond but. not in lake, 
My sixth is in mend but not in break, 
My seventh is in lend but not in borrow, 
My eighth is in hope but not, in sorrow, 
My ninth is in months but not in years, 
My tenth is in cries but not in tears. 
My eleventh is in yells but. not. in flight. 
My whole the career of man will surely blight. 
P. A. Mcl. 
HIDDEN RIVERS. 
1. He went, to a donation party. 
2. Combine useful with ornamental acquirements. 
3. An Indian prisoner made his escape, deer-bunting. 
4. Never indulge in wratli or anger. 
5. Every unripe plum is sour, I think. 
6. A young Reclaimer absurdly began gesticulating be¬ 
fore speaking. 
7. A painter said be could color a dog green if he so 
desired. 
8. Give me some more lettuce and another cucumber. 
Landlord. 
9. That young miss is sipping tea out of china a hun¬ 
dred years old. 
10. A divorce lawyer said to a clergyman, “What, you 
connect, I cut asunder.” X. Y. Z. 
SYNCOPATIONS. 
(Subtract a letter. Example: Syncopate a heap, and 
leave something < f which most hoys are fond. Pile, pie.) 
1..Syncopate a minute particle and leave something 
necessary to vegetation, 
2. Syncopate a month and leave part of a circle, 
3 Syncopate an agricultural implement and leave a 
plant. 
4. Syncopate a country and leave part, of tlie face. 
5. Syncopate a tract of cultivated land and leave part 
of the'body. 
6. Syncopate a vehicle and leave a plant. 
7. Syncopate part of a wagon and leave part of the 
foot. ” John W. Wiieatly. 
