1808 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
149 
A 'Wondeirful Musical liisti'jac&iesat. 
A gentleman in this city recontly'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 
singing, the cries of different animals, the songs of birds, 
of many different wind and stringed instruments, were 
brought out with clearness, and the volume of sound 
could be increased so as to be heard a quarter of a mile, 
or in an instant reduced to the gentle sound made by the 
rustle of a falling loaf. It consisted of a simple tube made 
of several pieces joined together so that the parts were 
easily moved by bands and strings attached. Inside the 
tube were two small, thin slips which vibrated easily, after 
the manner of a reed in a cabinet organ. The tube was 
attached to a moderate-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. From an exami¬ 
nation of the instrument no one would suspect that its 
power of expression could be so varied. A most inter¬ 
esting part of the performance was where the different 
feelings and passions of the mind were expressed by the 
modulations of sound. Anger, fear, hope, joy, love, and 
even the more delicate shades otleeling, sxicli as distrust, 
bashfulness, and vanity, were clearly represented. For¬ 
tunately for the enjoyment of the public the instrument 
is not patented, the inventor having left it open for free 
use by the public. We understand that several hundreds 
have already been brought into use in different parts of 
the country. Any one desiring to know more about it 
should take paius to cultivate his voice, and he will dis¬ 
cover that this wonderful instrument is situated in his 
own throat. If properly used it will do all we have said, 
and much more. We think it should bo considered 
all the more valuable because it is so very common. 
Such a collection of scaly fellows as is here represented 
can rarely be found. We have not counted the number of 
faces which can be made out by examination of this sin¬ 
gular specimen ; whichever way it is turned, new combi¬ 
nations and new features appear. It is the ingenious 
work of one of our artists. Perhaps he had eaten too 
heartily of fish for supper, and this nightmare apparition 
impressed his fancy. How many foimam&ces can you find ? 
Look carefully at the straight lines that run lengthwise 
across the engraving, and try to judge how much more 
Widely apart they are at one end than at the other. Prob¬ 
ably not one person in ten will make a correct estimate 
on the first examination. After having measured the 
distances with the eye, apply a rule or other measure, and 
the result will probably cause some surprise. 
Avarice ©wtwitte«L. 
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 ago, and that then they should give him such a 
No. 003. Labyrinth .—Find your way from the entrance to the Fish Pond without crossing a line. 
portion as should please them , 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, and the 
executors the one-tenth, on the ground that they had 
shown by their conduct that the nine-tenths pleased them. 
WSaat Is a W.SoBaiila ? 
“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,” suggests 
some thoughtful scholar, after thinking of the matter a 
moment. Neither answer is entirely correct. February 
is the only month consisting of four weeks, and it has 
more than that in leap year; the other months 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 JIona (the moon). Formerly a month meant 
the time of one revolution of the moon around the earth, 
equal to 39 days, 12 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 were 
the same as now, excepting July and August, which were 
called Quintilis and Soxtilis. It was found before long 
that the seasons did not keep pace with the year ; March 
did not bring spring again, and the following seasons 
were equally tardy. To remedy this, the Emperor Numa 
added two months, January to the beginning, and Feb¬ 
ruary to the end of the year. This was afterward changed, 
and February placed where it now stands, the second 
month. At that time the months contained 39 and 30 
days alternately, which would give 354 days, to which 
one was added to make an odd number, which was sup¬ 
posed to be more lucky. Still, the seasons would not 
come regularly at the same time of the year, because 
their changes are produced by the earth’s revolution 
about the sun, which requires 365)4 days very nearly, and 
the year should therefore bo of this length, to have the 
same month bring the same land of weather every year. 
It was therefore ordered that another month, of 22 .and 
23 days alternately, should be inserted every second year 
between the 23d and 24th of February. This would have 
answered the purpose for a long period of years, but. the 
ruling powers occasionally interfered with it, to prolong 
or shorten the time of holding office. At last the Emper¬ 
or Cesar decreed that the year should contain 365 days, 
with one day added every fourth year. He also directed 
that the odd months, that is, the first, third, etc., should 
have 31 days, the others 30, excepting February, which 
should have 2S, with one added every fourth year. The 
names Quintilis and Sextilis were changed to July and 
August, in honor of the Roman emperors Julius Caesar, 
and Cmsar Augustus. The latter emperor also decreed 
that August should have 31 days, as ho was not willing to 
have July contain more than the month named after 
himself. This arrangement has continued until the pres¬ 
ent time, excepting that in 15S2 it was decreed by Pope 
Gregory XHT, that the added day for leap year should be 
omitted in years ending in centuries, excepting the 400tli 
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. 
CoEiaical Action jPsuszle. 
This is best performed in a company of a dozen or 
more, but will give amusement wherever tried. Let all 
be seated around a table. At a signal from the leader, the 
following three motions are to be made: 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 the left hand seize the right 
ear. These motions are to be made quickly, and it will 
usually cause a hearty laugh to see what directions the 
puzzled hands will take. After a little practice has made 
it easy, reverse the hands, seizing the nose with the left 
hand, and the left ear with the right hand. 
No. 303. Illustrated Helms. —A truth to bo remembered. 
Answers to B®roll»lemis naa«l B D aszzles. 
The following- are answers to the puzzles in the March 
number, page 107. No. 299. Shadow (Shad oh)... No. 
300. Seat; teas; east (a point of the compass)_No. 
301. All’s well that ends well_The following have sent 
correct answers to some of the puzzles previously pub¬ 
lished. Arthur T. Butler, Walker Adams, C. Laiigdon, 
George N. Buel, C. A. McCartney, Thos. J. Lannon. Frank 
U. Robinson. IV. Anderson. Eliger S. Dodge. Eli. Mrs. G. 
Iv. Barker, D. Van Buren, R. G. W. English. Linnie La- 
throp, W. J. Brown. Daisy Wilder, Joseph Sheets, J. 
Milton Snyder, Columbus Snyder, George C. Pfontz. Fran¬ 
cis F. Bulkley, Robert E. Moody, L. M. Wright. Nashua, 
N. II., Wm. Ecynolds, Frank A. White, Henry E. Nelson. 
