The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-06-20

surprising Experiments with Edi
sons Ear-Trumnet

sons Ear-Trumpet.
There were present On the porch.
Edison. James Redpath. famous for
his Kansas and war letters Un d
Painter, a noted Washington journal.
ist ". h. Applebaugh. president Il
the Photographic COMPANY Charles
Bachelor, n several other gentlemen
eager 10 see the experiment.. They
had waited for a pleasant dav.
They speedily arranged a serie, II
signals u express IL hear aud IL do
not hear by waving the hand in a pc
culiar way.
Then Mr.. Bachelor and Uriah Pain
ter took one Of the ear-trumpets and
went forth, across the field. to a store
500 feet distant.
One Of them sail DO YOU hear me
now =
Yes shouted they in the porch.
with a laughing accompaniment, for
the voice was distinctly audible TO all
with the naked ear.
ID YOU hear this :" he repeated i'm
a lower tone, scarcely audible.
Again he was answered in the af-
firlnative.
The question was repeated over and
over till the ear trumpets had 10 be-
used. At last came 10 the ear of h
listeners, Il am whispering now; do
YOU near me- Mr.. Painter was 600
feet distant, Yet his whispers We're
perfectly distinct. Bachelor walked
away from him fifteen feet and sig
nailed that he could not. with the I'M
aided Ear. hear his companions whis-
pers, which were audible to us in the
porch. As COO is TO fifteen, SO is Edi-
sons ear trumpet to the unaided ear
twenty TO ne.
Blu the experiments were scarcely
begun.
Bachelor and Painter walked off
across the fields till they We're a mile
distant They crossed many undula-
tions-up hill, down dale, now vanish
ing, now r~e-appearing, till they finally
stood forth on a hillock in plain sight,
but diminutive and baby-like in size.
Signals were exchanged. ''All
ready
One at each end put the trumpet to
his ear.
Perfectly distinct" said Redpath.
''He says John Browns body lies
Wondering in the grave
Then he spoke towards the figures
on the distant hill, Il heard that dis
tinctly. How loud are YOU talking"
In an ordinary tone of voice" came
in response to the mar with the trum-
pet scarcely louder than | would
speak in a parlor."
Then we tried it all around. 1t
seemed very strange and uncanny to
hold a conversation in an ordinary
voice with 4 l.lan a mile off, without a
speaking trumpet, and with no wire or
electrical assistance whatever.
This is really telegraphing without
a telegraph" exclaimed Redpath.
AS we could plainly see with our
opera-glasses that the man on the hill
had his trumpet I'm POSITION Mr..
Edison stepped to the front of the
porch and spoke to them, clearly, but
in a voice that could scarcely have
been heard 200 feet away go a mile
further off and get in range
We waited awhile and chatted about
the photograph and telephone, and
the new sound magnifier of the Eng
lishman, Hughes, which Edison de-
clared "a straight steal, from the
principle of his carbon telephone.
when at last Mr.. Redpath said, II neal
them"
But W e could not see them anywhere.
They had vanished.
He says Mr.. Redpath repeated.
'.Now is the winter of our discomfort
flour at $14 a barrel and | haven t got
a cent"
There was a laugh at this, and Edi-
son announced from the other end of
the stoop that he had found them. We
moved twenty feet, and their white
flag was just visible through the dis
tant trees.
Situations were exchanged over the
two miles of intervening ground, and
an opportunity was furnished to all
present to hear the wonderful phe-
nOmena.
The Graphic asked permission to
describe and sketch the ear-trumpet
for The Graphic but was refused per-
mission at present on account of some
delay of the patents. But the country
and the world may be assured that our
sketch does not IN any way eXaggerate
the merits of this latest invention of
this marvellous man-a device which
seems likely to make the deaf hear,
and which will certainly open new
methods of communication to sup
plant the telegraph and telephone.
The Woman Husband.
We published last week the story of
{In yo-,an "hA ,or,iol