Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-04-27
MUSIC HATH CHARMS.
A Brief Scientific zrea.tse, NOTIFY Str 10
Lubbock.

MUSIC HATH CHARMS.
A Brief Scientific Treatise, Not BY SIR John
Lubbock.
Texas Siftings.J
1 have been reading very interest
ing essay upon the effect of music on
animals. The writer shows how vari-
GUS animals, and even insects, are in.
fiuenced by the concord IN. H. of
sweet sounds. have noticed the same
thing myself, but thought nothing par
ticular about it until stumbled on the
aforementioned article.
We often see horses influenced by
music. One of the most enjoyable and
soul-thrilling runaways that I ever ex-
perienced can be directly traced to the
influence of music on the horse. It
was on the Fourth of July, and was
driving by brass band, when I sud.
denly discovered that music had more
influence on horse than I had. He
reared on his hind legs as though he
had been reared to go that.way. Then
he inaugurated an andante movement,
and you ought to have seen him ante
down the street. noticed, however,
that he didn't keep step. He didn't
keep anything-harness, buggy, driver,
or anything else. He only kept on
running. He beat time. though-beat
any time that I ever saw him make be-
fore, and I had run him at the county
fair. I would have kept that horse to
run against time if he hadn't run against
lamp-post and ruined himself.
Horses are admirable musical per-
formers themselves sometimes. I have
known horse to go through the bars
of an oat field and never miss an oat,
although the owner missed good many
of his Then what work horses can
perform on the corn-et.
Dogs are sigularly affected by music,
too. I whistled after a strange dog
once when I was boy. I don't mean
to say that the strange dog whistled and
I whistled after him, but I whistled to
attract his attention. I wanted to make
friends with him, for he was lying by
the orchard where wished to freight
myself with apples. The dog raised
his head, and as he caught the notes ]
uttered they seemed to awaken tender
memories within his breast, for plant.
i've look came into his eyes. Then he
came bounding to me and embraced the
calf Of my leg in the most affectionate
manner. He could hardly tear himself
away, and wouldn't if a portion of the
trousers hadn't given away.
There is power of music in an old tin
kettle when properly brought out.
saw one brought out the other day by
some idle boys who attached it to a
dogs tail, and I never saw canine &C
moved in all my life.
Cats are strangely moved by the
music of vislin. There is something
about fiddle that appeals to the inner
most recesses of cat, whether it il
time of recess or not. In fact there
can be no violins without doing violins
to the cat. Even young kittens have
been known to NEW plaintively when q
fiddle-bow is drawn across the strings.
Itseems to vibrate a sympathetic chord
within their own abdominal Enclosure.
This is something for kitten to muse
over when it news.
Birds never brought up on music at
all are brought down by the music of a
shotgun. Many wild animals are
charmed with music, which leads me to
remark that have heard music before
now that nothing but q wild animal
would be charmed with.