Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-09-25
THD PHONOGRAPH.

has been oeughs by film OF glass 1-3. 600
OF an inch thick and of the diameter Of
a fifty-cent.piece.
To that disk OF glass is fastened tiny
point which is dug into the smooth sur
face of revolving cylinder of some
waxy substance whose composition is
Mr.. EdisOn's secret. The cylinder which
bears tbs complex record of the many
voiced strain of o military band, to the
sight has been but scored with tiny
lines like those of mother of pearl
If one should rub his thumb on the
polished Rlrface of dinner-plate the
streak remaining would look more Ike
the record on the cylinder of the phono-
graph than any thing else in all the
world beside. And yet that smouch on
the roll of wax gives back to the fragile
glass diaphragm the many stranded
thread of harmony, and one hears Cap
pas band. But how does one hear? It
is marvellous that the glass disk should
catch GIL these sounds even to the twang
which distinguishes the euphonium
Tfom the French horn, but it is not
wonderful at all that the drum of the
ear should do all this and that the
sounds should sst o tremble that inter-
nal harp which the wise men call Corti's
fibers. That is not wonderful in the
least. 1t is simply so astounding that
folks have quit trying to appreciate it,
0 and expend their admiration on the
photograph and the like. And really it
Is more wonderful that Mr.. Edison
should have made the photograph than
that the other workman should have
made the ear.
But it does puzzle body to under.
stand how the vibration of diaphragm
bearing a needle stabbing the wax with
series of little dots can convey the
multiple sounds of band; not only the
plain notes themselves but the evanes-
cent, unnOticed harmonics which i'm
part the quality to tone which is called
timbre. man may sing "a" and cor
net may play "A" and piano may sound
"a" all the same note, yet the floating
tndistinct resultant notes which cluster
around each musical tone like satellites
around a planet distinguish the vocal
"a" from the vibrations Of string or
the trembling lips of the cornetist. Now,
how does that diaphragm do all that?
1t is feat as comprehensive as if one
should play Claimants Grand Cheur ON
the organ with one finger.
1t is a funny sight to see party of
people aCtacnVA TO service pipe from
the photograph by series of rubber
hose pipes. There they stand with a
foolish grin on their faces, wagging
their heads to tho time of the music
which they hear and nobody else does.
o, yes, one can hear the phonograph
without an ear tube or a big funnel,
but it's little wee thin bit of a. tone,
spectral, like the ghost of a voice long
dead. BY listening closely to tho little
rig-a-ma-jig that is set vibrating by the
indentations in the cylinder one may
hear the faint squeaking, which when
heard through the ear tube is the full
blare of a military bard. Unfortunate
ly, too. while the music is strengthened
by the tube, so is the gentle brushing of
the tiny point on the waxen cylinder,
which is magnifled into roar with oc-
casional snaps of torpedoes when the
delicate point strikes chunk Of dust
that one would just. notice if it blew in
to ones eye
Over at the Office Of the Chicago Cen
trail Photograph they have stacks and
stacks of the wax cylinders put up in
paper boxes and tenderly rolled in cot
ton. Probably the most interesting OF
all these is record of st. Thomas
chimes. They played the hymn tune
Hark. the sound Of holy voices.
In the janglipg, crashing manner which