Telegram-herald., 1890-08-18
= CURIOUS OPERATION.
Increasing on.'s AbtiisY as . Pianist by
the surg gson'. EaiIe.

Are You afflicted with an unmusical
6ng-ri Does your ''ring finger" fail 20
perform its mission on the piano keys
with the hsxibility and strength the
other digits possess Oar leading pro-
fgssors, and more particularly thoss IN
Boston aud New York, have lately dis
covered that nature arranses these
things somewhat ciumsily, and they
have devised means 20 correct her short
conings It's the sim plest thing in the
world; you just get surgeon 20 sever
the little tendon that connects the third
and fourth fingers OF the hand imme-
diately back OF the knuekles-and there
you are This odd little operation is
becoming quite popular among budding
musicians here, and as many as 400
hands-principally those of very young
girls-have been operated upon this
season.
talked yesterday with a well-known
professional teacher cn tae subject and
he rather surprised me.
There are over 1900 young people,
great majority being young la
dies, who have had the ring finger
liberated" said he, land it bids fair TO
become almost general in the case Of
those who wish to acquire complete
musical education. In Boston, Pro-
fessors Orth and Faction have under
gone the operation, together with the
daughters Of many families in society.
In this city Mrs. Mann is the leading
professional whom ] recall as having
submitted to il, but there is host of
non-professionals of course. Person
ally was sceptical about the advantage
TO be gained, but since such distia-
guished musicians as 5. 3. Mills, the
celebrated pianist; Professor Lambert
OF the New York College Of Music, and
Professor Agramonte, who is now Wis
iting in Michigan, have investigated
and expressed their astonishnent at the
change produced by the little surgical
operation, / have been com PEELED TO
fall into line. Even D'Albert, tho
prince of pienists, has been convinced.
lie saw the operation performed in San
Francisco.
''How did II first become known ?"
OF New York attempted to operate On
the tendons of musician whose third
aad fourth fingers had become stiff and
unresponsive through an injury to tae
hand At first he inserted the instru-
msrt az the back of the hand. a little
forward of the wrist. By aad by he
struck the tendo=. and there was a
T. s. BonnslH, who il bit of surgeon
himself got interested. The exDeri-
ucnt gave him en- idea, and whea he
went tc san Francisoo. he operated
upoa the hands OF about ffty negroes.
psying chem for tue privilege, OF
f course. lie was unsuccessful until. ons
dsy. he got oat OF patience with the
man wao had closed his haad Bon
neiu trfn for ths Grst tiras observed
/ the tendon connecting the knuckles.
and hs cut il at once. ne had dis
covered the secret which professors
+ bad been searching for during ten years
/ or more. The eject OF the operation is
+ 20 give the rinchnger the same strength
Z and independence Of astiqa the others
possess.
One little e.ri ia New York. who
lstsly had ths tendon severed. showed
the other day that with ne liberated
finger she can now pull rs ulnca as
E5Itor Hoerscheim e tbs IusicaI
Courier can with his finger. Thta
was doae a. test. Il gives the Whole
hard vide resch, too. and ia iust
y bat was needed 90 mske tas digits
sn equally servicesbls On tbe KEYS
Every PLAYER declares tha. th- cu.tinr
is bene&t. Ones own physician cen
Go it. There is 10 danger Whatever.
snd il is painless afts- the slisas
momentarv trings.r
Fs--us lIcCarthy. ~ P'lla1o1phia. was
+ the subject os a peculiar operatfon a. tho
Fr.sb~.1elan Hosp tai 4 -ec5lo wbieh
p-a-rndci f-ora Bis abdouen was re-
moved on Dr. W Is. Giliar5 The nee
die vas ~1aea corro6ei and blsclorei
aIcCarthv ssi6 he could not explain how
the needls roe there. hlt r1mer1 1ercd
that a5ont twenty Tca-s azo ho rrca3
uroa = needla whioh t-C1bl-d him
slighty- It was never discover. Nc
CacthT SAYS he 5id -os experience n-nch
rsin at The tiuo. but stree shea be has
suffered extreme pans less or acre al
aroua1 the lefs leg. which grad eallg
moved apwarI Tie pain shifted 20 BIS
side and hc has ias-erlV experienced lle
stin-ing rain ln the rezio1 q the al
doneu- While az work AZ she toun .-y
he was doing some uork witch necessi-
tatsd his stoopfn- corsidera Ee
fele keen pals ss - something was re1s-
tratnT bis fesh Ulse a nee8e. s11
Bad 90 Ct CO. and. 81 sva-a aa-ou- he
cisc5rarsa tts backene2 rol-t 81 tr-
nestle. TIE easa is ere 81 she aaost -
c1lar tlat kas eore u-.5er treatment a