Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-03-05
WHAT The MONKEY SAYS.
BY the Aid of p Phonograph a Professo
mas Acquired the Simiau Tnn..ua

ny me Ala OF Photograph a Professor
HAS Acquired the Simian Tongue
The account of the experiments re-
Gently made by a learned professor at
the Smithsonian institution in deter
mining the meaning of the various
sounds OF the simian tongue is of excep-
nonaI interest. This gentleman has.
with extreme patience. succeeded in re-
corning upon the photographic cylinder.
many times repeated, the chatter of
monkeys: and after careful practice of
the sounds thus obtained he finds that
on repeating them he can make himself
understood by the animals. As ii is but
natural to suppose. il is only sounds ex-
preSslye of sensations common TO our
selves and our four-footed brethren that
have as yet been recognized and defined:
sounds, for instance that express cold.
hunger. fear and other of the feelings
most frequently experienced.
The value. however. of such investi-
cations as these from a scientific stand
point can hardly be overestimated:
they Will unquestionably result in the
following out of an entirely new line of
speculation and research in the near
future. This novel use of the phopo-
graph is an interesting confirmation of
the fact that the more or less marked
tendency of many scientific discoveries
lstoward special applications undreamed
OF when the offspring of the inventors
ingenuity was first made known to the
world What at first is regarded only
as an ingenious toy frequently becomes
a necessary adjunct to our civilization
Photography for a considerable time
seemed to have little use other than
that of ministering TO the vanity of the
favored few who could afford TO employ
II: now it is used in every branch of
science and art and is. indeed absolute
" Indispensable.
The monograph was long considered
wonderful but comparatively useless
playthinT. and doubts are still ex-
pressed OF its ultimate practical value
for the purpose for which II was Origi-
nally designed; but there can be no qucS-
ton that this invention. like many of
its predecessors. Is designed to open out
fresh fields of investigation. and develop
new wonders III many and widely-varied
directions. Some very interesting facts
have been lately established which
point to'the possibility of the use Of the
photograph in the solution of certain
problems involving musical acoustics.
About two years ago, when DIR. Wange-
mann, Mr.. Edison representative, was
exhibiting the monograph before the
young German Emperor at his palace in
Berlin. n record was about to be made
of performance of the royal orchestra.
DR.. Wangemann suggested certain
changes ia the positions of the instru-
ments. which experience had convinced
Ia. r. no Il
ing and recording of sound than their
ordinary disposition. The leader Of the
orchestra was horror-stricken al the
idea of such al unheard-of innovation:
the Emperor at once commanded that
it should be done, and the record was
made. The result 50 pleased the EN-
peror that at the next royal concert the
strings wood-wind and brass were
placed "a la phcnograph." The re
cording of the subtIcst quality. or the
soul" of the human voice the phono-
graph mas not Yet attained To. but for
indicating the purely technical capa-
bilitics of the vocal organ II pos
sesses remarkable possibilities. When
IN Paris DIR. Wangeman called
on Nine. Narchesi. the celebrated
teacher of singing. and suggested that
the phonograph might be used for vocal
teaching as it rendered possible certain
distinctions and shades of tone which
often escape the unaided ear. Mime.
Marchesi ridiculed the idea, saying that
her thirty-fye years of tuition had been
none too much to give her right ideas
on the subject, but she could trust her
self sooner than the new-fangled instru-
ments. DIR. Wangemann. however.
gained permission to call the next day.
when twelve of the artists pupils sung
a plain scale. ascending and descend
ing. into the photograph. Mime. Mar
chest was perfectly astounGed with the
result. for on listening to the record she
perceived inequalities and inaccuracies
of tone which had escaped even her
keen ear.-Chicago News.