The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-08-22
ORCH HESIhI CUaIOSIIIES

An mals.
 The orchestra attached to a theatre which Is in the habit of playing realis- tic drama, thus introducing upon its boards steam engines, ships, race horses and similar startling novelties, uses some very queer instruments whereby certain sounds necessary to the surroundings of the scene may be successfully produced
 Take for instance the roaring of a lion. None of the ordinary brass in struments will give this effect, nor will the low notes of the double bass. To produce the desired sound special in strument must be used, technically known as the "lion roarer." This Is a
 arge, trumpet-shaped instrument, us ually made of sheet iron. Two thin tongues of tin run down the middle which, when the instrument Is blown
 vibrate and produce and excellent coun- terfeit of Hons roar.
 Instrume9ts which initiate the notes
 of birds are to be found in most or
 hestras. A wooden tube, down the
 middle of which runs a reed, joined to
 l tin cup, Is used for initiating the
 row of cock. The note of a cuckoo
 likewise produced by reed instru-
 nent; while some short time ago an
 ingenious piece of mechanism was brought out whereon the notes of a ark, linnet and all the finches of the grove could be initiated to the life.
 To produce the effect of a horse gal 'oping along a road, several contri- vances exist. One way, as simple as it is effective, Is to take cocoanut shells cut in half and strike them upon some hard surface; but some, orchestras can boast of specially made instruments for this purpose, These are wooden blocks cut into the shape of a horses hoof to which real horse shoes are at. tached, and this somewhat queer in. strument is played by striking the shoes upon piece of marble or stone Very similar to the above are the hol- low wooden mallets used to initiate g clog dance, American orchestras show. ing a great partiality to these, togeth CT with sand boards" whereby jig dancing is likewise counterfeited, One would have thought that the bag-pipe, with all it's horrors of dis cordance, might have escaped imita ton. Yet such is nowise the case. very excellent imitation, we are In formed, can be produced by means of g l brass horn, with gradually narrowing bore, the instrument being furnished with finger holes, and played after tht l manner of fageolet
 One of the most ingenious and sue cessful contrivanees for initiating the sound of pulling engine, an effect | which in the provinces invariably brings down the house, is as follows: The player holds in each hand ar implement somewhat like a brick, com. posed of steel wires, and in order tc produce the puff-puff of a locomotive strikes a semi-cylinder of sheet-iror with each alternately. When the trair | first starts the operator strikes slowly and gradually increases, the pace until when the engine is supposed to have got up steam, he strikes the cylinder as quickly as he can.
 The noise made by the screw Of g steamboat, as we'll as the pulling of 2 | locomotive, has also been successfully produced by the aid of a special in. strument. In appearance this is some thing like large drum, with this diff l ference, that it's two ends are of wood the rest being of parchment, holding several quarts of dried peas, This is fit 1 ted to an axis upon which it revolves From the wooden ends project long pegs, and as the drum revolves, the peas strike against the parchment, thus giving a fair imitation of the sount | made by the screw of steamboat. 1 As a rule, it is the gentleman 1T 1 charge of the drum, cymbals and trian l gle to whose lot falls to operate upof the above and similar orchestral cur 1 iosities. It is true that it does not re l quire vast knowledge of music t l play the horse galloper, the puff-puff or the lion roarer, yet we are informed
 that 1t Is necessary to practice ever l upon these instruments before any 1 thing approaching efficiency can be ob l tained. Nor Is a knowledge of the in i strmnent alone sufficient, for, as ( member of an orchestra once said, on hasn't only got to know how to pla! | them, but when.
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