The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-12-31
TAGS COWS WITH
SWISS BELL CHIMES
Illinois Farmer Attempts New
Wrinkle In Bovine Harmony
ON Pasture
RED CAUSES WILD DISCORD
ExperImenter Asserts His Herd Can
Play "PIease Don't Take Me Home"
Calf spoIls Harmony--MusieIan
Studies Chimes.

Calf spoIIs Harmony-MusieIan
Studies Chimes.
Geneva. nl.-"Do. re. me, ia. sol, La,
81, do, re. me, ia, sol. la, 81, do"
"Bangi"
The "bang!" is the way the barn
door shuts. What goes before shows
how Colonel George Fabyan's cows
march out of the electric lighted barn
at Riverside villa, Geneva. every day
at dawn.
Each COW Of q pure blooded herd is
tagged with Swiss bell. The chimes
are tuned to the scale and the COW
with the bell of the lowest pitch gets
out FIRST. Then come the rest. and
the notes 60 ringing up the scale
until they reach the tiniest tin
kle attached to q little wabbly calf.
Then the barn door slams and 1t
drums after the violins have run up
into the high notes.
The cows have to do a respectable
musical stunt when they get out in
the morning, because Walter Little,
general superintendent at Riverside
Villa, releases them in the right or
der, but there's an awful mess on
over getting them back right at night.
Instead of beginning at the high
notes and running down in proper
cadences there's jangle that sounds
like the streets Of Cairo mixed up
with a spilled pan of dishes and a de-
pot dinner gong.
Thus far the cows have not been
dlssauded from a blind desire to Just
get in the barn any old way. Dahlia
jangles B and SNOWFALL rings the F
above. and when they go in together
sweet harmonies strike the ear, but
this is followed close by A tied to
Daisey, G on Violet, and Sunfower
wagging her head and shifting the air
with low D. The result is conglom-
Grafton of supertonics and dominant
sevenths, cacophony of sound that
would terrify Strauss enthusiast.
"You see, there amt no use airy.
ing to get 'em to go in right" Little
explained apologetically, because
that calf ought to get in first and she's
always behind. We might get the
more intelligent cows to learn the
scale, but after they had played the
whole business back into the barn
here would come that calf banging
high c after 1t was all over"
Several months ago Colonel Fab
yam espoused the idea that the
music of sweet chimes would temper
t.
cattle.
It's variation Of a theory held by
Mrs. John Howey, In Janesville, Wis,
who plays harp in the barn while
the cows are being milked. So the
best chimes that could be purchased
were imported from Switzerland and
duly attached to members of the Fab
yam herd.
1t was weeks before the bells were
adjusted properly. Magnolia, who
could not endure minor tone, kicked
around in apparent distress and held
up her milk. A major clang bothered
Ma-igold just as much. These two
chimes were switched and the effect
was instantaneous; Magnolia gave
two pints more of milk and Marigold
Is the merriest cow in the herd.
Just to see if the blooded stock had
any sense Of harmonies Chicago mus
ical student went to Riverside Villa
and studied the chime ringing herd in
on of the meadows of the Fabyan
es ..te.
From the country road which winds
between Fabyan's and the golf links
Of the country club the faint, faraway
tinkle of the bells could be heard,
like chimes in church tower miles
away. When the crest of the hill
above the meadows was reached the
tone increased in volume and a COM
pany Of Swiss bell ringers might have
been in the glade below.
II really can't decide whether these
cows know perfect chord from dis
onance or not" she said.
Il found c, e and G over here to-
gether, and that's a beautiful combi-
nation. But pretty soon that Jersey
came up ringing E as If house was
on fire. and the four of them got at
1t and made narrowing jangle."
Nov, II some one"-and the musi-
clan looked appealingly at the photog.
rapher. safely adjusted on a meadow
fepce-"will get behind them and pull
their tails as ! point them out we'll
make them play the 'Marseillaise, and
II We do 1t a lot Of times then maybe
they'll do 1t themselves"
The idea seemed fair enough and
camera dKas abandoned for the tail end
NJ p inging act. The prelude
u q charm and the French
was about TO break over the
n when there came an unex.
interruption.
the ofing the biggest member OF
Fabyan herd had paid little atten.
IN u the music lesson until she
!, I4tf,iad n dash Of rad on thA hat of the