Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-08-10
Geographic News
Bulletins by the
National Geographic Society
DIR. Bell.

| came to be an was chaf,n-
ingIy recorded by DIR. Alexander
Graham Bell in the course OF mis-
last published article, prehistoric
Telephone Days" contained in the
National Geographic Magazine FOR
March, 1922.
Especial interest attaches to This
article, not only because of its his
toric value as relating to the steps
leacing up to the invention OF he
telephone, but because it is n OF
the few occasions when DR.. Bell, in
J his many writings, engaged in per-
tscnal "reminiscences.
Il will have to go back to my
grandfather, Alexander Bell of Lon
dor. England" DIR. Bell wrote.
Studied Speech Mechanism
He was an elocutionist and a cor
rector of defective utterance. He
vas the first in the family to take
up the study of the mechanism of
speech with the object of correcting
defects of speech by explaining to
his pupils the correct positions of
the vocal organs in uttering the
sounds that were defective.
MY grandfather took a great deal
of interest in my education. MY
school life had been characterized
ny STedI LtarilSTeHCc " the uSudi
school studies and 1 took a very low
rank in my classes. The subjects
in which l really excelled, such as
music, botany and natural history,
formed nc part of the school cur
Music His Earliest Hobby
Music especially was my earliest
hobby. 1 learned to play the piano
at such an early age that l have
no recollection now of a time when
| could not play. l seem to have
picked it up BY myself without m
special instruction, and although l
knew nothing Of written music l
could play anything l heard by ear
anG. could improvise at the piano
for any length of time.
Il am inclined to think, however.
that my early passion for music had
s. good deal to do in preparing me
for the scientific study of sound.
las a child, 1 took a great deal Of
interest in flowers and plants and
formed a large herbarium, arranged
according to the Linnean system of
botany.
my collection of plants gradually
gave way to collections of shells and
birds eggs. Then came butterflies
GIiu UcctlcS anu Allally ll0 ShclcLJli8
of small animals, like frogs and
toads, mice and rats.
Got Pig For Dissection
ION one occasion my father pre-
scented me with q dead sucking pig,
and the distinguished professor OF
anatomy was called upon for a iec-
ture. So a special meeting of The
Society for the Promotion of Fine
Arts among Boys was held in my
study. the attic Of my fathers house
(13 South Charlotte street, Edin-
burgh). This was sacred to me, and
there my collections presented an
imposing array OF anatomical speci-
mems.
81 can see in these n~atural-nis-
tory collections a preparation for
scientific work. The collection Of
material involved the close observa-
ton of the likenesses and differences
of objects of very similar kind, and
the orderly arrangement. as in a
museum, stimulated the formation
OF congratulations of various kinds.
my father encouraged me in
making collections of all sorts and
in arranging the specimens in ac-
cordance with my w ideas rather
than in conformity with the ideas
OF others. ! am inclined to think
thai the making of these collections
formed an important part of my
education and was responsible fol-
my early bent toward scientific pur-
suits.
Had to Learn Shakespeare
My grandfather was we'll known
a. a Shakespearean scholar and q
public reader of Shakespeare's plays;
so, of course, I had to make myself
familiar with the plays OF Shake
speare and commit to memory lone
passages from Hamlet Macbeth,
Julius Caesar and The Merchant
Of Venice
HE also gave me instruction In
the mechanism OF speech and per-
mitted me to be present at the in
struction of some of his pupils, SO
that I might observe for myself his
methods Of correcting defective ut
terance.
Il have found 1t necessary to al
Jude to my grandfather, and to his
work in correcting defective utter.
ance, not only on account OF the
influence he exerted upon my own
life, but because the profession he
founded became in process OF time
| a family profession, which was
handed down to his children and
grandchildren. His two sons. fol-
example, followed it.
Took Up Study OF Vibrations
Il took up the study of the ma
ture of the vibrations going Oh in
the air during the utterance Of
speech with the object Of develop.
ing ar apparatus that would en-.
able my deaf pupils to see and recog.
nize the forms of vibration char.
acteristic of the various elements Of
speech. Various instruments were
devised employing loaded stretched
membranes, all based upon the we'll
known phonautograph of Lsor
Scott; and these experiments paved
thu way for the appearance of the
first membrane telephone, the an
cestor of all the telephones of today
ut will thus be seen that the
work of my father had a great ant
important influence in fitting me Il
grapple with the problems Of thu
telephone.
"At the age Of eighteen years
communicated to MI. Ellis my dis
covery that in utterins the vowe
elements of speech faint musica
torres could be heard accompanying
the sound1 ofsfthe voice.
These feeble tones seemed to b,
Characteristic of the differenr
vcwels, and had the same pitches al
the tones. Of the various
cayities formed in the mouth wner
the vowel positions were silently as
sumed and the resonance tone
brought out by tapping against {
percIl held against the cheek o.
throat.
Experlmenta of Helmholtx
"Mr. Ellis expressed great inter
eat hut informed me that haf