Scripture, E. W.

English

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ing articles : ' The Ontario Coast Between Fairhaven and Sodias Bays,' by 3. 0. 3Iartiu. Some peculiar features of the  landscape due to the rapid erosion of the glacial drumliils alollg the  shore line a re  described. Eighth Session of the International Congress of Geologists, Paris, 1900,' is written up by Persifor Frazer. 'Two Kew Genera and Some New Species of Fossils from the Upper Paleozoic Rocks of PIIissouri,' by R. R. Rowley. Mr. IComley describes two new genera of blastoids and proposes the  names Lophoblastus and Carpenteroblastus, followii~g which he  describes two new species of the  first, one of the  second, and  fourteen of the other genera of fossils from the  same region. The  article is accompanied by a plate. ' Ore Forma- tion by Surface Decomposition,' is discussed by C. R. Iieyes, in which he concludes L' that  with tlle exception of possibly a few isolated unim- portant instances ore conceiltratioil does not generally take place through surface decom-position of rock masses, in areas such as tlle Ozark lead and zinc regiou." Gold and Other Minerals in Iowa, '  by Samuel C~~ l v i n .  The  author undertakes to  destroy the  fallacious ideas t ha t  gold, gas or oil exist in  payi i~g quantities in  Iowa. I-Ie also exposes the  fallacy that  any  so-called geologist with a clrillillg out- fit is to be trusted ill his predictions to a public- spirited community. DISCU;SSIOL\~ AND CORRESPOATDEf\'CE. THE LARYNX AS A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. THE wide prevalence of the  mistaken notion that  the  vocal cords vibrate in t h e  axial direc- tion of the  larynx makes i t  desirable to  point out that  observations by the laryugostrobo-scope-a combination of a laryilgoscope and ail adjustable intermittent source of illumination- have proved to the  contrary for the  male chest register. With this method it is possible to follow a vibration slowly through its phases. This has been done by Musehold, who reports that  in singing in the  chest register the cords touch along their wllole l eng th ;  tha t  i n  loud tones the  edges have a slightly rounded form, especially i n  the  middle, indicating strong con- tact in  the  middle and  weaker contact a t  the  cuds of the  glottis; that  in weaker tones the line of contact appears even and thin while the top of t h e  cord becomes flatter ; that  the  edges of the cords move out sidewise and not in the axial directiou of the larynx. Two of Muse- hold's diagrams a re  reproduced h e ~ e .  The  upper one shows the builchiilg of the cord edges due to  the firm contact; the  lower one is an  indication of the  way t he  air pressure in  the  trachea presses the  cords apart.  I n  connection with the remarks of Professor Le Conte on a previous occasion, i t  is iuterestiilg t o  note tha t  with the same method llusehold was able t o  observe the  lips of a performer on a horn, with the result of seeing that  the  lips vibrate a s  cushions and not in the direction of the axis of the  horn. I n  Professor Hallock's interesting commul~i-  -cation in the last number of SCIENCE, t he  micro- scopic section of one of t h e  cords is correctly given, but  t h e  diagram of the  supposed way in which the muscle turns into a thin sheet is cer- tainly incorrect. I t  is hardly t he  place here to  give a summary of the  facts in regard to the action of the  vocal cords and  the  nature of the  vowels in speech and  song ; I have stated in a previous communication that  the  proof is clear and  complete tha t  a vowel both in speech ancl song is not essentially a fundzmental from the  cords with a series of overtones reinforced by the  vocal cavities. I may, perhaps, be pal-  dolled for saying tha t  I have given a digest of the  many investigatioils on this and related sub- jects in a work on experimental phonetics now 111 press. E. W. SCRIPTI'RE. ITALE UNIVERSITY, July 26, 1901. 

The Larynx as a Musical Instrument

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The Larynx as a Musical Instrument

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