The Wonders of Edison's Phonograph.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 338, 30 January 1889, Page 4

The Wonders of Edison' s Phonograph.

Edison's phonograph was subjected to additional tests at New York lately, when the Arion singers sent hymns and choruse3 into the tireless little machines, which register and report at the will of the operator even the most delicate and elusive shades of sound that reach them. The Arion Society of Newark, N. «L, eighty strong, visited the Wizard Edison's laboratory at Orange with many other invited guests and sang into phonographs, talked into phonographs, laughed, chatted and joked into phonographs, and then listened with ever-increasing amazement to the iailhful reproduction of everything that was said and sung, even to the very tone of the voices, the inflections, accents, noises of the room, the hum of conversation, the shuffle of feet, the falling of a piece of furniture and ripples of laughter. It was sound photographed. The Society was seated at one side of the room facing the audience. In the middle, amid a heap of odds and ends of mechanical experiments, stood a queer little box-like instrument with a cylinder at one end and a wilderness of brass wheels and machinery at the other. Between this table and the Society were three long tin funnels, suspended from the ceiling by wires, with tha larger ends attached to the phonographs. These were to catch the sound and send ifc down to the instrument where every vibration of the air was promptly recorded in wax, and ground out again just as a handorgan grinds out tunes. On each side of the little machine was fastened a tube to put to the ear. When everything was ready the phonograph began its speech and talked just as long as it was wanted. The impression conveyed when one holds the tube to one's ears and listens to the voices coming up from the machine is that of a tiny little man about the size of your thumb standing off afc an immeasurable distance mimicking everything that is said. As soon as the wax hardens, impressions oan be made from one cycKnder, so that their capacity and durability are practically unlimited. When all was over Mr Wangeman , told the audience something about the uses of the wonderful little machine to business men, musicians, physicians and others. Not long ago a cylinder came all the way from New Zealand. It broke into eighteen pieces by the rough usage it received on the way, and there seemed to be no means of loosening the imprisoned noise. After a number of experiments the pieces were put together and then the talk was heard from the Bishop of New Zealand, who told what a wonderful thing the phonograph was. The articulation and tone were so perfectly brought out that the Bishop seemed to be standing in the roomMessages from distinguished scientists in England and the continent, notable gems of opera and songs, even the whistling of Mrs Shaw, came all the way from London. Last Wednesday night Nellie Farren and Fred Leslie sang into one of Mr Edison's phonographs, and when they concluded the cylinder was boxed up and shipped to England. Their voices will be next heard at Emily Soldene's benefit in London on the 13th of next month. Mr Edison is expectiug Billy Barlow's voice to come over and repeat for him her song of ' True Friends Across the Sea.'—' S. F. Chronicle.'

Ch.ristphurch Caledonian- Society has adopted a l'esolution urging j the Government to make arrangements for the immigration of Scottish crofters to the colony in large numbers.