rfectly
bright. Sing, on the contrary, with nasal quality, and the mirror
will at once be completely dimmed. This shows conclusively that
nasal sound is produced by singing _through_ the nose, and this
cannot be done without lowering the soft palate. Teachers of
singing know well enough that guttural tone is caused by the
obstinate arching up of the tongue, and if they understand their
business they eventually succeed in teaching a pupil labouring
under this disadvantage to get perfect control over his tongue. But
nobody thinks of the soft palate, though that can be brought under
subjection just as well as the tongue. Let singing masters see to
it, and young ladies will no longer be laughed at for having to
put their noses into hot water before charming their friends with
a song.

It now only remains to be added that the interior of the windpipe and of
the voicebox, as well as that of the throat, the mouth, and the nose, is
lined with a thin mucous membrane of a pinkish colour. This concludes my
description of the Vocal Organ as a musical instrument.

DIFFERENCES OF THE VOICEBOX, OR LARYNX, IN CHILDREN, WOMEN, AND MEN.

The voicebox of a newly-born baby is about one-third the size of that of
a grown woman. It is therefore rather large in proportion to other parts
of the body, with the exception of the head, which comparatively is
larger still. The horizontal outline of the shield cartilage is a very
gentle curve, and the upper horns are short, in consequence of which the
voicebox is close to the tongue. The wedges, according to Merkel, are
strongly developed; the vocal ligaments are short and thick, and the
pockets deep. Up to the third year the voicebox grows very considerably,
but no particular alterations take place from that time to the period of
puberty, which generally occurs at the age of 14 or 15, rather earlier
in girls than in boys. This period of change lasts from six to twelve
months, or sometimes even two or three years. During this time the vocal
organs undergo a marked change. In boys, the angle at which the two
plates of the shield meet becomes more and more acute, and the length of
the vocal ligaments increases only in the proportion of five to ten. In
girls, on the other hand, the horizontal outline of the shield does not
lose its evenness, and the length of the vocal ligaments increases only
in the proportion of five to seven.