The Phonogram, Vol. 2:3 (1892-03)

•. “-V'*' <58 THE PHONOGRAM. Phonographs Carried into Africa. Wonderful Names for ColorB. A Moor, Si Hassen Ben Ali, who ob- tained a valuable concession from the Chicago World’s . Fair Committee for establishing a Moorish village and a com- bined African show at the Columbian Exposition, went abfoad a few months ago, and has been heard from through a passenger on the City of Berlin, that landed in New York, recently. This gentleman carried to Africa with him, for the purpose of startling and amusing the natives, a complete telephone outfit, a phonograph and cylinders car- rying the impressions of musical airs such as “ Annie Rooney ” and “ Mary, Take in the Wash,” arrangements of music from the banjo, negro dialect recitations and orchestral music, a powerful electric bat- tery, some Edison talking dolls, and an outfit for sinking artesian wells. It is needless to say that with these appliances he produced a sensation. Si Ilassen, when last heard from, was at the court of Moulay El Ilassen, where he made a speech, saying he had been sent by Allah to do good among the people of Africa, and he Btatcs that the “ phonograph and talking doll are more potent than a Krupp gun, for an armed force would meet with opposition in Africa, whereas taking with me these harmless inventions, I can go single-handed among the wild- est natives. With the apparatus for sinking wells I can paralyze them, figuratively speaking, for by this means water can be practically ‘ wrung out of a rock.’ ” Two giant natives were induced to take hold of the insulator of an electric ma- chine, and when they found themselves held fast by the unseen power and com- pelled at the will of the operator to get down on their knees, they were awe- struck, and when the experiments were concluded ran away and neves-stopped till thev reached the sea-coast. In the Chemical Encyclopedia, Messrs. Girard and Pabst have described the azoic series of coloring matters, and they now give the aromatic series. Their book is one of chemical industry, though it does not at all exclude high scientific observa- tions ; but they desired to indicate the reac- tions used in the industry, and they give innumerable patents relative to the manu- facture of different colors. Many of the new colors bear the names of constitution, some of which are truly extraordinary, as, for exam\>]e—Metaozytetraviethyldi<imido- diorthocresylphenglmethane The prepara- tion of these colors is given with all the necessary details. In a Hundred Years. The article written by Mr. Charles Richet, entitled “In a Hundred Years,” and published by the Revue Scientifique, promises to the human race an increase ol its comforts and a diminution of its hard ships The author believes that not only water and gas will be supplied to cities, but electricity, as a motive power for light and heat, which will circulate in long con- duit pipes. % There will be telephones, phonographs and perhaps also telophotes, which enable one to see actual, distant scenes, and not only what is really taking place at the moment of using the instrument, but representations of ancient scenes repro- duced by some special process. As to photography, there is scarcely a doubt that even the instantaneous pro- duction of colored photographs will be obtained. This will probably be the finishing period of this admirable inven- tion : for when once the instantaneous production of things, with their colors and their relief is obtained, one can hardly imagine what remains to be done. v 1