AN ANCIENT AUTOMATON.
By following out the operations described, and tracing the action of the flux and reflux of the water in the compartments 3 and 4, it will readily be seen that the bird, C, will sound its second note when the compartment 3 is being discharged by siphon 7 into compartment 4, and at the same time the bird, D, will sound its first note, and that eventually the water will escape from the automaton by the siphon 8, causing the second note of the bird, D, to be heard.
It is evident that by simple and well-known means any or all of the bird notes can be made to trill, and that it is only necessary to properly proportion the discharging capacity of the siphons to insure the repetition and admixture of the notes in a bird-like manner; and it is further evident that the employment of the ideas involved is not of necessity confined to but four birds, as several birds, each having different notes, might be operated from the same compartment, and of course as many compartments as may be wished can be used. Furthermore, the wings of the birds could be made to move, and their beaks to open and shut, by the movement of the same air which acted upon the musical reeds or whistles.
Each of the siphons in the automaton was intermittent in its action, ceasing to flow when its compartment was emptied, and beginning again spontaneously when the water reached the level of the top of its bend. The antiquity of intermittent siphons is of special interest from the fact of their comparatively recent application in sanitary plumbing.
Chaucer was not much in error as regards his own time (1328-1400), and his words are only somewhat less true to-day:
“For out of the old fieldes, as men saithe,
Cometh al this new corne fro yere to yere;
And out of old bookes, in good faithe,
Cometh all this new science that men lere.”
A GREEK TOY.
Upon a pedestal there is fixed a small tree around which is coiled a dragon. A figure of Hercules stands near by, shooting with a bow, and there is an apple lying upon the pedestal. If this apple be lifted from the latter, Hercules will shoot his arrow at the dragon, and the latter will hiss.