Q. Why do we hear sounds better by night than by day?
A. 1st—Night air is more uniform, because the ascending currents of air (raised by the action of the sun’s rays) cease as the evening advances; and
2ndly—Night is more still from the suspension of business, and the cessation of the hum of men.
Q. How should partition walls be made to prevent the voices in adjoining rooms from being heard?
A. The space between the laths (or canvass) should be filled with shavings or saw-dust; and then no sound would ever pass from one room to another.
Q. Why would shavings or saw-dust prevent the transmission of sound from room to room?
A. Because there would be several different media for the sound to pass through: 1st—the air;
2ndly—the laths and paper;
3rdly—the saw-dust or shavings;
4thly—the air again: and every variety diminishes the strength of the sound-waves.