NATURE’S ORCHESTRA

Taranaki Daily News, 5 January 1935, Page 6

NATURE’S ORCHESTRA

MALAY BAMBOO FIELDS. HOLES BORED IN THE STEMS. hi the Malay States there are fields of bamboo which in certain conditions create a volume of sound that from afar strikes the ear like a huge orchestra of flutes. The effect is caused by a small worm which bores holes in the bamboo stems. The wind, blowing through the holes, produces an astonishing variety of notes that sometimes blend in one great open-air symphony. In China there is a river the banks of which are lined at intervals with stretches of a certain kind of pebble. When the river waters are turbulent the sound created by the masses of pebbles is often curiously weird and beautiful. At certain seasons the natives flock from all parts to hear it. A somewhat similar phenomenon has been noted in northern latitude, where ice-floes have been heard to produce musical sounds peculiarly their own. Another form of outdoor orchestra is to be found on the Scottish coast, where the sand, in some districts produces distinct musical notes when walked on or struck by a stick. In certain circumstances water is capable of yielding extremely pleasing musical effects—a fact realised by the ancient Greeks, who had