The Phonograph.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 2450, 22 May 1890, Page 3

The Phonograph.

In Mr Lathrop’s “ Talks with Edison,” in Harper, Mr Edison tells how—experimenting on the phonograph—“ I rigged up an instrument hastily, and pulled a strip of paper through it, at the same timo shouting, • Hallo !’ Then tho paper was pulled through again, my friend Batchelor and I listening breathlessly. We heard a distinct bound, which a strong imagination might have translated into the original ‘ Hallo !’ That was enough to lead me to a further experiment. Eut Batchelor was sceptical and bet me a barrel of apples that I couldn’t make the thing go. I made a drawing of a model, and took it to Mr Kruesi, at that time engaged on piece-work for me, but now assistant general manager of our machine shop at Schenectady. % I marked it four dollars, and told him it was a talking machine. He grinned, thinking it a joke ; but set to work and soon had the model ready. I arranged some tinfoil on it, and spoke inlo the machine. Kruesi looked on, and was still grinning. But when I arranged the machine for transmission, and we both heard a distinct sound from it, he nearly fell down in his fright. I was a little scared myself, I must admit. I won the barrel of apples fr m Batchelor, though, and was mighty glad to get it. Not long ago I asked Mr Edison whic li of his inventions had caused him the greatest amount of study and required the most elaborate experiments. He replied promptly : “ The electric light. For although I was never myself discouraged or inclined to be hopeless of success, I cannot say the same for all my associates. And yet, through all those years of experimenting and research, I never once made a discovery. It is too much the fashion to attribute all inventions to accidents, and a great deal of nonsense is talked on that score. In my own case but few, and those the least important, of my inventions owed anything to accident. Most of them have been hammered out pfter long and patient labour, and are the