forth by the muscles without being lifted. This method will enable the speaker to conserve his strength and grow steadily in vocal power.

If the abdomen be drawn in and the chest raised in inspiration, the natural movement is reversed and respiration becomes fatiguing because the chest must expand at its smallest and least flexible part, and because the shoulders must be lifted and sustained. In voice production it is difficult to sustain this weight and supply the air steadily. This accounts for the fact that persons who habitually use the upper-chest method produce breathy tones and do not progress in vocal power.

4. BREATHING EXERCISES

(1) For the Lungs:

a. Inhale slowly through the nostrils until the lungs are full, and then exhale with the prolonged sound of h—. Occupy about ten seconds.

b. Inflate the lungs, hold the breath 5-10 or 15 seconds, so that the heat of the body may expand the air, and then expel the breath in about one second with the whispered sound of — hah.

c. Fully inflate the lungs, retain the breath, strike the chest gently ten times with the open palms, and then pour out the breath quickly in the whispered sound of haw.

d. Inhale and retain the breath while striking forward, right and left, and up and down, vigorously with the fist as follows: right arm four times, left arm four times, alternately four times, and simultaneously four times; exhale quietly.

e. Place the arms akimbo, inhale and sustain the breath while bending the body to the right four times, to the left four times, then alternately four times; exhale. In like manner bend forward four times, backward four times, then alternately four times.

(2) For the Vocal Cords:

a. Inflate the lungs and exhale slowly with the sharpest possible whisper of ah.

b. Repeat the above, emitting the sound in glottal strokes. (3) For the Pharynx and Nasal Cavities:

a. Inflate the lungs and exhale slowly through the nostrils with a sharp aspirated sound.

(4) For the Abdominal Muscles:

a. Inflate the lungs and, with inward strokes of the abdominal wall, expel the breath in partially vocalized coughs of-uh

uh sound each of

b. With a slight occlusive cough of the syllables hā, hẽ, hi, hō, hū, three times, thus: uh-hā, uh-hā, uh-hā; uh-hē, uh-hē, uh-hẽ, etc. Take breath after each set.

c. Inflate the lungs, and with abdominal impulses expel the breath through the nostrils in a suppressed or aspirated laugh. d. Laugh out each of the vowels ǎ, e, i, o, u, ō, beginning slowly and accelerating the abdominal strokes.

(5) For the Diaphragm:

a. Draw in the breath with vigor through the smallest possible opening of the lips. Exhale with equal vigor through the compressed lips (abdominal action).

(6) For the Rib Muscles:

a. Take breath, distending the ribs laterally as far as possible, then contract them in expiration.

(7) Catch-breath Exercises:

a. Catch the breath quickly and inaudibly, first through the mouth, then through the nostrils.

b. Count by threes, by fives, and by tens, inhaling after each group.

It is better to take partial breaths at frequent intervals than full breaths at long intervals. The habit of taking short, inaudible inspirations between the phrases of speech should be carefully cultivated.

SECTION IV. VOCAL CULTURE

It is the Purpose of Vocal Culture to develop that which is good in the voice, correct its imperfections, and acquire skill in its use.

The chief attributes of a good voice are (1) Purity, (2) Strength, and (3) Flexibility. If well developed in these directions a voice is capable of responding to every requirement in expression.

1. Purity of tone requires free vibration of the vocal cords, healthfulness of the resonant cavities, and the vocalization of all the breath used.

2. Strength depends upon the breadth of vibrations and the power to project and sustain tones.

3. Flexibility is dependent upon the elasticity of the vocal cords and the power to vary tones through the scale of Pitch. Vocal culture is dependent upon correct breathing. If the method of breathing is correct, vocalization becomes voice culture. But even with the best of methods the voice must not be overworked. The speaker should not strain to reach a degree of intensity beyond his vocal strength. The voice is a delicate instrument and must be developed gradually. It must have rest, and time to grow. Training should be vigorous but not violent, and one should cease practice when the organs are tired. A speaker who fails to replenish his vocal powers or produces tone by wrong methods draws upon his stock of vitality whenever he speaks, and his ultimate breaking down is only a question of time.

Voice culture is more reasonable and more progressive if given under the mental condition implied in the tones used. As the brain controls the vital functions of the body one should think the thought and feel the emotion embodied in the sounds given. This idea should be kept steadily in view not only in the exercises given in this section but in those which follow each of the vocal elements treated in Part II.

1. CARE OF THE VOICE

Diseases of the vocal organs come quite as much from general disturbances as from colds and sore throat. Sickness of any kind weakens the voice, and nothing so surely as a disordered digestion. If the voice be subjected to heavy strain when the body is in a weak condition, it tends to weaken the voice permanently. Nothing promotes vigor of vocal power so much as good health, and nothing is so essential to good health as regular habits of eating, sleeping, bathing, and exercise.

Physical exercise should be vigorous, but not violent or excessive. Those exercises are best which develop the chief factors of good health, (1) the heart, (2) the lungs, (3) the digestive apparatus, and (4) the nervous system.

These exercises should be carried on regularly and with intelligence. The best exercise is a game of some kind, preferably in the open air, which keeps the mind intent on the point to be gained and not on the exercise necessary to health. The best of such games are golf and tennis. Other forms of exercise are walking, wheeling, rowing, fencing, and, what is less exhilarating, the various forms of exercise in a well-equipped gymnasium. In all these exercises the end. sought should be vitality and not brawn. After vigorous exercise the body should not be exposed to draughts but should be allowed to assume its normal temperature gradually.

The public speaker should not use the voice vigorously very soon after a meal, or in a cold room, or in the open air in raw, cold weather. The body should be warmly clothed but the neck and throat should not be too closely bound up.

The very prevalent habit of drinking cold water during the progress of a speech is much to be condemned. A prominent physician says: "To drink cold water during a speech has much the same effect on the throat as pouring water on a redhot stove." It produces congestion.

We would caution also against the habit of using troches to clear the voice. Many of them contain opiates, which for a time may stimulate the voice, but which in the end are a positive injury.

It is gratifying to note that educators are more fully appreciating the value of physical education; and along with opportunities for mental development large, well-equipped gymnasiums and athletic fields are being provided for students and placed under the direction of men skilled in the art of physical development. All such development tends to strengthen the voice.

2. VOCAL EXERCISES

In practicing the following exercises first give the phonetic sound four times and then pronounce the word containing the sound. For example, ä ä ä ä arm; gg-g— g— gun; p-p-p-p-pope.

(1) For clearness, strength, and evenness of tone :

(2) For development of the trachea, larynx, and pharynx :

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