tor. It would be possible after
comparatively little practice with the apparatus for a singer to examine
his own larynx. But it would be most inadvisable for him to do so.
Either he soon would become "hipped" on the subject of innumerable
imaginary throat troubles, or his voice-production would become
mechanical, which is very different from the spontaneous adjustment
of the vocal tract described above.

[Illustration: FIG. 2. THE GLOTTIS AND VOCAL CORDS VIEWED FROM BELOW
N. B.--Vocal cords approximated]

[Illustration: FIG. 3. THE GLOTTIS AND VOCAL CORDS VIEWED FROM ABOVE
1, Glottis. 2, True Cords. 3, False Cords. 4, Epiglottis. 5, Base of
Tongue. N. B.--Glottis open for inspiration]

[Illustration: FIG. 4. THE GLOTTIS AND VOCAL CORDS VIEWED FROM ABOVE
1, Glottis. 2, True Cords. 3, False Cords. 4, Epiglottis. 5, Base of
Tongue. N. B.--Vocal cords approximated]

[Illustration: FIG. 5. VERTICAL TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE LARYNX

1, The Glottis (_i. e._, the opening between the opposed edges of the
Vocal Cords). 2, True Vocal Cords. 3, False Vocal Cords. 4, Epiglottis.

(N. B.--In singing, the "true cords" are closely approximated.)

V, Ventricles. T, Thyroid Cartilage. C, Cricoid Cartilage. W, Windpipe
or Trachea.

(N. B.--In STRAINING, the "false cords" are closely approximated.)]

The laryngoscope should not, in fact, leave the hands of the physician.
Invaluable for the detection of diseases of the throat which impair the
voice and which have to be cured either by treatment or operation before
the voice can be restored to its original potency or charm, its value
in studying the physiology of voice-production and the functions of
the vocal organs is doubtful. In fact, it is its use by amateur
laryngoscopists that has resulted in the promulgation of all kinds of
absurd theories of voice-study and in those innumerable pet methods of
vocal instruction, each one of which may safely be guaranteed to destroy
expeditiously whatever of voice originally existed. Fascinating as it
may seem to the singer to examine his own larynx while he is producing a
vocal tone--"during phonation," the physiologist would say--the value of
the deductions formed from such observation may be doubted, if for no
other reason than that the introduction of the mirror into the back of
the mouth makes the whole act of phonation strained and the effects
observed unnatural. In fact, as Mackenzie already has pointed out,
although the lar