Thisis truly an age of inventions, and the manufacture of musical instrunumts ap peare to have its full share of attention. Several novelties recently imported by the London and Berlin Piano Company are well worth inspection, and when ■ known they will no doubt be in large demand. The combination of an organ and piano .in the same case has been proved to.be an estab lished fact, and the instrument now on view will satisfy the most exacting that a decided success hae been achieved. By means of a rotary action, set in'motion by the foot, and by reason of its being worked by friction rollers, perfectly noiseless in their operation, a rocking lever is brought into' play which carries a, series of small hammers (quite independent and clear of the ordinary hammers). These hammers striking the strings with great rapidity, a wonderful sonority of tone ia obtained, which may be prolonged so long as the keys of the pianoforte are held down ; the sostenuto being almost perfect. Another novelty is the transposing piano, on which the performer, while playing in the key in which the song is written, is enabled by a simple mechanical arrangement to raise or lower the pitch by semi-tones to suit the voice. The Wilcox and White pneumatic organ is also imported by the London and Berlin Piano Company. The remarkable thing about this organ is its automatic action, which is placed directly at the back of the manual, and consists of a miniature key-board of small air, cham bers or conductors. These when connected with a roller over which passes a sheet of paper perforated, operate with force suffi cient to open the reed valves, just as if the keys were pressed with the fingers.
