Appendix II.
Wooden and Metal Flutes.
Modern flutes are made either of wood, silver, or ebonite, a mixture of india-rubber, lead, and sulphur, first used for this purpose about 1850. Our ancestors delighted in a yellow boxwood flute with square silver keys and ivory tips to the joints (I have several made by Astor), but it and all other woods have been superseded by cocus or grenadille. Various metals have been tried—tin, copper, brass, pewter, and even iron. In England and America the head-joint of wooden flutes is usually lined with metal, which preserves the exact proportion of the curves. Mr. Welch tells an amusing story of a flautist friend who played an old wooden flute. Having become subject to fancies, and fearing he was about to die, he said to Mr. Welch, "I shall soon be in Heaven, and then I shall play on a golden flute; but mind, it must be lined with wood." Gold flutes are said to produce a very rich and pure tone; but as they cost about £180, are not likely ever to come into general use. Metal flutes are now almost exclusively made of silver or German silver.
Böhm, who tried all kinds of materials, came to the conclusion that, for the majority of players, wood is best. The chief advantages of a silver flute, besides its nice appearance and lightness, are its quick articulation, the facility with which the sound can be produced, especially in the upper
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