The Phonograph - 11

The Phonograph - 11

He was, however, ready for anything new or novel, and no record can ever be made or
presented that would do justice to a tithe of the thoughts and fancies daily and hourly put
upon the rack. The famous note-books, to which reference will be made later, were not
begun as a regular series, as it was only the profusion of these ideas that suggested the
vital value of such systematic registration. Then as now, the propositions brought to
Edison ranged over every conceivable subject, but the years have taught him caution in
grappling with them. He tells an amusing story of one dilemma into which his goodnature
led him at this period: "At Menlo Park one day, a farmer came in and asked if I
knew any way to kill potato- bugs. He had twenty acres of potatoes, and the vines were
being destroyed. I sent men out and culled two quarts of bugs, and tried every chemical I
had to destroy them. Bisulphide of carbon was found to do it instantly. I got a drum and
went over to the potato farm and sprinkled it on the vines with a pot. Every bug dropped
dead. The next morning the farmer came in very excited and reported that the stuff had
killed the vines as well. I had to pay $300 for not experimenting properly."
During this year, 1878, the phonograph made its way also to Europe, and various sums of
money were paid there to secure the rights to its manufacture and exploitation. In
England, for example, the Microscopic Company paid $7500 down and agreed to a
royalty, while arrangements were effected also in France, Russia, and other countries. In
every instance, as in this country, the commercial development had to wait several years,
for in the mean time another great art had been brought into existence, demanding
exclusive attention and exhaustive toil. And when the work was done the reward was a
new heaven and a new earth--in the art of illumination.