The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1875-11-01

Immediately above the eyes and in the tenn
pies. It is called into action by the prox-
unity Of objects. It may be described as
slight sense Of pressure, warning the indi-
vidual that he is in the neighborhood Of
some object. Light and darkness have no
effect upon its workings. Fogs interfere
with it. It works best in q dry atmosphere.
Like the sense Of sight, it. varies in power
with different persons Some can detect an
object tree, wall, or fence-at the dis
lance of ten feet. Others will do SO at
greater distance. 1t is said of Nicholas
Saunderson, the blind professor Of mathe-
ematics'' in Cambridge, England, that he
knew when cloud was passing over the
horizon. Levy in the work just referred to,
says that he could do the same before living
in London. He thinks the fogs there may
have dulled this sense. Leaving these
somewhat doubtful statements out of the
account, much remains that deserves atten-
ton. The valve of such a sense to the
blind can hardly be overestimated. By its
aid they avoid many an obstacle They can
count the number of trees along the street
without touching them. They can distin-
guish between picket and q board fence.
have a friend who counts the doorways
as he walks, and so finds the house to which
he wishes to go. Undoubtedly, this sense
belongs to all men and to some Of the low
er animals. Bats have been known to fly
about a room after their eyes were extract
ed without striking any object.
| Men generally are not conscious of this
power because it is so much weaker than
the sense of sight, on which they constant
ly depend. Blindness brings this sense in
to active use. | have been assured by some
who see that, when walking in total dark
ness, they are conscious OF the proximity
of objects. This consciousness arises from
facial perception. Now, is facial percep-
ton new sense or the highest manifesto
ton Of the sense Of touch! l incline to
the latter view. Its action may be de-
scribed as perception of slight pressure.
Perhaps the air may be compressed be-
tween the person and an object, and the re-
sistance of the air be felt by him. In
many particulars this supposition fits the
facts-e g. when the individual, is near
board fence or u wall. All the air be-
tween it and the sensitive parts of the per-
son is compressed, while in the case of an
open fence it is compressed in bars only.
The person is thus able to distinguish be-
tween a close and an open fence. There
are, however, difficulties in the way Of this
supposition. If it be true that any one
can detect clouds passing over the horizon,
the distance seems too great and the object
perceived of too sufficient density to pro-
duce the supposed atmospheric compression.
Again, when person is at rest he is still
aware of the presence of objects. Can we
suppose that the atmospheric pressure will
continue? Will not the air accommodate
itself to the circumstances and its pressure
ceased to be felt? An interesting question
meets us here: Is it possible to remain 80
quiet as OF to cause some disturbance in
the air? If not, facial perception may cog
nize this disturbance. offer the above re-
marks as possible solution only Of the
action of this sense and trust that the mat
ter may become subject Of scientific in
vestigation. Harris, IN the Inde-
pendent