Wichita eagle., 1888-01-03
FRENCH SPECIALISTS OBSERVATIONS
The Mysteries OF Right and Left--Left-
handed People, riminals.

FRENCH SPEClHLiS D OBOERFH lCNo
TIC Mysteries of Right and Left--Left-
handed People-triminals.
Some French specialists have recently
been making observations with a view to
calculating some mysteries III this matter
Of right and left. One Of them, in order
10 determine whether it is true that men
are born with the right side more devel-
ODed than the left has weighed. with
every precGution to render his experiments
accurate. lie limbs OF eleven infants Of
less than years Of aec-in the dissecting
room of course. He measured the bones
Of the arms and limbs but in neither in
stance did he find much difference though
the variations were sufficient 10 lead him
to the conclusion that though right and
LETT depend partially on heredity, it is
even more directly attributable to educa-
tion-that is to the fact that i'll regard to
the two hands the child il never per
United, nor is the adult, for that matter,
10 use them indiscrimina ely.
Another French specialist has examined
the teeth with results which he considers
moro convincing. IL siXty-four subjects
taken unfortunately, he found that
forty-one had defects Of various kinds on
the left side and only twenty-five defects
or anomalies on the right. This was Ow-
ing TO the general enfeeOlemcnt Of the left
at The expense Of the opposite side, which
is more favored by exercise, and POSSIBLY
by the freer circulation OF the blood. The
left side of the jaw IS weaker and less
healthy. II was observed by the same
specialist that in the case Of left handed
persons the defects were mostly on the
right. Left handed persons are rare in all
countries, though the number might be
increased by education. DelaUnay, q
French author, counts one for every forty.
Lambroso, an Italian writer, found among
GIL wOrkingmen twenty VINO Were
left handed and q little more than / per
cent. who were ambideXterous. Among
100 Bersaglieri, that is, soldiers Of the
mountain regiments, he found D per cent.
ambideXters, and on another occasion
thirteen left handed and one ambidexter
among 23S workmen.
Another observer found among The chill
dren of a boarding school ~ per cent left
handed ami IS per cent using both hands.
A person born left handed can be taught
to use his right hand with considerable
skill. though he is always ready TO resort
to the left when he is in danger, because
it is the stronger. Left handed persons,
that is, those born so, are said by some
psychologists 10 DC degenerated, and some
sort OF mental inferiority or eccentrcity
accompanies the detect, rs is usually the
case with persons afflicted with strabis
mus, harelip prognathsm or other physi-
cal pecularities in the nature OF dcformi-
ty Il has been remarked that there is 4
considerable per cent. of left handed
among the insane. and two Italian ply
sicians found among ninety insane pa
tientS Seventy-three whose sensibilit,
was greater on the left side than on
the right The criminal instinct seems
stronger among left handed than among
right handed people. Or. Mario, an
Italian. found in "a given number Of malJ
criminals nearly Ii per cent left handed
ana % per cent. aUJslg the female dcijn
quents-tnat is to say, for the men three
times the proportion found among honest
people. and for female criminals foUl
times the proportion. No one need theI
desire To be horn left handed, since this
class is handicapped with either physical
or mental disease. dcmuratiZng if no,
SeriouS. This need not prevent children
born right handed from being taught tAt
use Of the left, that they may use either
according 90 necessity. That this can be
done is shown by the rapidily with whici
persons who have lost the right hand %
ar-a acquire The adroit use of the other
It may lac said that as regards the use o
the right hand and The left man j., III
subject OF hereGity without being abso
lutely It's slave. San Francisco Chronicle