The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1888-04-27
SENSE OF TOUCH.
The Most Complex and Least Understs ID
of All the Senses.

OF all the senses wcpossess, the sense
OF touch is at once the most complex
and the least understood, says the
Pail Mall Gazette. Blindness and deaf
more or less appreciate thenature and
extent of these dire Affections. But
who ever thinks how he would be al
iected by deprivation OF the capacity
to feel inability to distinguish by
touch between smoothness and rough
ness, heat and cold, or by an impaired
power to receive the various sensa-
tons OF pain and pleasure which reach
us through the surface OF the body?
How isit that the same finger which
tells us that substance is hard or
soft, tells us also that it shot or cold?
Have we, as some PSYCHOLOGISTS aver,
a sixth sense, that OF temper allure? If
not, how comes 1t that u single touch
OF the finger conveys to the brain, in
the same instant, two distinct impress
sions, perhaps three, for the substance
i'll question may be wet, as we'll as hot
or cold, hard or soft? Psychologists
cannot tell us; they only know that
the sensations so conveyed arc sepa-
rable, and that the ways by which
they reach the brain are not the same.
The subject is by no means new, but
fresh light has lately been thrown on
it by the researches OF two Swiss sa.
wants, NJ. A. llerzen and Professor
Soret. The observations OF these two
gentlemen. besides being highly inter-
esting, psychologicallya rs wellas phys.
logically, are OF considerable prac-
ticel Importance in their relati on to
the training OF the blind.
Pressure on limb-as. for instance,
when we tall asleep lying on one ofour
arn!s-if continued for some time,
makes it more or less numb. 1t grad-
ually loses the power OF transmitting
sensations to thcbrain. Accortlingto
the observations OF NJ. Tlerzen, The
first sense lost is that OF touch, the
second that OF cold, the third that of
pain, the last that OF heat. lie says
that when one OF his arms is SO torpid
that he has to feel for it with the
other, and it is impcrvious to pinch
or u prick, it is sensible o the warmth
OF the OF her hand. Ii the pressure he
prolonged, the limb ceases to be
affected even by heat. There are peo-
pie. otherwise healthy, whosecapacity
OF feeling is SO far incomplete that they
never know what it is to be- cold SO lar
as sensations conveyed to The skin are
concerned. Winter is the same to
them as summer. This probably
arises from an abnormal condition of
the spinal cord. NJ. IIcrzen mentions
lie case of an old woman whose legs,
partially paralyzed. couls. feel only
pain and cold. At her autopsy it was
found that the spinal cord in the
ncighborhood OF the nervous centres
OF the back was shrivcled and other
wise i'll an unhealthy state. But NJ.
Herzen has not rested content with
observations OF his ownspeeies he has
made experiments on the lower ami
mails, classified several OF the scnsa
tons OF the touch, and discovered
their OSCILLATIONS i'll the organism;
and Professor Sorct, taking up the
psychological branch OF the subject,
has tried to find out howfar the sense
OF touch may be- made to convey tc
the sightless an idea or the beautiful
For as deaf musician may enjoy mu
sic, despite his deafness, SO may {
blind man find pleasure in beauty O
form, Notwithstanding his blindness
In the one case the pleasure comes
from the rhythm, or rather from son
, orous vibrations OF the air, produced
by the playing, in the other from tn
symmetry and regularity OF the obiec
J handled. ''Whcn music j., goin
, on ] feel something here" said TO NJ
> soret a deaf mute who enjoyed operas
putting his hand on his stomach. TIL
blind, even those born blind. as Pro
, lessor Soret has ascertained by inqui
ries among the inmates of the bin,
asylum of Lausanne, have the sam
love OF symmetry as the deaf. Til
girlembro' derers att ach much import
ance to the perfect regularity OF tn
designs which they are required to re
. peat in he work. The basket maker
; insist ON the willow withes they us
being all straight and of the sam
! length. Solutions OF continuity in til
things they handle are, to the blind
indications of uglincSs. They Xix
evenness ofsurface, regularity ofshape
n cracked pot, a rough table, or
broken chair causes them positive dis
comfort. But to create in the min,
OF a person born blind an artistic idei
involves measure of psychological
development which it is very Difficult
to impart and requires from botl
teacher and scholar great patienc
and Ion. sustained effort.
1870 -
Patient Ito family physician)-I
your absence, doctor, was compelle
J TO call in young DR.. Sawbones. H
said that the clinical symptoms ind
Gated chronic interstital inflamma
ton. What's that in plain English
Family physlcian-ln plain Enclis
it means that Sawbone di int kno,
what was the matter with you.-Ne,