The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1893-04-11
THE RIGHT HAND.
Why People Use It Instead Of the
Left
A Question Easier Put Than Answered.
Many Statements and Theories More
or Less Plausible = Inconven-
fences OF the Left Hand.

A Question Easier Put Than Answered. !
Many Statements and Theories More
or Less Plausible = Inconven-
fences OF the Left Hand.
Why anybody should be left-handed
is one of those matters In which the
question is easier put than answered.
The reason why we are right-handed
has been met by statements and theo-
ries more or less plausible. In the first
place, 1t has been shown that the hui
man body is not symmetrical The
right lung is larger than the left. The
liver, during the inspiration Of the
lungs, swings to the right side, SO that
the center of gravity of the body is
brought nearly over the right foot
The weight of the viscera to the right
of the medal line is nearly pound
and half heavier than that to the left
Of 1t. All this, while it gives mechan-
ical advantage to the right arm in
working, and to the right shoulder In
raising a weight, shows us also. pas
sively, burdens are more easily carried
on the left shoulder, for In that case
we stoop forward SO as to bring the
center of gravity through the stronger
right limb. Again, it has been pointed
out that the left hemisphere of the
brain is larger and better supplied with
blood-vessels than the right, and that
it is the left hemisphere of the brain
which, working crosswise, controls the
muscles of the right arm and hand
Then there is the sword-Hnd-shield
- i L. <,~k.
dition Of man to have been militant.
To soldiers, the vital organ, the heart,
being on the left side, it was thought
necessary to cover it with the shield
and WELD the sword in the right hand
True. against these is the wet~nurHe
theory, which supposes left-handedness
to be favored in youth by the fact Of
the infant being carried most frequent
ly on the left arm, thus giving more
scope to the early use Of the child's left
hand. Fashion, however. is always
alert, and to this imperial mistress
even our limbs must submit. Fashion
necessarily demands that the right
hand should have the preference.
So that with all these weighty rea-
sons why we should be right-handed
1t Is marvellous why left-handed peo-
pie should be found at all Yet such
are by no means uncommon. The
teacher of an elementary school who
watched the proportion for many years,
gave it as bis experience that In the
rural district in which his school was
situated, more than five per cent. Of
the children were left-handed. In these
cases the tendency could be shown to
be hereditary; and the left hand, even
to the size of the thum b-naiis, showed
itself larger than the right. 1t was
painful to see the attempts made by
the left-handed pupils to write and
cipher normallyi and, after the right
hand had been forced into service, the
result was compromise, the writer
generally developing a handwriting in
clined neither to right nor left. In the
making of figures, both the and the
were for time reversed, and 8 in some
cases formed by drawing the straight
line down and curving the other from
below. In the mechanical trades, the
carpenters bench, his gimlets, screws
and many of his planes are made to
suit the right hand, SO that left-hand-
ed apprentice is handicapped, and must
either fight against nature or obtain
tools fitted for the left hand. An elab-
crate print-cutter's gauge for measur-
ing off different sizes of copper re-
quired to be driven into the pattern If
made for a left-handed man Is Of little
value when exposed for sale.
But we do not need to go far for IL
Illustrations of how inconvenient q
world this is for the left-handed. Pur-
chase a scarf. and the left-handed
owner finds the slit, through which the
part requires to be pushed to catch the
pin, ON the wrong side for him. Let
him sit down to dinner, and the waiter
brings the dishes from which he selects
part to the wrong shoulder. Let
him lift a mustache cup, and he per-
ceives his popularity has not been
taken into account. Let him attempt
to NOW, and he fain would reverse the
shape of the scythe. Let him learn
drill or dancing or endeavor to work
in harmonious combination, and his
awkwardness is forever brought home
to him.
And vet, on the other side, the de-
spised left hand makes good its claims
In many cases to be the DETER OF the
two. The fingers that touch and adj
| Just with such nicely the strings OF the
violin are surely as cunning as those
that move the bow. The hand that
guides the reins and steers with exact
ness the horse through the crowded
streets is quite as cunning as, one
might say much more than, the hand
that yields the whip. But great IL
fashion, unanswerable is theory. 1t
would appear that as life becomes more
ana more complex we are becoming
more and more specialized, and the diff
ference between our limbs Is encour-
aged, rather than hindered, by every
pair of scissors turned of at Sheffield,
by every screw made in Birmingham,
and by every slap administered to the
young offending fingers that would
dare to shake hands incorrectly.
II Ia curious to notice the vagaries OF
humanity in cases where no hard and
/ fast line has been already drawn.
| Although most right-handed persons
put on their coats left arm first, con-
siderable percentage thrust In the
right frst. Soldiers fire from the right
shoulder, but sportsmen are found who
prefer the left In working with the
spade, proportion of right-handed
men grasp the spade with the left arsi
push with left foot and right hand;
! though, when using an ak, the same
! individuals would grasp farthest down
with the right. The Persians mount
their horses from the right side. which
is the different side from that mounted
| by Europeans.
The buttons on coats, ETC., are placed
ON the right side, and the shed Of the
hair In boys to the left, evidently to
suit manipulation by the right hand.
The great philosopher Newton records
| that at first he confined his astronom-
cal observations to his right eye, but
afterwards he managed TO train his
left But there are persons who could
not do this owing to the unequal
strength of their eyes. Strange 70 say
the Chinese assign the place OF honor
to the left At Kunyenye, in Africa.
/ Cameron relates being introduced to
the heir-prssumptive to the throne, the
nails of whose left hand had been
/ a1insrAd Ia nrnsv t4a an -s.~~s,ss>s,- aen~sA-