The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1900-12-26
SHEDS HIS SKIN.
aas to Lay on n Day or So, bu
That's the Only Inconvenience.

That's the Only Inconvenlence.
8. o. Buskirk, who works for garden
er near Florence, sheds his skin once eT-
cry year. Along about the middle Of
June the epidcrmis on the palms of his
hands and the soles of his feet begins to
loosen and harden, while the scarfskin, or
cuticle, on the remainder of his body
starts to fake of ike dandruff from the
head. Within three weeks the old eplder-
mis- has entirely disappeared, and In its
place Is a new skin. soft, pink ard tender.
Busklfk Is 30 years old; modest man
and By no means disposed to brag Of a
function not enjoyed in common with the
rest OF mankind. The fact that Provi-
dence has seen tit TO supply him free Of
charge with a new uuiop suit every IL
months he regards as interesting, but a
matter not to be discussed freely with a
chance acquaintance. nor does he attempt
to inquire as to the why and wherefore
of this bit Of favoritisln. lie Is not one
to crouch with vulgar eye at the keyhole
OF natures workshop, endeavoring to
steal the secrets Of the trade. However,
in the interest Of ssience he has several
times permitted phySiciaBstoexamine him
aud was gratitied to learn that they could
| make nothing Of the case, They found
Oui what he already kBe,y-tbat he sheds
his skin once n year-afl there their re-
search ended.
Tue Only Inconvenience he suffers is
that he Is forced to take a short vacation
until the new {. nder skin gets hardened.
In a valisc in his loom Buskirk has sew
ernl interesting souvenirs In the form Of
| patches of skin which he has shed from
his hands and feet at Various times dur
ing his career. and In every instance these
present perfect outlines Of the members
| from which they came. For example.
the bark" from the palm Of the hand
| might easily be mistaken at first glance
for One-lalf OF a glove, as the fingers and
thumb are as perfect reproductions Of
the digits as Is possible in a fat surface.
Moreover, the thick, callouslike skin re-
tains the mysterious lines Of the hand Of
| which palmists make so much.
in this connection there is In the Bus
kirk case fact which. tends to disprove
the entire theory OF palmistry, being evil
denee that the lines OF the hands change
with time and are not unalterably pre-
served, as has been supposed. Among
his grewsome keepshkes Is a piece of
skin taken from his right hand when
he was 10 years old. It is observed that,
while the general conformation of the
lines corresponds with that of his right
hand as II Is today, still the individual
lines are longer now than then, even
after making allowance for the growth
of the member as a. whole. Fully =
third has been added to the length OF the
famous ''life" line. Il Is as IL destiny
had. intended him originally to be Of
brief existence in this. vale Of tears and
had later changed hes mind and conclud-
ed to endow him with the boon OF longev-
ity. ~
"The 6rst sign ] get that I'm about to
shed my skim" said Buskirk, sis the
hardening Of the skin on the inside Of my
hands. This always starts at the roots
OF the fingers. gradually spreading in all
directions Then this hardened skin be-
gins to puff up and breek-aws-
the new skin that is forming " ~ 81
and II tap II with lead pen6 4 .cf
tines Il gives OF a sharp sou-re y =
striking piece Of ceIIuloid or sfiKsoe
fr. Finally. By opening and clot -
bands often, the skin parts al -
Fed6cs- and then. by helping AZ OOA
process with cockefknife. the
= reas q New x,rk and -