The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-06-19
to be able to distinguish with mucl

II is aspecies Of education applied to
the skin. But, strange to say, it cdu-
Gates only the small area to cuticlc to
which the objects are applied. #
trial is made with another area the
latter is obliged to learn the lesson
from the beginning. After all the
secret lies in the fact that each little
knot OF nerves, or ganglion, in the
body is tiny brain in itself; and the
teaching of one ncrvc.knot does not
educate another.
An interesting practical illustration
Of the education of the skin is found
in the fact, which has been demon
stratcd by DR.. Macdonald, that people
who belong west of the Rocky Noun
tains are able as rule to distinguish
five dollar gold piece from five
cent nickel simply by feeling the coin
in their fingers, whereas dwcllcrs east
OF The Rockies cannot tell the two
apart by touch. This, Of course, is
because the far Wcstcrncrs ;rc accus-
toned to the handling of gold, which
does not circulate TO any great extent
in the Fast.
If you will heat a needle and apply
its point gently to various spots on
your wrist you will find that sometimes
you have q sensation of cold from the
contact. In some spots. that is to
say, the needle will feel cold and in
others hot. This is because me Of
the nerves convey only sensations of
cold. 1t is most interesting discov-
cry, made by DR.. Goltscheider, Of
Berlin, who so realized its Importance
that after carefully dotting with ink
the points Of heat on his wrist he cut
away the skin and subjected it to ex.
animation under the microscope.
Doubtless the nerves Of cold and
nerves of heat are distributed all over
the surface Of the body, beneath the
skin, but they have been studied and
plotted on diagram only for the
wrist. For pursuing this curious in
vestigation an instrument has been
devised that has two small receptacles,
one for cold water and the other for
hot water, with fine steel point at
tached to each. The points arc ap.
piled to different parts of the skin,
and observations are made as to tho
sensations conveyed, whether Of heat
or cold. Another contrivancc is q
tube filled with het water, and pro-
vided with thermometer, which
shows the temperature at the moment
when the sensation of heat is first
felt. This indicates the degree Of
sensitiveness of the skin, which varies
in different people.
It is found that touch on the back
is more distinctly felt than touch on
the front Of the body.
You can feel tho shape of an object
moro accurately with the tip of the
tongue than with the finger tips.
Two points touching the skin at tile
same time feel wider apart than when
moved along the skin.
The skin over the joints is more
sensitive than elsewhere-a apparently
because no feshy tissue intervenes
between it and the bone.
Sweet is tasted best on the tip of
the tongue, sour on the ege Of the ton
que, and bitter at the base of the ton
guc.
Salt is tasted quicker than sugar.
Boys are more sensitive to heat
than girls.
DR.. Macdonald is making special
study of what he calls the climate of
the body, by the help of an instru.
ment which, being worn inside Of the
clothing, records temperature and
moisture. When investigation on
this subject has been carried further
it may yield conclusions valuable
from medical standpoint.
DR.. MacDonald's business is the
, study of human phenomena. Along
the interesting facts proved by data
which he has collected are the follow
} ing:
, Children born in summer are taller
than those born in winter
: Bright children weigh more than
dull ones.
City people are shorter than coun-
try folk when adult
For two years, about thirteen o,
, fourteen, girls are taller and heavier
than boys, but the opposite is the
case both before and afterwards.
The brain attains its full weight al
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