THE CAROLINA TWINS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5520, 26 July 1879, Page 7

THE CAROLINA TWINS.

The much-advertised " Carolina Twins" were recently subjected to a scientific examination at Prof. \Vm.* PaDcoast s clinic at Jefferson Medical Hospital, Philadelphia. Before their entrance, Dr. Pancoast,read his memoranda of the examination of the twins, which he made about eight years ago. He considered the case a much more remarkable one than that of the Siamese Twine, who were two. distinct persons, joined by a ligawfrereaa the Carolina coloured , wonrtrh' have one backbone in common Below fhe*Bhoulder-blad ', Above this point spinal column branched like the arms of the. letter Y. At their birth they were directly 11 back to back, but as they were learning to walk they naturally twisted themselves considerably in order to facilitate locomotion. This change from their original relative positions it, was possible to effect without injury "ot pain to either of them, owing to and pliability of the bonei in earlysyoutb. There was on record _bjjt one case that might bo supposed to have been a parallerto that of the Carolina Twins. This was that of the famous Hungarian sisters, who were born in 1701, and died in their twenty-second year. Dr. Pancoast showed, that if either of tho twins were touched upon,-, point below where the body, was cominon\to N ioth, each of them wouldjeel it, but ..that if he were to touch one of them above the point where the spinal -colupm branched, the communication would reach only the brain of the one touched. He demonstrated, however, that the line was moving higher which divided their common from their separate and distinct nervous sensitiveness. Eight years ago a touch half an inch higher than the common part of the spine could.be,felt by both ; but any further up the not shared by the person unipjichetf. - Now, however, it was proved by experiment that the common sensitiveness to a touch of the same character existed in either body at least two inches above the angle formed by the Y branches. Dr. Pancoast believes that the twins would die together. An unusual number of extraordinary specimens of the human race have recently been on exhibition in New iork, including the North Carolina Twins, or Double-headed .Nightingale, the Benoit Twins, which last summer in the .Boston Medical ami. Surgical Journal. and the remarkable dwarfs known as the MMgeJs. ' A number of well-known physicians were invited, a short time since, to make a physical examination of the latter. They are about 22 inches in height, and the weight of the boy, who is said to be 14 years of age, is 91bs. ; while the girl, who is 15, ' with the long train and all the other appur- 1 tenances of a lady of fashion, or rather of a modern French doll, actually weighs only 1 4J!bs. The diameter of tho boy's head, as ascertained by Dr. H. T. Hanks, Professor 1

of Obstetrics in the Dartmouth Medical School, is scarcely larger than those of an average new born infant, and those of the girl are even smaller. One was born in Central New York and the other in Mexico. The boy was found to be suffariog from a little bronchitis, and, after some of the phy-icians had made an examination of his chest, it was very amusing to watch his little companion practising percussion and auscultation upon him in imitation of the proceedings. Her parents state thstflfeen she was born she weighed only thre» quarters of a pound.