HERE AND THERE

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8291, 21 September 1903, Page 4

HERE AND THERE

The well-known Parisian scientist, Dr Fere draws attention to the psycho-pathic and neuro-pathic dangers that may lie in a kiss. Dr <Fere observes that 6ome children manifest a strong, even violent, objection to being kissed by certain people whom they otherwise love and 'revere. \Ee mentions the case of a lady who loves and adores her mother, yet from childhood resented being kissed by her, and this feeling has only: grown stronger with the years, the lady m question now being thirty-four years of age. There are other cases where a kiss forced upon resenting children .oas had terrible results, terminating in lifelong illness or serious' mental disturbances. In the light of these observations parents should cease compelling their children to Kiss or to receive kisses where they show an earnest, not merely whimsical, objection. For • instance; a girl of twelve years, who always objects to kisses, was one day suddenly taken up by a relative and kissed. The girl turned as white as chalk, shrieked loudly, fell back in a swoon, then was shaken by terrible convulsions, and again swooned for.about half an hour. Theseattacks returned every fortnight. They have now disappeared, but the girl is still subject to frequent swooning.

Mr John Vanderbilt,•': a member of the wealiuy New York Vanderbilt family, is called among his own people the "'Hermit of Hexenkopf," by reason of his strange mode of life. 'He is seldom seen anywhere; he never travels, nor works, nor writes, nor does anything in fact. Being a misogamist, he has never married, and, though reputed to be enormously rich, lives in a creepercovsred hut on the summit of a Pennsylvaniani mountain, in the midst of the most beautiful scenery. He is quite alone from year's end to year's end. tie does his own cooking and housework, washes his own linen in a neighboring' mountain stream, catch«s his own trout, shoots his own game, cultivates his own strawberries and vegetables, milks his own goat, and makes his own bread. The only person with whom he ever holds intercourse is a young farmer who lives a few miles away, and who is kind enough to bring him flour, eggs, meat, etc., and who does any odd commissions he may wish executed in the outside world. Mr John Vanderbilt never receives or sends letters, he objects to newspapers and periodicals, and reads only a few favorite books that he took with him into his solitude; but some people think that he is engaged in writing a great work on abstruse subjects. It is said that he lias no opinion of humanity, male or female, and that he thoroughly despises money and money-makers.

According to the statement made by the Duke of Devonshire, the British Government does not ignore the fact that the boundaries of Russia and Afghanistan are now adjacent, and that communication between Middle Asia and the Russiani military base has immensely improved of late years. The inference is a very unconsoling one for Englishmen, but it does not contain in itself any necessity for excessive anxiety, as Russia is not making any preparations for a campaign against India. The possibility, however, of such an undertaking has really increased, but this, we hope, can only strengthen" our friendly relations with England.—Novoe Vremya, St. Petersburg.

A good deal of the world's tobacco crop is neither smoked, snuffed nor chewed. At one time tobacco was very largely prescribed in medicine, and even to-day considerable quantities are so made use of. As an external remedy for wounds and bruises and sprains a wet tobacco poultice is commonly used in all countries where tobacco is grown. On sore throats, erysipelas, sciatica, and swellings of various kinds, tobacco, externally applied, has a wonderfully good effect. Moist tobacco is one of the best ■ cures imaginable for the bite of any poisonous insect. Being so good as it is, tobacco is sometimes applied by soldiers to raw wounds. It is said that no case of lockjaw or mortification has ever occurred where this precaution has been taken. — Health.

"There is an easy way, if you are a cigarette smoker, to tell whether or not the habit injures you," said a physician. "Do you feel, after smoking, a languor, a sinking and a great depression? Do you feel melancholy, hopeless, weak? If you do, you should abandon smoking at once. '"The tendency of tobacco is to weaken the action of the heart. But in very strong, robust persons this weakening effect is very slight; it is not felt at all, and these persons tobacco cannot ibe said to injure. But in persons iwhose hearts and constitutions are frail the effect is strongly felt, the symptoms being those that I have just described, and such persons ought not to smoke." This specialist has tabulated the records of all the smoking and non-smoking medical students of his acquaintance for a period of nine years. He has found that the smokers are shorter iru stature than the non-smokers, and that they do not develop as well. In the course of four years non-smokers gain 24 per cent more in height, and 26 per cent more in chest girth than the- smokers. The former, too, are quicker than the latter! They learn quicker, walk quicker—excel in the speed of all the physical and mental acts.—Philadelphia Inquirer.

Under date August 14th the Rome correspondent of the 'London Daily Express, writes: —This morning Cardinals Rampolla, Mocenni, and Cretoni, the executors under the will of Leo XIII., were received by Pius X. to report upon the estate left by the late Pope to the Church. The seals placed on Leo XIII. 's private apartments at his death were broken yesterday, and an inventory of all that was found was made. In the safe of the Pope's chamber there was £120,000 in the gold of almost all countries. There were also a considerable number of precious stones, the gifts of Roman Catholics from all parts of the world. Cardinal Rampolla was surprised to find this treasure, as the Pope had almost always handed to him the offertories he received, so that he might, in turn, pass them on to the Peter's Pence fund, of which the exSecretary of State was the administrative head. lam informed by Cardinal Cretoni that the amount of Peter's Pence available at the death of Leo XIII. was £1,600,000, so that the figure now stands at. £1,720,000. This is almost £BOO,OOO less than was left by Pius IX. The difference is accounted for partly by financial losses and thefts during the first years of the pontificate of the late Pope. During later years Leo XIII. had invested the funds in the Bank of Rome, which, though a Vatican bank, is directed by commercial men with modern ideas, Pius X. proposes to continue this pojicy in dealing with the income from Peter's Pence. The interest on the capital invested amounts to £BO,OOO, and £280,000 is given annually in Peter's Pence. As, however, the expenses of the Vatican amount ■?ach year to more than £480,000, Pius X. has to face a. serious problem in the finances of the Vatican.

Professor, Shaler, of Harvard University, is of the opinion that plants are possessed of intelligence that serves the purpose of self-protection and self-gratification to a veryconsiderable degree. Recently after discussing the automata observed in growing things, he said :' "We may accept the statement that our higher intelligence is but the illuminated summit of man's nature as true, and extend it by thte observation that intelligence is normally unconscious, and appears as conscious only after infancy, in our waking hours, and not always then." In summing up, the professor uses -the following sentences: "Looking toward the organic [ world in the manner above suggested, seeing that an unprejudiced view of life affords no warrant for the notion that' automata anywhere exist, tracing as we may down to the lowest grade of the animal series, what is fair evidence of actions which we have to believe to be guided by some forni of intelligence, seeing that there is reason to conclude that plants are derived from the' same primitive stock of animals, we are in no condition to say that intelligence cannot exist among th'em. In fact all that we can discern supports the view that throughout the organic, realm the intelligence that finds its fullest expression in man is everywhere at \ work." j

If the tails of comets consist of actual ! .matter what law is it that causes them to shun the sun.? This has. been one "of the puzzles of astronomy, but it appears now to be solved, sa" r s the Pathfinder. Light exerts pressure. This was theoretically proposed by Maxwell, and it was demonstrated only a year or two ago. While the sun attracts all matter by gravitation, therefore the light of the sun tends at the same time to repel such matter by pushing against it. In the case of a comet, the head of the comet is dense enough so that the sun's attraction of (gravitation exceeds repulsion of its f light and that part of the comet is drawn .toward the sun;, whereas the" tail "of the

comet, being far more; diffuse, is driven •away from the suja .because-, the repulsion of the sun'slight exceeds its power;by gravitation when applied to very finely divided particles of matter. The reason for this apparent paradox is that gravitation attracts in proportion to the mass of the cometary matters, while light acts on the whole surface of the particles.

There are many people who will doubtless be interested to know that it is only since the thirteenth century that the Popes have been accustomed to wear white. Until that time they always were arrayed in the red robes now affected by the Cardinals. Boni- j face VIII., in 1294, however, realising that j red was no longer.a distinctive color of the Papacy since his predecessors had accorded to their' legates abroad the right to wear-it, issued granting all the members of the Sacred College the red robes which they now wear> and decided that white should henceforth be the; hue of the raiment of himself and his successors. The Popes, however, still retain from those ancient days the red hais which they wear out of doors and the red mantle, as well as the red shoes.

Conservatism in using the Lorenz" method is at the present time considered most advisable by American surgeons, says American Medicine. There has been created such an alarming interest in, the operation by the newspapers that there is danger that operations may be undertaken by the unskilled and tie procedure be brought into disrepute. The conditions that limit the choice of cases fit for the operation should be most carefully studied. It cannot be forgotten that even in the hands of one so experienced and successful as Lorenz himself only about one-half the operations are successful. It is, moreover, the opinion of some thoughtful men that the operation with the knife may finally prove preferable, even in patients of six years and less. It is also to be remembered that the primary success in getting the head of the femur into its socket still leaves the greater part of the work, and often the most difficult, to be carried out in the long and delicate manipulations and care required after the cast is removed. Whatever method may finally gain precedence in practice, nothing but harm can result from haste and recklessness on our part in undertaking operations in all-advised cases. If to this should be added the misfortune of the .poor operation, and overrevulsion , will follow, progress will more than ever be sadly delayed.

If St. Patrick was alive arid turned loose among the toads and snakes in the Klamath Lake region, he would find a harder job getting rid of them than he ever did driving the reptiles out of the Emerald Isle, says the Redding (America) Free Press. The annual migration of toads from Lake (Ewauna to Upper Klamath lake has just begun in that vicinity and near Klamath Falls there is a stretch of land that is alive with snakes. Thousands upon thousands of the reptiles wriggle and writhe in a slippery mass and walking is made impossible. Now the toads are in evidence. There are millions of them. They cover the walks and streets in the vicinity of the river at Klamath Falls and it is absolutely impossible to avoid stepping upon them. Their natural home is upper Klamath lake and they are instinctively drawn thither. The spawn is deposited in the upper lake and-floats down the river and lodges in the lower lake. The moment the toads are hatched they note the strange surroundings and their little pericardiums flap and flutter for the hallowed precincts of home. Thus, simultaneously inspired, all start for the upper lake as fast as their diminutive legs will carry them. These millions of toads are highly beneficial in destroying atomic impurities and so contribute to the health of the climate.