200 



NA TURE 



[December 2;, 1894 



the case of the Chinese, for they still use the name "hand- 

 pattern " for the 6nger-print (see above!. That this " hand- 

 stamp " was in use in an ancient kingdom of Southern India, 

 there is a proof in the Chinese records (9). 



When we recognize that the hand-marks were early in use 

 for identification by the three distinct nations, the Japanese, 

 Chinese, and Indians, and when we consider that even the 

 teeih-marks were so commonly used for authentication in India 

 that the heir-apparent to As'oka RAIja did nDt hesitate in 

 plucking out his own eyes on recognizing the king's teeth- 

 mark that accompanied the false epistle (10), it would seem 

 quite true that among those ancient nations who were, with few 

 excepti>->ns, ignorant of the use of "written signature" method, 

 it was but a natural process that the methods were invented to 

 apply to identification some more or less unchanging members 

 of human body. 



Further, that the Chinese have paid minute attention to 

 the finger furrows, is well attested by the classified illustra- 

 tions Kiven of them in the household " Td-tsih-tsii " — the 

 "Great Miscellany " of magic and divination — with the end of 

 foretelling the predestined and hence ttjuluuigiiig fortunes 

 (II) ; and as the art of chiromancy is alluded to in a political 

 essay written in the third century B.C. (12), we have reason to 

 suppo-e that the Chinese in such early times had already coit- 

 ceivtJ — if not perceived — the "for ever unchanging" furrows 

 on the fing'r-iips. 



Bibliography. — (i) " Keirin Manroku," 1800, new edition, 

 1891, p. 17. (2) Y. Hagino, "Nihon Rekishi Hyurin," 1893. 

 vol. vi. pp. 2, 24. (3) Same as (1). (4) Takizawa, "Gendii 

 Hogen," 1818, vol. ii. chap. xli. (S) Cf. Davis, " China," vol. 

 ii. p. 162; Bazin, "Thciire Chinois," Introduction, p. li. (6) 

 Shi-rdi-ngan (?), " Shwui-hii-chuen," Kin's edition, Canton, 

 1S83, tOTii. xii. p. 4. (7) Iln<l., torn. xxx. p. 18. (S) Cf. 

 Terashima, " Wakan Sansai-dzue," 1713, torn. xv. an. 

 " Tf gata." (9) Twan Ching-Shih, " Yii-yang Tsah-tsu,' ninth 

 century a.d. tom. xiv. (10) lUuen tsang, " Si-yi'i-ki," sul). 

 "Takchas'ila"; Mirata, " Indo-zusbi, MSS. vol. xxi. pp. lo-ll. 

 26. (II) Terashima, «/.£■»■/. tom. vii. art. "Ninsomi." (12) 

 " Kan-fei-tze," lorn. xvii. sub. " Kweishi." 



KUMAGUSU MiNAKATA. 

 15 Blithfield Street, Kensington, W., December 18. 



Peculiarities of Psychical Research. 



May I enter an emphatic protest against the notion insinu- 

 ated boh by Mr. Wells and Prof. Karl Pearson, that " I'sychi- 

 cal Researchers " are a sort of sect engaged in spiritualistic or 

 other propaganda? Most people, I am afraid, fight shy of 

 psychical resrarch, either because they are afraid that // there 

 is anything in it it is the devil, or because they have a scien- 

 tific reputation which they are afraid of losing. I do not know 

 to which category Mr. Wells belongs, but apparently he fails 10 

 understand that in order to make out a case against psychical 

 research he has got to show, not that the existence of telepathy 

 and clairvoyance has not been proved, but that there is not even 

 a /Wma/aciVcase worth investigating. When we remember that 

 ten years ago " mesmerism 'was included along with telepathy 

 and clairvoyance, we shall not attach much importance to .such 

 efform in siific inquiry. Even if the result should be to confirm 

 Mr. Wells's anticipation, and show that all the coincidences that 

 have been reported can be explaineil away as mistakes or mis- 

 statements, the inquiry will yet have been worth the labour 

 bestowed on it, if only as affording a measure of the value of 

 tetlimony to the miraculous. And if this comes to pass, the 

 bigots of science will lie ready enough to claim a share in the 

 work, if only by saying, " I told you so I " 



I do not know what Prof. Karl Pearson means by his quite 

 gratuitous attack on " the scientific acumen of the psychical 

 researchefj." Surely he cannot imagine that ihcy overlooked 

 the point which he h.is unearthed ? The instructions to the 

 experimenters were, that "the agent should draw a card at 

 random, and cut the pack between each draw " (" Phantasms of 

 the Living." vol. i. p. 33. fool-nole) Could an abnormal dis- 

 tribution of Ihc card-i affect the result if those precautions 

 were taken, or ha» the Professor any reason to suppose the 

 instructions were not carrieil out ? EijWARI) T. DiXON. 



Cambridge, December 14. 



The following are a few of my grounds for questioning 

 the scientific acumen of the psychical researchers: — (i) M. 

 Richet's experiments are cited as if they were significant of 

 telepathic action. On the contrary, they give odds of so little 

 weight that they are significant of nothing but want of acumen. 

 I have in card drawing, tossing and lottery experiments, all 

 conducted with every precaution to secure a random distribu- 

 tion, obtained results against which the odds were move con- 

 siderable. (2) Mr. Dixon is unable to see the importance of 

 ascertaining whether there was an abnormal distribution in the 

 cards cut or the cards guessed. His inability is a strong con- 

 firmation of my standpoint. (3) I have heard lectures, and read 

 papers written by psychical researchers. Both alike seem to me 

 akin to those products of circle squarers and parado.\ers, with 

 which, as a reviewer, I am painfully familiar. As a concrete 

 example, I take my friend Dr. Oliver Lodge's psychical 

 papers. They are typical, to my mind, of the manner in which- 

 the scientific acumen of even a professed and most highly 

 competent man of science vanishes when he enters this field of 

 " research. " 



I do not intend to take part in a controversy on the subject at 

 the present time, but I do suggest that no better exercise could 

 be found for a strictly logical mind with plenty of leisure than 

 a criticism of the products of the chief psychical researchers. 

 Such a criticism would be of much social value, in the light of 

 recent attempts to popularise the " results ' reached by these 

 investigators. Karl Pearson. 



University College, London, W.C. December 19. 



The Artificial Spectrum Top. 



1 HAVE read with interest Prof. Liveing's theory of my arti- 

 ficial spectrum top as summarised in Katijrf. of Dec. 13, p. 167, 

 and am sorry I did not know of his conclusions before he made 

 them public, because a very simple experiment would, I think, 

 have convinced him of their inaccuracy. If Prof. Liveing, or 

 any of your readers, will examine my top rotated in the light of 

 a bright sodium flame, they will find that the colours are quite 

 distinct. I knpw of no other w,ay of seeing blue and red by 

 the light of sodium, and the phenomenon, I think, shows 

 decisively that the colours of the top iire "artificial " sensations 

 in the sense explained in my theory of the instrument. 



December 10. Charles E. Benham. 



I HAVE examined Mr. Benham 's top by the light of a bright 

 sodium llame, but have failed 10 see anything like the colours 

 which 1 see by daylight or by the light of an incandescent 

 electric lamp. By the sodium light the outmost three circles 

 appear, when the rotation is one w.iy, to he d.nrk brown, the 

 inmost three dark leaden grey, while the intermediate circles 

 are paler brown. Reversing the direction of rotation inter- 

 changes the appear.inces of the outmost and inmost three circles. 

 I cannot sec any red or blue, or green, in any case. Other 

 people here seem to see much the same as I do when the top is 

 illuminated by the sodium ilame only. With certain bh-ick and 

 while figures of my own, I can get a pink appearance in the 

 sodium light, but no green or blue. With spiral figures, which 

 are worrying to look at, I find that some i>eoplc can see a play 

 of colour even with the sodium light, but I do not see it myself. 

 Using a turn-table, by which the.rate of rot.ilion can be regu- 

 lated at will, I have found that the speed, in white light, 

 required to bring out the colours is decidedly diflferent for 

 dillerenl people. This fact convinced me that the explanation 

 of these very curious appearances must be looked for in some 

 physiological cause. It is perhaps worth remark that a sodiunv 

 llame, when there is much so<lium in it to make it bright, is by 

 no means monochromatic, though sufTicientiy so to make the 

 experiment with the lop a very interesting one ; and as Mr. 

 Itenham sees colours by this light which some others fail to see, it 

 goes far to prove the phenomenon to be subjective. 



Cambridge, December 10. C D. LlVF.ING. 



NO. I3I3. VOL. 51] 



"Solute." 



CiiRRESl'ONDlNG to the words " solvent " and " solution," 

 some word is very badly wanted to express " the dissolved sub- 

 stance." The analogous word is cvidcnily " solute," and it is 

 as short and euphonious as the others. .May I inquire why it-is 

 not in general use? Surely some one must have proposed it ? 



Leipzig. r. G. DoNNAN. 



