Power 



SCIENTIFIC SIDE-LIGHTS 



542 



2671. POWER OF EXPECTANT AT- 

 TENTION Officer Awakes at the Word "Sig- 

 nal" The following remarkable example 

 . . . was mentioned to the writer by the 

 late Sir Edward Codrington: 



When a young man, he was serving as 

 signal-lieutenant under Lord Hood at the 

 time of the investment of Toulon ; and being 

 desirous of obtaining the favorable notice 

 of his commander, he applied himself to his 

 duty that of watching for signals made by 

 the " lookout " frigates with such energy 

 and perseverance that he often remained on 

 deck eighteen or nineteen hours out of the 

 twenty-four, going below only to sleep. 

 During the few hours which he spent in re- 

 pose his slumber was so profound that no 

 noise of an ordinary kind, however loud, 

 would awake him, and it used to be a favor- 

 ite amusement with his comrades to try 

 various experiments devised to test the 

 soundness of his sleep. But if the word 

 " signal " was even whispered in his ear he 

 was instantly aroused, and was fit for im- 

 mediate duty, the constant direction of his 

 mind towards this one object having given 

 to the impression produced by the softest 

 mention of its name a power over his brain 

 which no other could exert. 



It seems impossible to account for these 

 facts in any other way than by attributing 

 to the nerve-centers a peculiar physical re- 

 ceptivity for impressions of some particular 

 class, which they have acquired in virtue of 

 the previous direction of the mind to them. 

 CARPENTER Mental Physiology, bk. ii, ch. 

 15, p. 582. (A., 1900.) 



2672. POWER OF FLIGHT LOST BY 

 DISUSE Wingless Moths, Flies, and Beetles. 

 Kerguelen Island . . . was visited 

 by the transit of Venus expedition. It is 

 one of the stormiest places on the globe, 

 being subject to almost perpetual gales, 

 while, there being no wood, it is* almost 

 entirely without shelter. The Rev. A. E. 

 Eaton, an experienced entomologist, was 

 naturalist to the expedition, and he assidu- 

 ously collected the few insects that were 

 to be found. All were incapable of flight, 

 and most of them entirely without wings. 

 They included a moth, several flies, and 

 numerous beetles. As these insects could 

 hardly have reached the islands in a wing- 

 less state, even if there were any other 

 known land inhabited by them which there 

 is not we must assume that . . . they 

 were originally winged, and lost their power 

 of fligkt because its possession was injurious 

 to them. WALLACE Darwinism, ch. 5, p. 74. 

 ( Hum. ) 



2673. POWER OF GOOD INVOLVES 

 CAPACITY OF FAILURE The Automaton 

 Sure, but Helpless. A high brain may do 

 many things, and may do each of them at 

 a very slight hint. But its hair-trigger or- 

 ganization makes of it a happy-go-lucky, 

 hit-or-miss affair. It is as likely to do the 

 crazy as the sane thing at any given mo- 



ment. A low brain does few things, and in 

 doing them perfectly forfeits all other use. 

 JAMES Psychology, vol. i, ch. 5, p. 140. 

 (H. H. & Co., 1899.) 



2674. POWER OF GROWTH Growing 

 Root Divides Earth, as Wooden Wedge Splits 

 Rock. With these facts before us, there 

 seems little difficulty in understanding how 

 a radicle penetrates the ground. The apex 

 is pointed and is protected by the root-cap ; 

 the terminal growing part is rigid and in- 

 creases in length with a force equal, as far 

 as our observations can be trusted, to the 

 pressure of at least a quarter of a pound, 

 probably with a much greater force when 

 prevented from bending to any side by the 

 surrounding earth. Whilst thus increasing 

 in length it increases in thickness, pushing 

 away the damp earth on all sides, with a 

 force of above 8 pounds in one case, of 3 

 pounds in another case. It was impossible to 

 decide whether the actual apex exerts, rela- 

 tively to its diameter, the same transverse 

 strain as the parts a little higher up; but 

 there seems no reason to doubt that this 

 would be the case. The growing part, there- 

 fore, does not act like a nail when hammered 

 into a board, but more like a wedge of wood, 

 which whilst slowly driven into a crevice 

 continually expands at the same time by the 

 absorption of water; and a wedge thus act- 

 ing will split even a mass of rock. DARWIN 

 Power of Movement in Plants, ch. 2, p. 78. 

 (A., 1900.) 



2675. POWER OF HABIT Automatic 

 Action Without Reflection or Even Con- 

 sciousness Accomplishes the Ends of Voli- 

 tion. Actions originally prompted by con- 

 scious intelligence may grow so automatic 

 by dint of habit as to be apparently uncon- 

 sciously performed. Standing, walking, but- 

 toning and unbuttoning, piano-playing, talk- 

 ing, even saying one's prayers, may be done 

 when the mind is absorbed in other things. 

 The performances of animal instinct seem 

 semi-automatic, and the reflex acts of self- 

 preservation certainly are so. Yet they re- 

 semble intelligent acts in bringing about the 

 same ends at which the animal's conscious- 

 ness, on other occasions, deliberately aims. 

 JAMES Psychology, vol. i, ch. 1, p. 5. (H. 

 H. & Co., 1899.) 



2676. POWER OF HIGHER FACULTIES 



More Persistent than That of Lower In- 

 tellect Rallies from Shock before Sense-per- 

 ception. Under ordinary circumstances the 

 discharge from a small Ley den jar is exceed- 

 ingly unpleasant to me. Some time ago I 

 happened to stand in the presence of a nu- 

 merous audience, with a battery of fifteen 

 large Leyden jars charged beside me. 

 Through some awkwardness on my part I 

 touched a wire leading from the battery, 

 and the discharge went through my body. 

 Life was absolutely blotted out for a very 

 sensible interval, without a trace of pain. 

 In a second or so consciousness returned; 



