374 SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.—J. 
Failure was experienced with certain P-tests which had proved successful 
in the hands of other investigators. These tests are criticised from the 
point of view of technique. 
Division 2. 
Mr. H. Binns.—A measure of tactile sense (2.0). 
A measure which, it is suggested, is of universal application, required 
a person to place six wool tops, a continuous band of combed fibres in an 
untwisted form about an inch thick, in order of softness, by touch alone, 
five times. The whole surface of both hands is stimulated by subtle differ- 
ences, muscular action being reduced to a minimum. 
The samples were selected by practical men and the grading was confirmed 
by physical tests. The average grading of 15 persons with some trade 
experience, 15 untrained adults and 10 children show the same grading for 
fineness of fibre by sight and for softness by handle ; the correlation between 
sight and touch being perfect. 
From this criterion individuals vary considerably. ‘The results indicate 
that innate tactile ability in children and the combined results of natural 
ability and experience in adults may be registered. Sensory and manipula- 
tive ability should be capable of separation by degrees of differences and 
not included under general terms such as ‘ touch’ and ‘ handwork.’ 
Mr. L. I. Hunr.—A _ study of fatigue and practice in a purely manual 
process (2.45). 
In many small groups of workers it is important for the management to 
know whether any workers are showing such signs of fatigue as to justify 
the introduction of rest pauses, with the consequent trouble of ensuring 
that they are properly used and not abused ; yet for economic reasons it is 
impossible to spend much time on such a study. 
In a recent investigation this difficulty of keeping costs low was overcome 
by getting the workers to keep special records, which were used for calcula- 
tions ; and, in spite of the apparent unreliability of the data, very good 
curves of performance were obtained. This result gives to the study 
considerable general interest to works managers, since it proves that a study 
of fatigue-effects in small groups can be made successfully at very small 
cost, provided that the whole-hearted co-operation of the workers has been 
obtained. 
It was found that only one or two workers revealed symptoms of excessive 
fatigue, and that these could be cured without introducing rest pauses ; 
and further, that the loss through inexperience of any particular kind of 
work was negligible compared with the effects of the workers’ views on 
monotony and boredom. 
Mr. M. M. Lewis.—The extension of meaning in children’s earliest words 
(3.30). 
The tendency of children to extend the application of their words has 
been very frequently observed, the stock example being that given by 
Romanes of a child who, having learnt the word quack for a duck, applied it 
to the figure of an eagle on a coin and then to coins in general. ‘This has 
commonly been regarded as a kind of primitive generalisation ; Stern, for 
instance, stresses the fact that the various situations to which a word is 
applied are, as a rule, objectively and affectively similar. 
