PSYCHOLOGY. 
The Devices of Criminals in India.— The writer of a series 
of articles in the Tifnes of India on "By-paths of Crime in India," 
mentions some devices of habitual criminals in that country. One 
curiosity which he was shown on a visit to the Presidency gaol in Cal- 
cutta was a heavy lead bullet about three-quarters of an inch in diame- 
ter. This was found on an habitual thief, and was being used to form 
a pouch or bag in the throat for secreting money, jewels, etc., in the 
event of his being searched. The ball is put into the mouth and is 
allowed to slide down gently until it reaches some part near the epi- 
glottis, where it is held in position, and is kept there for about half an 
hour at a time. This operation is repeated many times daily, and 
gradually a sort of pocket is formed, the time being longer or shorter 
according to the size of pocket required. In some cases six months 
have been sufficient, in others a year, while in some cases two years are 
necessary. Such a pouch as this last is capable of holding ten rupees 
—about the size of ten florins. The thief therefore can undergo 
search, and, nothing being found, he goes away with the spoil in his 
throat, the power of breathing and speech being in no way interfered 
with. About a score of prisoners in the Calcutta gaol have such pouch 
formations. In the hospital of the prison the visitor learned some of 
the malingering practices of Indian criminals. In one case he saw a 
youth who was a perfect skeleton, with lustrous eyes looking out in a 
ghastly manner from a worn, haggard face. It was discovered that he 
had for two years been taking an irritant poison, with a view to pro- 
duce diarrhoea, in order to shirk work and get plea.sant quarters in the 
hospital. But he had overdone the part, for he had reduced himself 
to such a condition that recovery was all but impossible. This taking 
of internal irritants is a common practice amongst the habitual crimi- 
nals of Calcutta. Castor oil seed, croton seed, and two other seeds, 
which have no English name, are the agents most commonly employed. 
One man was pointed out who, in order to get off his fetters, had pro- 
duced an ulcer by rubbing the chafed skin with caustic lime, and then 
irritating the sore by scratching it with a piece of broken bottle. The 
segregation of lepers has long been the practice in Indian prisons, and 
>t is mentioned as an example of the increase of leprosy in India that 
the disease occurs with much greater frequency amongst the criminals 
of Bengal than it did ten years ago. 
