illustration this is effected by a shutter like that of a camera. If the device is an irregular group of dots it is demonstrable that 1|10,000 of a second is sufficient to estimate the number of dots, provided there are not more than eight of them. If the spots, instead of being irregularly grouped, are arranged in figures, many more can be estimated. The experiment evidently lends itself to an indefinite number of variations. The card in the tachitoscope can bear words to be read, incorrect phrases to be corrected, etc., and the smallest time necessary to do this can be measured. Also, similar tests may be made with other senses than that of sight, for instance, that of touch. We read:

"For this we need several pins, stuck in a piece of cardboard. The points are allowed to rest for an instant on the skin of the lower arm............It is found that not more than six points can be detected in one group...Next we have a method of finding the limit of attention when the objects of a group follow one after another............The person conducting the test calls out a series of numbers or letters at intervals of half a second, and the other is required to repeat them. Here also the limit is six objects, beyond which the normal person can not go. .These investigations on attention, its limits and its operation, have great practical value. The type for the blind, known as Braille, for example, consists of groups of not more than five dots. That such a system may be quickly learned, it is necessary that its elements should not exceed in complexity the normal limits of attention. Experimental pedagogy and psychiatry are other examples of sciences that may make wide use of the psychological laws of normal and abnormal attention."-THE DIGEST.

White men as Pearl-fishers.

LITERARY

White men have been shown to be failures as pearlfishers in Australia, despite the efforts of the Government there to encourage them.

"It has recently been attempted in Australia to utilize the services of European divers in the pearlfisheries; and the Australian Government has taken measures to encourage the use of this new porsonnel and to open this industry to the activity of Europe

ans.

On

"The experience has not succeeded. The first European divers died or became paralytics in less than two years. And this disastrous result was also accompanied by considerable losses for the promoters of the fisheries. The result of a European's fishing did not exceed a ton a year, while the Asiatic professional bring up four to five tons. the other hand, the Asiatic asks only $10 to $15 a month, while the European must be paid high as $70, without taking into account that his travelling expenses are thrice those of the Asiatic, who comes from a nearer region and requires less. The pearlfishery by diving would thus seem_ closed to men of the white race.”—THE LITErary Digest.

Kinesthesia, Queen of the Senses.

The highest rank among the senses is usually awarded to sight. This is doubtless correct, psychologically, but, from the standpoint of physiology, another sense deserves the crown. According to Dr. George Van Ness Dearborn, professor of physiology in Tufts Medical School, this is the socalled "muscular sense," which he names "kinesthesia"-the sense through which we are conscious of the motious of our body and its parts. According to Dr.

Dearborn, this sense makes it possible for us subconsciously to control all our bodily acts; it enables us to possess that quality called skill; its deficiency, carried to an extreme, may result in utter feebleness of mind, lack of control, and inability to live the life of sanity and normality. These opinions Dr. Dearborn deduces from experiments made by him recently on the behavior and functions of this important muscular sense. He writes:

"Just as, psychologically considered, vision is undoubtedly the queen' of the senses, so physiologically the processes inherently relating to movement, posture, weight, spatiality, etc., are assuredly the most important. In the universal integration of sensations, vision in a way may even be considered the mental homolog of the bodily kinesthesia, as a little thought readily shows. Only now are educators beginning to realize the indispensable usefulness always and everywhere of kinesthesia, the 'feelings of movement.' Kinesthesia is about, however, to come into its own as the primary and essential sense.

WIX

Diagram for measuring kinesthesia.

Without it, coordinated and adapted bodily movement and strain, concomitant to every kind of mental process, is inconceivable, for the (psycho) motor centers in the brain have no known clairvoyant powers, and therefore their function of carefully coordinating the distant muscles, e.g., of foot or hand, is entirely dependent on their continual recep tion of detailed information as to the relative tonal and contractural status of all the active parts to one another. Simple as this idea is, the immense practical importance for education has as yet hardly begun to seep into the effective minds of educators."

His series of experiments on the physiology of kinesthesia deals directly, Dr. Dearborn tells us, with the functions of the nerve impulses concerned in the so-called muscular sense. The nerve processes that determine voluntary movements have been much discust of late by psychologists, while the physiologists have been clearing up the physical side of the same question. Dr. Dearborn considers that his work forges the links .connecting these two chains of information. The tests were

made on thirty-eight different persons blindfold, each of whom was asked to reproduce with a pencil, the patterns shown in the accompanying diagram, without seeing them, the pencil being first guided over the pattern. Reproduction thus depended entirely on the muscular sense. The results of the test are thus set forth by the investigator:

"Perhaps the most interesting for the physiology of kinesthesia is the fact that reenforcement of the conscious movement-sensations by deliberate attention to them tends to shorten the movements and somewhat to lessen the angles between them. In other words in visualizers, intensification of the conscious kinesthesia inhibits the related voluntary movements. Such being the case, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the function of the conscious movement-sensations is the inhibition, the deliberate active restraint, of tendencies to action. Attention to matters other than the kinesthesia of the active arm, as was demonstrated by trial, tends to stop the performance altogether, or to make it irregular, uncertain, and wabbly. Attention to the kinesthesia, on the other hand, tends simply to make the movements less, while they continue deliberately to the end without hesitation, but minimized. Considering that the movements studied are free-arm movements from the shoulder-joint, tending therefore to exaggeration far beyond their true size, this result becomes all the more striking. Almost no records, per contra, showed enlargement under these circumstances, also a significant fact where the voluntary conditions are so complicated and uncertain. . . . May we not conclude that the more or less conscious kinesthesia. ... has special inhibitory function, as well as the passive reception of jars, vibrations, passive movements, and postures?"

Skill, according to Dr. Dear-born, consists in a "trained fusion" of our outer ideas of motion and the inner control which he regards as the function of the muscular senses. Lack of skill, and specially the abnormal lack known as "feeble-mindedness," now an object of much study in the educational and economic world, Dr. Dearborn regards as due to deficiency in kinesthesia. He writes:

"Without multiplying evidence of the aimless and illdirected gross motivity of the feeble-minded . . . we may reasonably express the tentative opinion that perhaps even the essence of feeble-mindedness is some lack in the kinesthetic receptive fields or centers. These influences or stimuli continually bombard the central adjusters, and so give rise to the activity which, guided and helped by the cerebral gray (biological will and intelligence and motive), results in curiosity, interest, psychophysiological evolution and education. Education is the reaction of personality to its environment; and reaction is inconceivable without kinesthesia. Certain is it that I at least can get no clear concept or understanding of the vegetative impulse to activity in a complex organism, which lacks that kinesthetic deluge of energy into the reflex motor centers by which directly the voluntary muscles are

actuated.

"In short, the 'attitude,' actuating and inhibitory. unconscious and conscious, is the creation, to a greatly predominant extent, of kinesthesia."-The Literary Digest.

Textile Patterns from Nature.

A striking method for producing textile designs from natural products by photography has recently been discovered by Dr. Erwin Quedenfeldt, principal

of the Photographic Testing Establishment at Dusseldorf, Germany. The process utilizes the forms of crystals, flowers, and other animal, plant, and mineral products.

"The camera is provided with a special apparatus by which the image is reproduced in manifold form with as much clearness `and strength as with the ordinary camera. The process is similar to that of the kaleidoscope, but no mirrors are used, as it has been found that the reflection of the image from the mirror results in making the photograph cloudy. The new process is very rapid and simple.

"The plate is exposed for the necessary time and then developed. The photograph is printed from the negative in the ordinary way and the design can then be enlarged or reduced as desired. A large number of different patterns can be obtained by cutting the object. This is shown at Figs. 1 to 4. Fig. 1 is a pattern obtained from a specimen of crystallization. Fig. 2 is the design obtained after

cutting away part of the specimen. Fig. 3 show the results of further cutting. Fig. 4 is a reproduction of the central part of the pattern. In this way a large number of interesting combinations can be made from one object.

"Figs. 5 to 8 are other samples of the results obtained from this new process of pattern-making. Fig. 5 is a design obtained from the colored ring of an agate. Fig. 6 is a reproduction of the black and white marking in a piece of marble. This design is a combination of two patterns obtained by photographing the same sample of marble. Fig. 7 is obtained by photographing the yellow and white wing of a butterfly. Fig. 8 is obtained from flowers. This process opens up a rich field for the cotton-print industry. It is recommended not as a substitute for the work of a designer, but as an important aid in obtaining new motives for his production."-The Literary Digest.

HE Hindus have been divided into

T1

numerous castes and sub-castes for several centuries, and with the lapse of time, several social evils have grown up that are eating into the very vitals of Hindu society. The Indian Social Reform Movement was inaugurated with the laudable object of removing these evils by educating public opinion and finding out practical means of carrying out the necessary social reforms. There may be honest differences of opinion as regards methods, but there can be no two opinions as regards the desirability of social reform in some form or other. The educative value of the social reform propaganda has been very great and now enlightened orthodox opinion can join hands with the social reformers in removing certain social evils. Child marriage is now less common than before, the Shankaracharya of Dwaraka has opened the doors of foreign travel, the Shuddhi movement has been blessed and sympathised with by some of our Acharyas, widow-remarriages are becoming more common than before and there is practical unanimity of opinion on the question of fusion of sub-castes. Both the

orthodox party and the social reformers are appalled at the relative decrease in the numerical strength of the Hindus owing to conversions to Christianity and other faiths from the depressed () classes and sincerely desire to arrest the process by raising the depressed classes, and practical steps have been taken to educate them. Owing to the ravages of plague, the remarriage of virgin-widows is advocated by many enlightened orthodox thinkers, though they may not care to accept the whole of the social reform propaganda.

His

Among the men of light and leading that guide the Indian Social Reform Movement to-day, His Highness the Gaekwad of Baroda stands out pre-eminent as a great social reformer who has taken practical steps to ameliorate the social condition of his subjects and forward the cause of social reform in the Baroda State. Highness is one of the most enlightened princes of India, who having a true insight into the real needs of his countrymen is sincerely, incessantly and zealously working for the good of his subjects, so far as lies in his power. It will be well, therefore, to note what he has done for social reform

in Baroda, and it is to be hoped that many will be ready to follow his example.

Owing to the prevalence of the custom of child marriage and enforced widowhood among the Hindus, the miseries of widows can better be imagined than described. Child marriage is the cause of the existence of a large number of child-widows among the Hindus and the prohibition of remarriage of widows has only aggravated the evil. As males find it necessary to marry again, it is against human nature to expect a higher standard of morals from widows, who are exposed to all sorts of temptations, and the consequence is that many widows lead a life of shame and immorality.

Pandit Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar saw the iniquity of enforced widowhood and "got the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act" passed by the Government of India more than half a century ago. It legalised widow-remarriage, declared the issue of such marriage legitimate and regulated the rights of succession of remarried widows. His Highness the Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwar of Baroda in 1901 passed the Baroda Hindu widow remarriage Act on the lines of the Indian Act. The Act legalises remarriage of widows, declares the issue of such remarriage legitimate and regulates the rights of succession of such remarried widows. It also expressly leaves intact all the civil rights of remarried widows that prevail in certain castes and sub-castes in which widow-remarriage was allowed by custom even before the passing of the Act.

The Maharaja next grappled with the question of child marriage. It is a wellknown fact that we are mere pigmies physically, mentally, and morally as compared with our remote ancestors of the Vedic and Epic periods who raised India to the highest pinnacle of glory. No childmarriage prevailed among them and the Kshatriyas held Swayamvaras of their daughters. The word Swayamvara ineans the act of choosing one's husband and no girl below sixteen can exercise sound judgment in choosing a husband. Childmarriage seems to have been introduced in India during the days of adversity that overtook the Hindus at the time of the Mahomedan conquests and certain texts were interpolated in some Smritis which enjoined the marriage of girls between the ages of eight and twelve. On the

other hand, Hindu works on Ayurveda expressly declare that children born of a father under 25 years of age and a mother below sixteen, are either still-born, or are diseased or short-lived or are weak. The disastrous effects of childmarriage are seen in our stunted intellec tual growth, our physical degeneracy, want of the spirit of enterprize, lack of originality and power of organization, want of the spirit of co-operation and our moral degradation which is exemplified in our commercial immorality that led to the recent bank failures. Realising the evils of child-marriage the present ruler of Baroda passed "The Infant Marriage Prevention Act" in 1904. He aims at the physical improvement of his subjects which will lead to an increase in the average duration of life and physical vigour of future generations. The Act enacted that those who either as parents or guardians got the marriage of a boy under 16 and a girl under 12 performed without the permission of the State were liable to be tried and punished with a fine not exceed ing Rs. 100 (one hundred). Under certain exceptional circumstances permission for early marriage can be granted and thus provision is made to meet hard cases. Applicants for permission have to satisfy all the requirements of the Act regarding such permission. All marriages have to be registered by the father or guardian of the bride within a specified time and failure to do so is punished with a fine not exceeding Rupees ten. The Act wisely provides that no Marriage will be deemed invalid merely because it is an early marriage. The educative value of the Act has been great and this combined with the effects of the ravages of plague has led to the general rise in the marriageable age of girls among the higher classes and now child-marriage is not so common as formerly. The Act applies to all subjects of His Highness. It is now strictly enforced and permission for early marriage is rarely granted. It may here be suggested that the time has now come to raise the marriageable age of girls from 12 to 14 and of boys from 16 to 18. I would exhort my countrymen in British India and the educated Indian Princes to follow in the footsteps of the Gaekwar and successfully combat the evils of early marriage by some sort of social legislation. They may

profit by the experience gained in Baroda and will be better able to adopt proper measures to stamp out early marriage and its resulting evils.

H. H. the Gaek war's next step was still bolder, when he passed the Baroda Civil Marriage Act of 1908. Unlike the British Indian Civil Marriage Act of 1872, the Baroda Act does not require the bride and bridegroom to renounce their religion, if they both belong to the same faith. There are many people in India, who though calling themselves Hindus, would like to marry according to the civil marriage Act. Cases have happened in which parties to a marriage though Hindus, have been compelled to declare that they were neither Hindus, Mahomedans, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians or Jews, against their conscience, as they could not otherwise take advantage of the civil marriage Act of 1872. These are indeed hard cases and the Hon'ble Bhupendranath Basu made an unsuccessful attempt to remove the anomaly and bring the British Indian Act in line with the Baroda Act. It is sufficient to note that Baroda is ahead of British India in

this respect and no direful consequences have followed the passing of the Act.

The present system of castes and subcastes is at the root of many social evils, and if the question of the autonomy and constitution of castes and the degree of State control were skilfully handled most of the social evils will be removed. At present civil courts are debarred from dealing

with purely caste questions not affecting property or office or rights to the same, and I conceive the time has now come for the extension of the jurisdiction of civil courts to such questions which will result in subjecting the system of castes to the civilizing influence of Courts. His Highness the Gaekwar is now anxiously considering the question of the constitution of caste panchayats and the degree of State control over them, and it may be hoped that a satisfactory solution of this thorny question may be found out.

All the members of the State Legislative Council are deemed to have no objection to touching the depressed (Antyaja) classes; and only a year back an Antyaja member actually sat in the Legislative of the State. The depressed Council-a unique event in the annals classes are now being educated and are treated on an equal footing with the other subjects of the State in all courts and offices of His Highness's government.

Education is the panacea for all evils, whether social, religious or economic, and His Highness with a rare foresight has boys and girls since 1904. It is fervently introduced compulsory education both for hoped that His Highness will be able to see the results of his beneficent activities in his own life-time.

Let the social reformers emulate the example of the Gaekwar and they will soon be able to achieve a good deal in a few years.

A

IV.

LL the caves at Ajanta are of Buddhistic origin. The spacious Chaityas were used for the purpose of worship. The Viharas were chiefly used as dwelling apartments, but the halls in the entre were probably meant for solemn ceremonies. Besides the Chaityas and

Viharas there are a few smaller caves which were used exclusively as monastic retreats, as is evident from the bed-steads and pillows carved in stone inside these caves. Most of the finished caves, whether Chaityas, Viharas or others, show fragmentary remains of paintings. The large number and extensive capacity of all these caves reveal even at this distant date