Science.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 357, 12 March 1903, Page 7

Science.

MORBID SENSITIVENESS. ■HE surest way to conquer morbid sensitiveness is to mingle with people as freely as possible, and, while appraising your own ability and intelligence at least as impartially as you would those of a friend or acquaintance, to forget yourself. Unless you can become unconscious of self, you will never either appear at your best or do the best of which you are capable, says a writer in ' Success,' It requires will power and an unbending determination to conquer this arch enemy to success, but what has been done can be done, and many who were held down by it for years have by their own efforts, outgrown it and risen to commanding positions. WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP. When a man drops off to sleep his body does not do bo all at once. Some senses become dormant before others, and always in the same order. As he becomes drowsy the eyes close and the sense of seeing is at rest. It is quickly followed by the sense of taste. He next loses the sense of smell, and then, after a short interval, the tympanum becomes insensible to sound—or, rather, the nerves which run to the brain from it fail to convey any sense of hearing. The last sense to leave is that of touch, and in some hypersensitive people it is hardly ever dormant. This sense is also the first to return upon awakeniner. Then hearing follows suit; after that taste, and then the eye becomes able to flash impressions back to the brain. The sense of smell, oddly enough, though it is by no means the first to go, is the very last to come back.

NOVEL BOTTLE STOPPEE. Here is a cork or stopper which can be used with any bottle and which can be drawn without the aid of a corkscrew. It consists of an outer shell, an inner core and a spirally wound filler between the shell and the core. The filler is connected with the shell and core end is enclosed within a cover. Moreover, attached to this cover is a handle, by means of which the core can be lifted and the coiled filler extended. It will readily be seen that in this way the stopper can be easily extracted from the bottle. TO PEESERVE THE COMPLEXION. One of the most important influences in keeping the complexion pure in summer is the diet. Little meat and pastry should be eaten. Fruits, vegetables, fresh fish, and eggs ought to be the food of everybody who values a clear complexion. Milk is a useful addition when- it agrees with one, but coffee should be very rarely taken, as it tends to make the skin sallow. The custom of drinking rather weak tea for breakfast is a good one, and is a considerable help to the complexion. The care necessary in bathing the face cannot be insisted on too strongly. Soap should be used rarely, a bran or oatmeal bag serving the same purpose much better. It is wise to have a piece of lemon on your dressing table in summer. The juice left in used lemons can be utilised, and is an excellent defence against freckles and tan, if rubbed on the face before going to bed. It is a geod plan to take a packet of borax when going into the country, as the water is often hard. Either borax or ammonia will soften it. Some people seem to think that 'if a little is good, a great deal is better,' and add ammonia in such quantities to the water that it becomes irritating to the skin. Too much borax has a drying effect that is equally bad. It is well to remem ber, however, that the face is not to be bathed directly after exposure to the sun's rays. Water should never be applied for some hours after.

QUEER BELIEF ABOUT TATTOOING In several islands of the Indo-Pacific regions, says Prof G. Thilenus, who has been closely studying the subject for some time, the belief prevails that persons that are tattooed have a much better chance of getting into the next world than those who are not tattooed. As a typical example, he cites the case of the women of the Laughlan Islands, a small group east of the southern end of | New Guinea. These women tattoo the greater part of ther bodies with angled designs, but never fail to tattoo concentric circles on their legs. They believe that between the Laughlan Islands and the island of Vatum, in the Trobriand group, to which their souls should go, there is a great snake over which they must pass. The snake asks each soul for her tattooing, and the soul takes it off and gives it to the snake, who covers itself with it. The snake then becomes broad and flat, and the soul passes over as over a bridge. If, however, the soul is not tattooed, the snake shrinks and the soul falls into the se& and cannot reach the blessed sanctuary in Vatum. Moreover, worse still, these wretched eouls rre straightway changed into fish. This strange belief prevailed in the Laughlan Islands for a long time, and there is no evidence that it is dying out, THREE BEARS AND A SHOT. .Captain Owen Wheeler, in the • Navy and Army,' tells a bear story, the authenticity of which is beyond question. A friend of his, returning to camp after a days shooting, suddenly came in sight of a big she bear with two cubs following in single file, proceeding along a ridge, the forms of the three being sharply &ilhoutted against the sky. It was a very long shot, but he determined to try it, so drew a bead on the old she bear and fired. Ice result was curious. The precession stopped, the she bear scratched herself hastily, then turned round, and, regarding the cub immediately behind with grave disapproval, boxed its ears soundly, and then went trundling along the ridge, evidently under the impression that her frolicsome offspring had been up to seme unusually objectionable tricks.