We all have our limits, and that limit may be quickly found by these whistles in every case.  The facility of hearing shrill sounds depends in some degree on the position of the whistle, for it is highest when it is held exactly opposite the opening of the ear.  Any roughness of the lining of the auditory canal appears to have a marked effect in checking the transmission of rapid vibrations when they strike the ear obliquely.  I myself feel this in a marked degree, and I have long noted the fact in respect to the buzz of a mosquito.  I do not hear the mosquito much as it flies about, but when it passes close by my ear I hear a “ping,” the suddenness of which is very striking.  Mr. Dalby, the aurist, to whom I gave one of these instruments, tells me he uses it for diagnoses.  When the power of hearing high notes is wholly lost, the loss is commonly owing to failure in the nerves, but when very deaf people are still able to hear high notes if they are sounded with force, the nerves are usually all right, and the fault lies in the lining of the auditory canal.

E.—­QUESTIONS ON VISUALISING AND OTHER ALLIED FACULTIES.

The Questions that I circulated were as follows; there was an earlier and uncomplete form, which I need not reproduce here.

The object of these Questions is to elicit the degree in which different persons possess the power of seeing images in their mind’s eye, and of reviving past sensations.

From inquiries I have already made, it appears that remarkable variations exist both in the strength and in the quality of these faculties, and it is highly probable that a statistical inquiry into them will throw light upon more than one psychological problem.

Before addressing yourself to any of the Questions on the opposite page, think of some definite object—­suppose it is your breakfast-table as you sat down to it this morning—­and consider carefully the picture that rises before your mind’s eye.

1. Illumination.—­Is the image dim or fairly clear?  Is its brightness comparable to that of the actual scene?

2. Definition.—­Are all the objects pretty well defined at the same time, or is the place of sharpest definition at any one moment more contracted than it is in a real scene?

3. Colouring.—­Are the colours of the china, of the toast, bread crust, mustard, meat, parsley, or whatever may have been on the table, quite distinct and natural?

4. Extent of field of view.—­Call up the image of some panoramic view (the walls of your room might suffice), can you force yourself to see mentally a wider range of it than could be taken in by any single glance of the eyes?  Can you mentally see more than three faces of a die, or more than one hemisphere of a globe at the same instant of time?

5. Distance of images.—­Where do mental images appear to be situated? within the head, within the eye-ball, just in front of the eyes, or at a distance corresponding to reality?  Can you project an image upon a piece of paper?