Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/432

* TOUCH. 374 TOULCN. the subcutaneous tissue. The acuteness of the sense of touch depends to some extent on the cutaneous circulation, and this is largely in- fluenced by the surrounding temperature. The numbness produced by the application of cold to the surface of the body is thus explained. The acuteness of the sense of touch is com- monly measured by an instrument known as the a!sthesiometer and consisting of two needle points in arms movable upon a graduated scale. A pair of compasses may be used in the same way. The nearer together the points can be separately perceived the greater the delicacy of toucli. The distance at which these two points can be separately distinguished in various parts of the body is indicated in the following table: Tip of tongue 1.1 m.m. Palm of terminal joint of finger 2.2 Palm of second joint of finger 4.4 Tip of nose 6.6 " White part of lips 8.8 " Back of second joint of finger 11.1 Skin over cheek bone 15.4 " Back of baud 29.8 ■• Forearm 39.6 " Sternum ; 44.0 Back 66.0 '■ It will thus be seen that the point of greatest delicacy of touch is the tip of the tongue, and the seat of the least developed tactile sense is the skin over the spinal column. The sense of touch, like all other perceptions, can be sharpened by exercise. This improvement is not to be ex- plained by an increased development of the termi- nal organs, nor by a growth of new nerve fibres in the skin, but by a more exact limitation of the sensational areas in the brain. Many artisans acquire a highly specialized sense of touch. The delicacy of the tactile sense in the blind is a well-known condition ; these people are able to read fine raised letters, and to make various articles of delicate structure, in a manner im- possible to individuals who can see. See Psy- chology; Sensation; and Skin. TOtrCH. In music, a term denoting the manner in which the digitals of a keyed instru- ment are manipulated. Most important are the smooth legato touch and the detached staccato touch. It is of vital importance which muscles are employed in playing different passages. The muscles of the fingers, the wrist, and the arm produce very different effects, generally distin- guished as tone-color. Thus, when we speak of a pianist as lacking in color, it means that he em- ploys one set of muscles almost to the exclusion of others. It is the matter of touch that produces what are called singing, velvety, or hard tones. TOUCHSTONE, or Lydian Stone. A hard, black, siliceous stone or flinty jasper used for testing the puritj- of precious metals, especially gold. The stone originally used was a peculiar bituminous quartz from Lydia, in Asia Minor. When a piece of gold is rubbed across the surface of the stone it leaves a streak which is more or less reddish, according to the amount of cop- per that it contains, and by comparing the streak with those of alloys of known composition, the expert can determine approximately the value of the metal. TOUCH-WOOD. The decayed wood of wil- lows and some other trees used as tinder. See Amadou. TOUCHWOOD, Lady. (1) In Congreve's Double Dealer, tlie wife of Mellefont's uncle. Mellefont does not respond to her advances, and in revenge she accuses him of dishonorable pro- posals. (2) In Mrs. Cowley's Belle's Utratayem, a loving wife'guarded by a jealous husband. TOUL, toiJl (anciently Tullum Leucorum). A fortified town, capital of an arrondissement in the Department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, France, 14 miles west of Nancy (Map: France, M 3 ). The former Cathedral of Saint Etienne is noted for its graceful propor- tions, octagonal towers, and thirteenth-century cloisters; the fine Gothic Church of Saint Gen- goult also has elegant cloisters, in the flamboyant style of the sixteenth century, and the eighteenth- centurj' episcopal palace is now used as the town hall. The bishopric, founded in the fifth century, was suppressed at the time of Napoleon. In the latter part of the Middle Ages, and later down to 1552, Toul was a free city of the German Em- pire. In that year it was seized by Henry II. of France. In 1790 its fortifications were recon- structed upon the Vaubanian principle. In 1814 the town was stormed bj' the Russians, and on September 23, 1870, it was taken by the Ger- mans after a siege of nearly six weeks. Popu- lation, in 1001, 12,287. TOULMIN, tool'min, Henry (1767-1823). An American jurist, born at Taunton, England. He removed in 1703 to Virginia, and from 1794 to 1796 was president of Transylvania Univer- sity. In 1796-1804 he was Secretary of State of Kentucky, and in the latter year was ap- pointed judge of the United States Circuit Court of Mississippi. Subsequently he served in the Alabama Legislature, and assisted in framing the Constitution of that State. He published A. Deseription of Kentucky (1792); a Collection of the Acts of Kentucky (1802) ; a Digest of the Territorial Laws of Alabama (1823). TOULMIN", Joshua (1740-1815). A Uni- tarian clergyman. He was born in London; be- came pastor of a dissenting congregation in Coly- ton, Devonshire, in 1761. In 1765 he accepted a call from a Baptist congregation in Taunton. He then became a Unitarian, and in 1804 became minister of a L^nitarian congregation at Birming- ham. He published many biographies, includ- ing Memoirs of Faustus Socinus (1777); also A Historical View of the State of the Protestant Dissenters iti England Under King William (1814) ; and edited Neal's History of the Puri' tans (new ed., 5 vols., 1822). A volume of ser- mons was published after his death (1825). TOULON, too'IoN'. The capital of an arron- dissement in the French Department of Var, a fortress of the first class, and the second naval station in France ( Map : France, M 8 ) . It 13 situated on a fine and well-protected bay of the Mediterranean, 42 miles east-southeast of Mar- seilles, and is partly surrounded by hills, crowned by detached forts. The old town in the southern part of the city is of uninviting appearance. Surrounding it on the north are the modern quarters embellished with wide avenues and fine buildings. In the old town is situated the only ancient building of any particular architectural value — the Sainte Marie-Majeure Church. It is Romanesque and dates from the eleventh century. It contains