The third class of idiosyncrasies are not so common, but much more difficult to overcome. These are both pre-natal and post-natal impressions. The action of the human mind is one of the most unexplainable things of nature. Its freaks and variations are unlimited, and are to be observed outside, as well as inside of lunatic asylums. The influence of the mind over the body is so great that a very enthusiastic religious order undertake to heal all diseases by faith, which is, in fact, a mind cure. Some physicians estimate that forty per cent, of the ordinary diseases exist only in the imagination, and the success of the faith healers and hypnotists would seem to give strong support to the view that a large per cent, have no other existence. It is reported that there is an institution in Paris where sham surgical operations are performed on those who think that nothing else will cure them. It is said that the patient is given an anaesthetic, a scratch and a few stitches, and is then cured. Very amusing instances of how the mind is affected are reported from time to time, and as an apt illustration of what imagination will do, let me report what the doctor declares actually happened:

"One evening, about seven o'clock, I received a telephone call to come to X.'s at once; that he had a fish bone in his throat and was about to die. I immediately gathered what instruments I thought might be needed and hastened to X.'s residence, and found him lying flat on the floor, writhing in agony and blue from holding his breath, because of his fear that breathing would draw the bone further down his throat. The family were wailing and hysterical, and were under the belief that the head of the household was about to pass over. Upon inquiry I found that the patient had eaten fish and dry toast, and after a careful examination, nothing was discoverable except a slight scratch on one of his tonsils, probably made by the toast. After a moment's reflection, I concluded that it was necessary to relieve the patient's mind, so I told him I would remove the bone in a moment; and, under pretext of sterilizing my instruments, went to the kitchen and got a fish bone, fixed it in the instrument and went through the motions as if to remove the bone, pricked the tonsil slightly, withdrew the instrument and held up the supposed offender.

The effect was magical; and, after looking at the bone and taking two or three swallows of water to see that all was clear, he declared that the relief he experienced was something remarkable." Physicians often cure by suggestion, as illustrated by the experience of another physician. One of his female patients had a chill every day at eleven o'clock. After treating her for several days without apparent benefit, he concluded that it was more hysterical than anything else; so he told the patient that he would have to give her an extraordinary remedy; that it was very dangerous if not used just right, but that it could not possibly fail to stop the chill. The doctor then gave her a small bottle of water and instructed her to take it exactly ten minutes before eleven - the time the chill usually began. The doctor took particular pains to impress the patient with the fact that she could not possibly have another chill - and she didn't.

Repugnance to certain foods is often due to mental impressions. We know a cultured gentleman, who is nauseated at the sight of a raw oyster. He explains his peculiarity in this way: When he was about ten years old he made his first trip to a seacoast town where oysters were plentiful. Now, to an unsophisticated country youth, a raw oyster is certainly a slimy, repulsive looking object, and at first sight, to see a man gulp down big, slimy-looking oysters, made such a nauseating impression on him that he cannot to this day tolerate raw oysters, although the incident occurred more than fifty years ago.

One of the most noticeable effects of pre-natal influences is a man who constantly appears as if drunk, although he does not use alcoholic liquor at all. He has ordinary intelligence and physical vigor. His peculiar condition is due to his mother's fright during gestation, at some threatened danger from a drunken man.

A frequently-observed physiological perversion of the appetite is that which so often occurs during the period of gestation. During this time there is often a vague longing for some special article of food to which the person may or may not have been accustomed, e. g., ice cream, etc., and occasionally this desire extends to unwholesome articles of food, as decaying fruit, and even to substances not used for food, e. g., coffee grounds and even dirt.

These perversions may be very distressing, especially it the particular article desired cannot be obtained.

In contrast with the perverted desire, we have aversion to certain foods which previous to the advent of gestation had been liked. These likes and dislikes, to some degree, may be transmitted to the offspring. On account of the possible effect upon the child, the mother should, so far as possible, avoid anxiety concerning any peculiar tendencies of the appetite which may arise, and confine herself to the usual diet to which she is accustomed, if it be wholesome.

A discussion of pre-natal influences would make a volume of itself, and a good understanding of the subject is necessary for race-elevation. The object of all that has here been presented is to show that we are largely creatures of whims and accident, and that the mind can be trained to govern appetite and throw off disease. Very strong mental impressions can usually only be removed by hypnotic suggestion, but ordinarily our likes and dislikes can be controlled by the will. The appetite for celery is acquired, as very few grown people will eat celery the first time it is offered. People are certain to dislike whatever they make up their minds that they won't like, and can easily learn to like anything the same way. We know a boy who was given pills in peach preserves, and it was years before he could disassociate them. It is very nonsensical to cultivate a dislike for foods because their appearance does not always please our vision.

An unnatural or perverted sense of smell is not so common as that of taste, but it is more annoying. The causes are much the same as idiosyncrasy, except that disease is more of a factor. Errors in diet often cause nausea, vomiting and fainting, which, in turn, may affect the sense of smell and create a disgust for food, and increase the illness for the want of it. Strong extracts of cologne will often bring on attacks of dizziness and vertigo, and the odor of flowers frequently excite violent attacks of hay fever. The odor of the oleander has been known to create a disgust for flowers that never could be overcome. The ancients well knew the influence of flowers, and they were used as a potent aid in love, intrigue and even crime. Tube roses have been known to produce melancholy to a degree of wild insanity, and it can be truly said of them that they arc hardly less sad than beautiful. Almost every person dislikes one or more foods, because of the odor produced. When the smell of any particular food or all foods give offense, the odor arising from cooking should carefully be avoided, and if necessary the meals should be eaten in the open air. A great deal can be accomplished by firmness. Most horses will not eat pumkin until starved to it.

The method is very simple; the horse is put in the stable and pumkins in the feed-box. No other food or drink is given until the pumkins are eaten, and ever afterward the pumpkins areas well relished as oats. We are not prepared to advocate this method as an aid to the correction of a perverted sense of taste or smell, but we do know that hunger makes great changes in our tolerance of food. This is illustrated by a gentleman who took a long bicycle ride in the country. For some unaccountable reason he had great antipathy to the odor of raspberries and could not bear the sight of them, for he in some way associated them with the odor of a certain little animal known to be capable of nauseating an entire neighborhood. About ten o'clock in the morning he became ravenously hungry, so he decided to stop at a farm house and get a lunch; but to his chagrin he found no one there except a little girl. She told her uninvited guest that she did not belong to the family and could not give him anything to eat except the berries which she had gathered to which he was welcome. Not thinking of raspberries, and being hungry enough to eat anything, the kind offer was accepted. The little girl brought the berries, and before he could refuse, she had delivered them into the gentleman's hands.

The novelty of the situation, together with his hunger, overcame his repugnance to the fruit, and he has been fond of them ever since.

Judicious flavoring and repeated trials will bring the appetite to favor suitable foods.

The best cure for all peculiarities is to prevent them, by proper living, as we have pointed out.