Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 09.djvu/509

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TOTJSTES 447 TOULON native, as also was the Hebraist Kenni- cott. The borough was incorporated by King John. Pop. about 4,000. TOUCAN, in ornithology, the popular name of any bird of the genus Rhamphas- tos, often applied to the whole family Rhamphastidse. They are all natives of tropical America, and are easily distin- guished by their enormous bill, irregu- larly toothed along the margin of the mandibles. All the species live in pairs in the shade of the forests, occasionally congregating in small parties, but never approaching the human habitations In the true toucans the ground color of the plumage is generally black; the throat, breast, and rump adorned with white, yellow and red; the body is short and thick; tail rounded or even, varying in length in the different species, and ca- pable of being turned up over the back when the bird goes to roost. Toucans have been described as carnivorous; in captivity they will readily devour small birds, but probably in a state of nature their diet consists almost exclusively of fruit. They are remarkable among birds for a regurgitation of food, which, after being swallowed, is brought up to under- go mastication, an operation somewhat analogous to the chewing of the cud among ruminants. They are easily tamed, and bear confinement well, even in cold climates. TOUCH, in fine arts, the peculiar handling usual to an artist, and by which his work may be known. In music, the resistance made to the fingers by the keys of a pianoforte or organ. Also, the pe- culiar manner in which a player presses the keyboard, whether light, pearly, heavy, clumsy, firm, etc. In obstetrics, the examination of the mouth of the womb by actual contact of the hand or fingers. In physiology, the sense through which man takes cognizance of the palpable properties of bodies. In a wide appli- cation, it is sometimes called the gen- eral sense, because by it we become con- scious of all sensory impressions which are not the objects of smell, sight, taste, or hearing, which are called the special senses; even these, however, are held by modern biologists to be highly spe- cialized forms of touch, which is often called the "mother of all the senses." In a more limited application, touch is applied to that modification of general sensibility which is restricted to the tegu- mentary surface or to some special por- tion of it, and which serves to convey definite ideas as to the form, size, num- ber, weight, temperature, hardness, soft- ness, etc., of objects brought within its cognizance. These sensations are I'e- ceived by the terminations of the cuta- neous nerves and thence conveyed to the brain. The sense of touch is distributed fiver the surface of the body, but is much more acute in some parts than in others, e. g., in the hand. It is also capable of great improvement and development; and the blind, who have to depend large- ly on the sense of touch for guidance, acquire extraordinarily delicate and ac- curate powers of perception with the fin- gers; difference of form, size, consistence, and other characters, being readily rec- ognized that are quite inappreciable to those who possess good vision, without special education. In comparative physiology, the lower anthropidje have both the hands and feet thickly set with tactile papillae, and the surface of the prehensile tail which some possess is furnished with them in abun- dance. Other organs of touch exist in the vibrissas, or whiskers, of the cat, and of certain rodents. In the Ungulata, the lips and nostrils are probably the chief seat of tactile sensibility, and this is especially so with the Proboscidea. In birds, tactile papillae have been discov- ered in the feet, and they are also pres- ent in some lizards. Organs of touch are found in the tentacles of the Cepha- lopoda and Gasteropoda, the palpi and antennae of insects, and the palpi of the Arachnida. TOUL, a town of France, department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, on the Moselle, 12 miles W. of Nancy. It is strongly fortified, and has a fine Gothic cathe- dral, completed in the 15th century, Toul was taken in the Franco-German War after a siege of five weeks, Sept. 28, 1870. Pop. (1906), 13,345. TOULON, a French naval arsenal of the first class, in the department of Var; beautifully situated on a deep inlet of the Mediterranean, formed by the penin- sula of Sepet; 40 miles S. E. of Mar- seilles. It is built at the foot of the Pharon Hills, which protect the city on the N., and are partly covered with fine forests. Defended by a strong citadel, girt with a double-bastioned wall, and surrounded by some 15 forts and re- doubts, it is, next to Brest and Cher- bourg, the principal naval station of France. The town is divided into old and new parts, the former quaint and dingy, the latter containing the public buildings erected by Louis XIV. and sev- eral spacious squares, as the Champs de Battaile, Puget, and St. Pierre. Among the chief buildings are the Hotel de Ville with caryatides by Puget, the Hot^l de rintendance, the cathedral of St. Marie