Up to this time, there has not been discovered any way of positively telling from the hand the present age of a subject. There is no marking in the hand or on the lines which will, independent of everything else, indicate this. But by close observation of the general appearance, color, and skin, you can approximate the correct age within a few years. Youthful skin is fresh looking, elastic, generally well colored, and has the appearance of vitality. As age comes, the skin grows less fresh looking, takes on a satiny, glossy appearance, and gets darker, often becoming brown in spots. This satiny appearance begins at about fifty ears of age, and grows more pronounced from that time on. There is not much trouble to distinguish the hands of youth by size and appearance, neither is it hard to judge the hands of middle-aged or old persons. But from the years of twenty to fifty there is greater difficulty in reaching accuracy, though proficiency can be acquired by a close observation of skin, consistency, color, and general appearance. It is desirable to acquire skill in this matter, for knowledge of the present age of a subject will enable you to tell what events seen in his hand have passed, and about what point the subject has reached in the life map of the hand at the time your reading takes place. Until you have gained some proficiency in this respect, it is much better to ask the subject what age he has attained, and use his answer as a basis. I do not mean that you should rely absolutely upon it, for all persons will not be truthful; but they will be within reasonable distance of the correct age, and you will have to use your own judgment, based upon the appearance of the hand, as to how much they are misleading you. I believe there is a way to tell the age of a subject from the line, and have been experimenting with it for some time, but the results do not as yet warrant me in giving the method as an absolutely correct one. If the temperature of your room is exactly right, and the subject in perfect health, you will often find by pressing the Life line quite hard from the top downward so that you force all of the blood out of it, repeating, if necessary, this pressure several time, that there will sometimes appear, only for a second, a white spot in the line. In about half of the cases on which I have tried this experiment, this white spot has shown itself at the correct age of the subject. If has been successful so often that I believe if the conditions of health in the subject, and temperature of the room were always just right, that the results would be astonishing in their accuracy, but we encounter such varying conditions that I do not feel justifies in making the positive statement that age can always be discovered in this way. it will be valuable to Palmistry if this possibility can be fully established.

If our hypothesis that the lines in the hand are a map of the natural course of the life is correct, then the different portions of the lines must show to which parts of the life they refer. Experiments have clearly shown that the begriming of a line (remembering always from which end the line in question is read) records the first years, and that, as the line continues, it records the advancing years of that life.

The degree of proficiency possible to attain in reading the age at which events occur depend entirely upon the keenness and good judgment of the practitioner. There are some who can tell of an event and fix the time within a year, but those who have reached such skill are few. Others are successful with two, three, or five years. no one can do more that fix the year in which an event occurs if he relies entirely upon the rules of Palmistry. To fix scientifically a month or specific day for any event is impossible. Neither is it possible, relying solely on the hand, to tell the name of a subject, the initial of his name, or that of a friend or relative. In every case when you are asked to write these things on a paper, no matter what is apparently done with the paper, you may be absolutely certain that the practitioner is relying upon sleight of hand to enable him to read what you have written. There is no possible method either of locating "lucky days," and nothing should more quickly give the stamp of fraud than such as statement from a practitioner. neither does a scientific palmist confine himself entirely to the future, telling of wonderful things that will happen after he is gone. Such practitioners succeed because there is just enough credulity in our human nature to make us hope these things- which are always made to be pleasant- will come to pass. Any palmist who understands his art can tell past events, and if he cannot deal correctly with your character, health, temperament, and a good deal of your past life, do not put faith in his skill.

Trifling events are not shown in the hand. The mere routine of living does not appear in the life map, so any claim to trace your life from day to day is a false one, intended merely to deceive. Only important events, serious illnesses, changes of conditions, severe trials, great joys or dangers, will be seen, or those things or persons who have greatly influenced and have produced strong brain impressions upon you, or have made marked changes in the course of the life.

To be correct in reading age on the lines, we must consider how long the average human being lives. Those age measurements of the Life line which continue the life up to one hundred years and over are manifestly incorrect, for people do no often reach such ages. The tables of expectancy used by insurance companies are certainly near the facts, for they are the result of large experience, and are considered sufficiently reliable to form a basis from which the companies are willing to assume great financial risks. These tables place the length of the average insurable life at sixty-five years, but, for the purpose of allowing extra time to our subjects, it is better to assume that the human life, except in rare cases, will not greatly exceed seventy years. Thus we start a line at zero and end it at seventy. The intervening space we divide into sections mathematically exact, which point out the intervening years of life.

Life Line
The division of the Life line (19) begins at the starting of the line under the finger of Jupiter and ends at the rascette; the intervening sections recording all the various years of the life. For convenience and to facilitate quickness in reading the line, I divide it in the center, fixing that point as the age 36, which is approximately one half of 70. The space above this central point I divide into the ages 4, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and the portion of the line after the central point to read as ages 43, 51, 60, and 70. To reach a date as close as a year, it is necessary to subdivide the line between ages 4 and 70 into periods, each representing one year, and mark the space on the line, as few can so accurately gauge it with the eye. With a little practice you can recognize where the ages 4, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 43, 51, 60, and 70 are marked on the line, and learn to read these ages quickly and accurately. In a case where the indication you are reading does not come at one of these ages, you may, if you with to be very accurate, mark off the line into years and arrive at the exact date as indicated above. In reading offhand, without marking the line with a pencil, always consider whether the hand is long or short, and, after first noting the central point on the line, which indicates the 36- year division, mentally mark off the several spaces in proportion to the length of the hand. A long hand will have wider spacing between each 6- year period, and in a short one they will come closer together. The above division of the Life line I have found more accurate than any I have ever used, and, while the results obtained depend entirely upon the correct judgment of the practitioner, they can be made very accurate if sufficient pain is taken.

Heart and Head
Reading periods of time on the lines of the Heart and Head is often useful in order to see whether events marked on them fit into conditions seen on the Life line.
To estimate time on these lines the same rules must be observed, and the same remarks and reasoning apply to these line as to the Life line.
They begin under the finger of Jupiter and their course is across the hand. As these two line have many variation in the direction they pursue, I have found it best to use an imaginary line beginning in the middle of the Mount of Jupiter and running across the hand to the percussion as a guide to measure by. On this imaginary line (20) I lay out the periods of 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 43, 51, 60, and 70, and when anything is to to read on the Heart or Head line, note under which of these periods it lies, and this is found to be the proper age. If closer dates are desired mark the Heart or Head line into spaces representing single years, and proceed as directed in the use of the Life line. The above tables of measurements I have used with much success, and believe them to be correct when properly applied.

Saturn Line
Age on the line of Saturn is read form the bottom upward (21), the space from the rascette to Head line covering the years from 0 to 30, from the line of Head (normally placed) to line of Heart 30 - 45, and from line of Heart to finger of Saturn 45 - 70 years. By remembering these three general subdivisions, you will soon accustom yourself to quickly read the principal periods. If you wish to read within a year, mark off the line and proceed as with the Life line. The different directions in which the lines of Head and Heart often run across the hand make the location where the line of Saturn crosses them not always the same. If they are misplaced, producing a wide or a narrow quadrangle, do not rely on the space between them as covering the ages from 30 - 45, but at once measure the entire line of Saturn for correct dates.

Line of Apollo
The line of Apollo (22) is read from the bottom upward as is the line of Saturn, and the same rules and measurements apply to it as to the line of Saturn, and also the same methods of arriving at exact dates.

Line of Mercury
The line of Mercury (23) is read from the bottom upward, the same scale and rules applying to it as to the other lines, except that the spaces on this line are closer together, inasmuch as the line is shorter. It is often desirable to read the age on this line, as it is such a valuable line in connection with the line of Life.

It is not necessary to read age on change line. These lines will either cross the Main lines, start from them, or so near, that age on the chance line can be read from the Main line. These chance lines, which are the changes or possibilities in the natural map of the life, run in so many directions, and start from such unexpected places, that no rule can be made for reading age on them. You will, however, never have trouble in arriving at the proper dates with these lines by computing from the Main lines. No part of Palmistry requires more practice than the reading of dates, and time can be valuably employed in gaining this practice. At first you will record many failures, but it is your judgment and not the rules that is at fault. This you will prove for yourself as you become careful and deliberate in making up your mind before you speak. No one reads dates so fluently as the beginner. The older in experience he becomes, the more carefully he works and the better results he achieves. Some disappointment in line-reading comes to beginners from the fact that they do not look in the right places for events. At present few look for illness anywhere but on the Life line, while the Head, Heart, and Mercury line and the Mounts all record health afflictions, their date to be read from these lines.

References
The Laws of Scientific Hand Reading- A practical Treatise on the Art Commonly called Palmistry 1946 Benham, William. Printed and published by R. J. Taraporevala for D. B. Tarporevala Sons & Co. Bombay