A WONDEKFUL ANIMAL. 93 



to the age of 65, but blind old women far outnumbered tbe blind 

 old men. The occupation of the majority of these blind persons 

 was basket-making', but music was the vocation of many of them, 

 either teaching or actually performing. Six blind doctors appear 

 in the list, and two blind veterinary surgeons ; three blind dentists 

 are gruesomely suggestive of new horrors added to a terrible craft ; 

 and, most extraordinary of all, there are two sightless photo- 

 graphers. The blind pianoforte-tuners, who are very numerous, 

 appear to have been included in the census returns under the head 

 of musicians. 



As an example of the wonderful perfection of functional speciali- 

 zation to which the eye can attain, I may state that it is credibly 

 affirmed that signalmen in their cabins on the railway are able 

 to detect and recognize the inspectors for whom they watch as 

 they pass in the trains at full speed. But, indeed, the most casual 

 phenomena of the vision are altogether marvellous when we think 

 of the tiny pinhole, the pupil, through which we look out and 

 survey the world, through which our sense not only embraces 

 many miles of landscape, but perceives such trifles as the minute 

 deflection of the globe of another person's eye in " meeting 

 a glance." 



It is very difficult to deceive the eye, though the eye may 

 deceive us ; of this striking instances might be given. 



It is possible that sight is somewhat complementary to hearing, 

 as smell is to taste, for, when we are listening, we turn our eyes, 

 although the face is averted to bring the ear round. We also have 

 some power of hearing through the open mouth. 



But hearing does not present so many curiosities as does the 

 sense of sight. Our external ears are not of much use ; people 

 get on very well without them. 



The dullest and most neglected sense is that of smell ; we prac- 

 tically make scarcely any use of it. It is the only sense that does 

 not sleep, and it is said to be more acute when we are asleep than 

 when we are awake, odours then being very distinctly perceived 

 by the olfactory nerves. 



In no animal is the sense of taste so much developed by education 

 as it is in man. People experienced in tasting wine can recognize 

 different vintages without any hesitation. Many animals can taste 

 their food very little, if at all. Birds with their horny tongues, 

 and reptiles which swallow their prey whole, can have no palatal 

 refinement, and yet they are discriminative to a great extent. 



The sense of taste is shared by the tongue with the rest of the 

 mouth, but the tongue is also a tactile organ. Mr. Herbert 



