OR COLOUR BLINDNESS. 163 
young woman 32 or 33 years old, came to consult him about her 
sight, which, although excellent in other respects, incapacitated 
her from appreciating any other colour than white and black, 
although she could often read for nearly a quarter of an hour in 
the greatest darkness. 
This last circumstance, which is very extraordinary, appears 
to be rather frequent with daltonians. We shall find several 
instances related, especially by English physicians, such as Dr. 
Colquhoun and Dr. Nicholl. Spurzheim* mentions a family all 
the members of which could only distinguish black and white. 
Mr. Huddart} mentions a man named Harris, a shoemaker at 
Maryport in Cumberland, who distinguished in colours only 
tints of luminous intensity, calling all bright tints white and all 
dull ones black. He one day found in the street a child’s stock- 
ing, and was much surprized at hearing it called red, whereas 
he himself thought he had defined it completely by calling it a 
stocking. This circumstance revealed to him the imperfection 
in his sight, and made him understand why his little companions 
perceived something else besides a difference of form and posi- 
tion between the leaves and the fruit of the cherry-tree. Two 
of the brothers of Harris had the same imperfection as he, whilst 
two other brothers, his sisters and his relations, had a normal 
vision. 
§ 3. Cases of Polychromatic Daliomsm. 
Mr. Harvey{ mentions a tailor at Plymouth who perceives in 
the rainbow and in the spectrum only two tints, yellow and light 
blue. The only colours which he distinguishes exactly are white, 
yellow and green. It is said that he one day sewed a scarlet 
piece on to a pair of black silk breeches. Black appears to him 
in general green, sometimes crimson; blue appears dark blue, 
crimson or black ; violet is blue, unless it is very bright; green 
is black and brown; carmine, red lake, crimson appear blue; 
brown appears green; the dark orange tints are brown, and the 
light ones are yellow. 
Sir J. Herschel§ mentions a distinguished optician (Mr. 
* G. Spurzheim. Phrenology, 3rd edit. p. 276. J. De Ville. Manual of 
Phrenology. London, 1835, p. 108. 
+ An account of persons who could not distinguish colours, by Mr. Jos. 
Huddart, in a letter to the Rev. Jos. Priestley (London, Jan. 15, 1777).—Phil. 
Trans., vol. lxvii. p. 260. 
{ Edinb. Phil. Trans., vol. x. p. 253. Phil. Mag. S. 1. vol. Ixviii. p. 205. 
Edinb. Journal of Science, vol. v. p. 114. Bib. Univ., tome xxxv. p. 175. 
§ Article ‘Light’ in the Encyclopedia Metropolitana, § 507, p. 345. Traité 
de la Lumiére, traduit par MM. Quételet et Verhulst, tome i. p. 305. 
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