Report of the Committee on Colour- Vision. 343 



and before this are medically examined to test their power of 

 vision, because if this were not absolutely normal the training- 

 would be time thrown away. 



They are examined by the officers of their own ships by the 

 method laid down in the Queen's Regulations : coloured flags 

 supplemented by Holmgren's wools. 



I do not know of any case of an officer becoming colour-blind 

 through disease. The defects that are found are generally those 

 of accommodation, and occur primarily with officers about 45 

 years of age who are presbyopic. 



To the best of my belief, there is no officer in the Service at 

 the present moment at all defective in colour-vision; that, I 

 believe, is so with regard to the executive branch, and engineers 

 who are in charge of the machinery of torpedo boats. I do not 

 think that there are any Marine or medical officers defective 

 in colour-vision. 



I know of no cases of collision, where there has been a court- 

 martial on the loss of a ship, in which any doubt has arisen as to 

 whether it occurred through inability to read the signals, except 

 that of the Iron Duke and the Vanguard, where the look-out 

 man was said to have been myopic. In such a case the question 

 would undoubtedly be thoroughly gone into, because it would be 

 the sole defence of the man. 



The look-out men are put through the card test as boys, and 

 are for five years after undergoing a constant test by their 

 instructors, with flags and bunting, from a few yards to a mile, 

 and with the telescope as well. 



If a man was wrong in his signals, he would be detected, and 

 examined by the medical officer, and then sent to hospital for 

 further observation. 



With reference to the statistics as to recruits in the Marines, I 

 have looked back for six or seven years, and find none rejected as 

 far as the Medical Officer was concerned, but they have been 

 previously sifted by the Staff-sergeants, who examine for colour- 

 and form-perception, using Holmgren's decided colours. I only 

 see one-third of those who come up, the Staff- sergeants having 

 probably rejected the rest. 



No recruits who have passed the wool test are found to be 

 inefficient subsequently among Marines, domestics, and artificers ; 

 but a small percentage, and with boys but an infinitesimal 

 number, failed subsequently. It often happens that a boy who 

 passes our test in London, and finding a life on board ship per- 

 fectly new to him, gets discontented, is told by somebody that 

 by saying he does not know what certain colours are he may 

 be sent to hospital, and invalided out of the Service ; but they 

 are examined at the hospital, and in all cases returned to their 

 vessels. 



VOL. LI. 



