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No. XIII.—SENSES. By Dr. BEDDOE, F.B.S. 
Sight and hearing are generally supposed to be more acute 
in persons belonging to tribes who have long dwelt in open 
countries and led a nomadic or insecure life. Myopia (short 
sight) is thought to be extremely rare among savages, who 
exercise the eye very little on minute objects, while their 
smell is more acute than fastidious. But exact data on these 
subjects are wanting. 
For the testing of clearness of vision, the accompanying test- 
papers used in the army for recruiting purposes may be useful. 
Bower of distant vision can only be tested by extemporized 
modes of comparison with that of Europeans. It has been 
noticed that amongst North-American Indians a small distant 
object on the prairies will be recognized by each individual at 
the same instant and give rise to a simultaneous exclamation 
from the whole party. The power of judging distance may be 
greatly improved by practice ; but some men show far greater 
natural aptitude than others. In the case of native troops, 
when judging-distance practice is conducted according to the 
English method, the results of the practice should be recorded *. 
The existence of Myopia , where suspected, may be ascertained 
by the improvement gained by the use of biconcave (short¬ 
sighted) spectacles. 
Hearing may be tested by means of a ticking watch brought 
gradually nearer to the ear. The experiment should be tried 
several times: it is one very liabl to vitiation by the inter- 
* The following are the rules for judging-distance practice; the 
object judged from is usually a group of two or three men ; the 
number of answers and points obtained should be recorded. 
The value of the men’s answers, by points, in the several classes 
is as follows:— 
3rd class, or when judging distance ] ^ yards 3 points. 
between 100 and 300 yards .... ) ” n v , 
( ,, 15 „ 1 point. 
2nd class, or when judging distance ) within 20 yards 2 points, 
between 300 and 600 yards .... | „ 30 „ 1 point. 
1st class, or when judging distance j within 30 yards 2 points. 
between 600 and 900 yards_) „ 40 „ 1 point. 
c 
