ce I always, when taking a strange officer
to sea, remained on the bridge with him at night until I had tested
his ability to distinguish colors. I cannot imagine anything more
dangerous or more likely to lead to fatal accidents than a color blind
man on a steamer's bridge."

A similar experience is thus related by Capt. Heasley, of Liverpool:
"After passing through the Straits of Gibraltar, the second officer,
who had charge of the deck, gave the order to 'port,' much to my
astonishment, for the lights to be seen about a point on the starboard
bow were a masthead and green light, but he maintained that it was a
masthead and red, and not until both ships were nearly abreast would
he acknowledge his mistake. I may add that during the rest of the
voyage I never saw him making the same mistake. As a practical seaman
I consider a great many accidents at sea arise from color blindness."

Dr. Farquharson has brought this subject before the House of Commons
in England and measures are being taken which will insure to the
traveling public immunity from accidents at sea. I need not mention
that the majority of railways of our country have a system of
examinations which prevents a color blind entering their service.

Dr. Wilson makes the suggestion that he noticed a singular expression
in the eyes of certain of the color blind difficult to describe. "In
some it amounted to a startled expression, as if they were alarmed; in
others, to an eager, aimless glance, as if seeking to perceive
something but unable to find it; and in certain others to an almost
vacant stare, as if their eyes were fixed upon objects beyond the
limit of vision. The expression referred to, which is not at all times
equally pronounced, never altogether leaves the eyes which it seems to
characterize."

Dr. B. Joy Jeffries, of Boston, has recently written an article on
this same topic, but unfortunately I have not his pamphlet at hand to
quote his views on this subject.

In this lecture I have shown that the normal eye is far sighted. The
mammalia have this kind of an eye; the Indian the same. The white man
is fast becoming near sighted. The civilized Indian is also showing
the effects of continuous near work; and now the question arises. What
are we to do to prevent further deterioration of vision? The fault
lies at our own doors. Let us try to correct these now existing evils,
so that future generations will, instead of censuring us, thank us for
our wis