The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The Marvel That is the Eye of Man. Th« MarvrJ That I* the Ey» of Man . . . Tbe orifln of the faculty of vtoion ia hidden In the deptba of ceologlcal an- miltr. The creature wtilch first de- VMoped a senae organ for recelvUng Of raplM ether-wATea of light cannot aoir be traoed. lU la»t remeine have seen detrtroyed In the vaat churnlngs iad boiling ot the earth'» crust which preceded the Cambrian epoch. The Cunbrlau rocke theouielves are full of foMlls, mostly of that cross between • king crab and a wood louse which ire call a trlloblte. And the trilobltes irere endowed with eyes of great com- plexity, consisting of thouaande of lenses, which must have taken mll- Ulons of years to develop from more rudiimentary organs. We do know that green plants are aenaitlve to light, but their "vision" «annot in any case exceed the general Impression of luminosity which we have in a thick tog, The animal world acquired vision In order the belter to seek its prey or to escape from Its enemies. It was no doubt the latter purpose which was eerved by that lost "third eye," the pineal eye in the top of tho head, the remains of which are conspicuous in the chameleon and are faintly discern- ible eveu in man. A Complicatsd Organ. The eye ot man is a composite or- gan of a fourfold complexity. It has Bomie 100,000,000 separate receivers, some ot whicli are adapted to vision in eeniidarlii: 's.s, while the rest are spe- cialized to perceive the three primary colors in a gcotl light. The former are the "rods" ot the retina, minute cylin- ders of piles of discs clothed in a pur- ple pignif nt which becomes yellow and finally white under the action of light and has to be renewed before vlsilon can continue. The color-sensitive ele- ments or "conea" are chiefly concen- trated in the "yellow spot" of the re- tina, which we instinctlvelj* use tor cleaifvst vi.iion. Develops Near-Slghtedness. It is only recently that the peculi- arities ot "red-vision" have been fully elucidated. Astronomers have been practicing "averted vision" for some time and have found that a taint star Is more clearly discerned when It Is not gazed at directly, for in the latter case its Image Is' received on the cones covering the yellow spot, and these are often insufficiently sensitive. Ghosts, wlll-o'-tIie-wi,sp8, fleeting vlslions in darkened rooms and the so-called "N- rays" are now all classed as phenom- ena ot rod-vision. Had tho sun lost moBt of its light, or had man become an excluBilvely night-hunting aiflmal since his appearonce on earth, his optical equipiment would no doubt by this time show nothing but rods on his retina. Instead, man ha.s evolved into a be- ing with a quick and keen perception at color and a fine distinction of detail at a comparatively short range. His constant occupation with cloae-range work tends to made him near-sighted, B motlifleation which Is an adaptation l»ther than a detect. The human eye is not a perfect In- strument As a telescope, a micro- scope or a camera obscura. It has de- fect.? such as a good instrument- maker would not tolerate, but as a eombinaUon ot all three it Is unsur- passed. In the course ot Its age-long evolution it has adapted Itself to sun- light to an extent which we have only la recent years been able to appreci- Bts. It is most sensitive to the green- Ish-yeUow raya ot sunlight â€" which, qualitatively, Is the same as daylight -^nd its rod-vision Is well adapted to starlight and moonlight, though the latter is equivalent to the light of only a single candle ten feet away. Yet this wonderful human sense- organ is in many respects inferior to â- imi'ar organs possessed by animals. We acknowledge this every time we talk of a man poGse^sIng the "vision Of a hawk." It Is tke brain behind the eye, and more particularly the Ttaual area ot the cerebral oortex at Hie back of the head, which obnters upon man hie superiority. It Is when visions Flash upon that Inward eye Which Is the bliss of solitude that the sense of sight becomes of paramount importance. The human eye, aided by the human brain, sees countless details of beauty and utility where a less endowed organ perceives only a barren waste of meaningless light and shade. It has been said with some truth that "tho human brain is the work ot the human hand" In tho sense that man's freely moving hand maps out spa^erelattons and brings about the co-ordination between eight and touch which builds up a micro-rosmlc replica of Uie external world In which the brain may exer- cise Its functions. The brain, thus educated. Is enabled N> wideu the soope and range of Its JJthful organs o* sense. From paleo- lithic times onward ptctoraj art has created symbolic representations of fleeting events destined to render the â- tcht ot them permanent and unfoi^ (ettable. Hie microscope baa enabled tite otMerrer to convert himself, when- erer he chooses, into a bomunculus •rreral thousand times small«r than tklnwelf and to live for a tlnM In an appalling world of strange and swarm- tas life. The tel«<9Covo In Its most ad- Tanced form collects as much of the Ilcht of a star Into a single eye as falls upon the pupils ot the whole populr.Mon at Alanchester. It brings the r «>c.n wl.b'a t^9 distance which separa'tes Ireland from Wales, and enlarges It to an extent more than suf- ficient to make it fill the w hole sky. New Worlds to Conquer. These are tho commonplaces of human achievement. More recent day* have added greater and more wonderful resources. The cinemato- graph has dona for tlmo what the telescope did tor space. lu latest development acts, indeed, like a tlme- mlcroscope, which enables us to draw out rapid movements so as to examine them at leisure. And, quite apart from these visible things, we have be- gun to attack things Invisible and bring them within our range of vision. Roentgen rays, aided by fluorescent screens, reveal the secrets normally bidden behind human flesh and skin. The selenium cell and the optophone render visual effects accessible even to those who are deprived ot the sense ot sight. The bolometer, the thermop- Ible and the photographiic plate open up entire realms or radiation whose very existence was unsuspected a couple of generations ago. Where will it all epd? Whither are we tending? Are theru any worlda left to conquer? The last questilon wild proliably raise a smile on the faces of the next generation. Nature's Lucky-Bag. As a people we get into the habit of taking things for granted. For in stance, we seldom realize that we are Indebted to Nature for other things than our daily food. But if we think tor a tew moments we shall see that at every turn, we should be very badly off if It were not tor Naturei's wonder- ful gifts. Who would ever dream that the pretty, colored, shivery table-jelly, looking on our tables like fairy fare was once connected with cows' and calves' feet, and, in some instances; comas from bone and hide clippings. The size used in paste and glue la a poorer Jpnd of gelatine, which Is made from parchment clippings, old leather, and rabbit and fish akin. Fur coats are made from the skin ot thick-furred animals, such as the seal, beaver, mole, and even the hum ble rabbit and rat. Squirrels, and not camels, are re- sponsible for the "camel hair" paint brushes which are named after Mr. Camel, who Invented them. The hairs used come from the tip of the squir- rel's "brush." The elephant's tusks provide us with ivory of the very best kind. The tusks ot the walrus, narwhal, and hip- popotamus yield slightly Inferiior kinOs of ivory, which are used tor making knife-handles and ornaments. Many other articles ot a like nature are made of highly polished bone. Artificial flowers are sometimes made from the iridescent scales of fishes'; while some fish also give us oIU "Train" oil, which is used as a lubricant for machinery, is procured from tlie blubber of the whale; and, of course, you are all familiar with cod- liver oil! Then, too, a very reliable burning oil is pi-ocursd from the cock- chafer. All our clothes are Indirectly given us hy animals^ as wool from sheep, and even dogs' hairs can be made up into clothing material. Silk made by that ugly creature, the silk-worm, is so lai-gely used tliat lu tlie South of France hundreds ot hous-ea are given over entirely to breeding thesie grubs. Your bath sponge was once alive at the bottom ot the sea; and your coral necklace was made by thousami.s ot marine Insects. Another Insect, the cochineal, which lives on the cactus plants ot Mexico yields a wonderful, harmless dye when dried and boiled. New Methods. Dorcas â€" "I suppose, la your cam- paign for the State Senatorship you'll go around kls.s-Ing all the babies in your district." Phllippa -"Noiie. Old stuff. Babies can't vote. But the men can." The Perfect Servant It seems to us that the perfect ser- vant â€" from tho theoretical point of viewâ€" has been Identified. As a mat- ter of fact he would have been more satisfactory even to his mister it ho had been I-eas perfect and a Uttlo more human. Dickens used to tell a story of his biographer, John Ftorster. Fors-ter had a devoted and skillful servant, Henry, who was always moet correct In every- thing he did. It was therefore aston- ishing one night when Fors-ter was en- tiertalnllng several writers at dinner to see the scrup\ilou8 Henry make er- ror after error. He up»et a plate of soup, and Forster uttered a cry of alarm. He fogot to serve the sauce for the flsti, and his master said, "Why, Henry!" Altogether he made the excellent dinner seem a slovenly and poor re- past. When at the end of It he leaned over Vorster's chair and said In a tre- moioua voice: "Please, sir, can yon spare me now ? My house has been on Are (or the last two hours." :i Exit Romence. Now tiiat Lhasa Is nc more the For- bidden City, Bagdad, is no longer iso- lated by dei^erts inipasiiuble to any- thing but camels, Tlmbucioo is an air- station, and KumassI l-.us opened a magnificent college, the Westernising of tlie v.'orld seems to be going on at i-uch a pace tliat romance wiU soon liave to tako a back seat or get Into communication with Mars in order to open fresh fields. Of cour: e, the aeroplane has done much to knock the mystery out of things. When one can Hy over a for- est which was. hitlierto impenetrable, that fact alone take.s all the romance out ot tho dark and disnril wood. Similarly with tho desert. There Is a fortnightly aeroplane service be- tween I'ah'stine, Egypt r.nd Bagdad, which takes very little account of the terrors ot the desert, wlilch have frightened folk for thoue.inda of years. To-day, too, l.^nJoJ proprietora visit their distant estates In Iraq by motor- car, whereas a few years ago they dared not go In any fashion without an armed guard. Thero are taxi-cabs in the Mesopotamian towns, and gaso- line motor-launches on the Tigris. There is also a university in Bad- dad, as there is in that other mamory- haunted city of Khartoum. But the must wonderful change has come over Kumassi, or Coomasae, as the newspapers called it when Sir Garnet (afterwards Viscount) Wolse- ley's e.xpedition went there In the first Ashantl War. ' Then it v/aa a veritable city of blood, if a collection of mud and straw huts could be called a city at all. To-day it has electric light and a splendid college. Needless to say, it la now as sate to live in Kumassi as. to live in London, and the fierce and blood-thirsty Ash- antis have become law-abiding citi- zens. Yet there are still people who say civilization Is on its las't legs. The Prince of Wales, probably the best advertised man lu the world, opened tho business sessions of the great International advertising conven- tion at Wembley, England, recently, where he was faced by an assembly of more tlian 5,000 delegates. Modesty Was a Characteristic of Many of the Great Masters. Mode^y Is a trait in character -which many people ot the twentieth century lack. Indeed this theme provides newspaper writers nowadays with the opportunity of making vitriolic at^ tacks upon present day mannersi, bob- bed hair and kindred subjects. Thesfl writers'. If they so desired, could point to many of the world- tamed composers as great exponents of modesty. For example, Verdi was never heard to speak of his operas, it Is said, as "My Trovatore," or "My Rlgoletto." When asiked If he tliought his name would become immortal, G-ounod once said, "No, I have done nothing to up- lift mankind." Once beseiged by ad- mirers tor his autograph, he replied, "Why do you want It? It Is not ot a great man." Weber avoided persons who he knew would refer to his compositions as great works'. He liked to get away from people who knew him. and often requested that his music bo not played within his hearing. Liiszt said of music, "It is often but a road to sorrow and despair," mean- ing that so many composers do not succeed. Rubinstein was o( a_ sad temperament, as was also Chopin; and both were "painfully" modest. Chopin said, "If my work is of real value it may be heard after I am gone; but I hoi)o they will never prefix to my name any oUier title than 'mon- sieur.' I dislike to hear any man ad- dressed as a 'master.' and still more to be spoken of as 'Uie great.' " Music soothes asi well as fires the soul of man. Of the Marseillaise Hymn, Roger de Lisle wrote, "It Is a gHKHl hymn, I suppose; but as to its becomlr.g Immortal, why should it?" Mascagnl said of his Cavalleria, "Oh, it wUl bring me money, not fame. Fame bel-ongs to an age tliat is pass- ed." Yet the Intermezzo Is to-day among the l)est-known pieces ot music that h-ave come to us since Gounod's Faust m-ade Paris proclaim lilm "A great of greatest eomposere." Schubert wrote of his Serenade, "It really pleases me! why I cannot say." What greater examples ot modesty than these would one want? Technical schools In Tokio, Japan, are now holding special classes in architecture for girls. Hebridean Colonization Tho preReiit tendency in Canada to- wards the achievement of a more sat- isfactory settlement and speedier as- similation ot new settlers cannot be better Illustrated than in tho manner of the settlement of tho many hun- dreds ot crottera from the islands of the Hebrides who In the past couple ot years have located on farms in Western Canada. The movements of these crofter farmers has been an eminently satisfactory one, removing these hard-working and highly desir- able people from their native homes, where the outlook was most unpromis- ing, and adding them to Canada's population with the greatest assurance of their pei-manent success. Taking advantage of the untoward circumstances in the northern lands, the Canadian Paciflc Railway under- took to move numbers of the Inhablt- ! ants of the Hebrides to Western Can- ! ada, and through the co-operation of j the Federal Government and the sym- ' pathetic assistance of varl'ous private f bodies, their settlement was accomp- lished. The desires- expressed for I community settlement were met, as I far as circumstances would permit, land the crofters established on farms in two districts near Ciilgary and Ed- ] monton. Here, in tlje brief time which has elapsed, they have won unlfoi-m success In tlielr farming efforts, aro satis-fled with their conditions and prospects and h-ave given encourage- I ment to a ftu'tlier movement. In the i past t-welve months something like I 700 crofters and Ihelr (amllies have been moved and settled In Western Canada. Scottish Immigrant Aid Society. The Rev. Fatlior R. A. MiicDunneli, who has tJirougbcut been the prime agent la accomplishing the movement, accompanying parties from Scotland, travelling through with them to West- ern C-anada, and pei-sonally supervis- ing their settlement, waa largely re- aponslbe for the formation of the Scot- tish Immigrant Aid Society to carry on the work of moving these people, and Is its- nMna.glug director, .\fter being responsible for the movement ot several small p-artles jf Hel)rid9.;u crofters already this year, he has rn- tiirned to Scotland anil will relu<'u in August with a iwirty expected to num- ber aboiit 600, which he will settle on farms In Alberta. Tlie niannpr of their settlement will be a novel one in Canadian cuK]uiza- tlon. aa\.\ tho Scottisli Immigrant \\d Society Is seUing out to effect a real and gratifying settlement work. Their aim is the establishment of an Heb. ridean farming colony which, having regard to the settl-ement of former set- tlers from the Islands, they will have , no great dlfflculty In accomplishing. | The basis ot their work Is the assum- ' ption that the greatest drawback to , satisfactory colonization is the lacl*' ot housing accommodation for new settlers, and assistance to them, for the first few years, after they take up farming operation. The Fire Lit â€" Larder Full. I'-oair direcfars of the Society have contributed $18,000, and this .sum Is expected to be swelled by contribu- tions from others Interested in Cana- dian colonization ajid tlie settlement of Hthrldean ci'oftei-s. With this pre- liminary amount fcurteen cottages are to be built, and funds secured by the Society, through participating in the British Empire Settlement A-ct, will enable them to erect an additional hundred cott.-iges. These are to be buiit .on land in AlbeT;a west ot Red Deer. The Society secures a tweuty- I year lease on tho land and erects thereon a cottage for the prospective setitler who has been a farmer, crofter, or farm laborer In the old land. The settler gets a lease ot the cottage and P'lot for one year, renewable for a second ye.nr, and, under exceptional circumstances, a third. These cot- tages .aje t'3 be homes for the settlers whll'st they are learning the ways' of the country and Uie farming methods of Western Canada. Hebridean croftens arriving from their northern Island homes, after travelling the thousanda of mll-es by land and sea, instead of having to undergo Uie customary hardships of pioneering, will And a home awaiting each of them, with a fire burning and the house stocked with provisions. In Canada's, experience T\-ith the flnst Hebridenns lies the best of assur- ances ot the success of Father Mao- Donnell's Alberta colony. Latch-Key Lore. Most of us, when we use a latch-key In entering a house, have no tliought of the historlcfll signiflcauce of tlie ac- tion. Yet the latdi-key has a »-ymbol- ism entirely its own. Examlue the images of Uie Egyptian deities in the British Museum, and you will notice in the hands of some ot them a cross with a clroular handle. It represents the Ankh, or key of lite, one ot the oldest of all religious sym- bols, denoting the power to open and clcse the dooM of heaven. The key has a magical meaning for the Greeks and Iloinaus. Their gods were often given the UUe ot Key- bearer as, for example, .lames, the god of gates, who was suppcscd to unlock tho Ucors- ot war and peace. In early Chrlstlain history the .â- jymbol ot the key was asjoclateil with St. I'eter, with his two key.s of gold and Iron. In the Middle Age* tlie key was used to a.ssist in the identilicatioin of guilty persons. If, tor Instance, a theft had been committed, a key was laid on the open page of a Bible, when it was supposed to move towards the culprit. Wedding rings had their or- igin In the key presented to the Ro- man bride by her husband, as a sign of her authority in his hou.sehold. An Artist in a Diving Suit. When .Mr. /^arU H. PrItohard» Ui« painter of uudorwater seasoapee, ««ii^ to Tahiti he tried to borrow tiie divlns equipment bclouglnc to the native prince of chieftain, Narll Salmon. But Naril let him have It on.y on bla lay- ing a wi'Ktir 'haX he uould paint undM*- water a scene Uiat Narll, himeetf >a admirable swimmer and diver, shotld recognize as true. Narll, who was entirely skeptical, wont along la U>9 barge and helped fasten Mr. Pritchard Into tho diving dross, which was not a full suit, but a helmet, a bresM-plato and a tight waterproof upper gar- ment. The artist was already exparl- enciug qunlms conoerning the ade- quacy of the equipment when Narll, with tho circular, oopper-framed glass window of Uio helmet in hl» hand, said: ".Now ll&ton. You 'ug this lite line onco â€" more air; twiceâ€" Ie£«i air; tliree times â€" we go ahead; four tlmies â€" I will paint here; five times â€" sharks," "He spoke without the leasit euM> tl-on," says Mr. Pritchard in his narra- tive of the incident in a rocent number of Asia. " 'What!' I cried, 'Sharks! Have I got to count one, t-wo, three, four, flvti when a shark, the swiftest of swImmci-B, lis coming for me? , Can't it be once for uliarkaT' Clash came the glass almost on my nose, and then an emphatic, 'Shut up!' " Mr. Pritchard won tho wa^erâ€" i which at onoe converted Narrl and bl9 crow Into ardent friends and cham- pions â€" and ho eucouterod no shai'ks. On a later occasion, however, anotlier creature ot the ti-oplc seas gave him an extremely bad minute. "Taa, ipy diver, took me on© day to a sort ot underwater cul-de-sac with eorai walls. NaiTow, vertical Assures in the rock stood out blue against thq dead yellow structure at the back. I .saw to my astonishment what t thought -tvas a &>eti anemone hnnglni vertically against one of the blue fl*l sures. I had always seen such a crea^ turo attached horizontally and wld*; open In dayllglit. This was closed. It' was round and bulging and waa grow> ing larger every moment And then I saw below the round mass gazing straight at me two hideous eyes! I looked again. The loathsome creature was pushing Itself out from tlie deep blue cavern through the narrow fla-. sure. Soon one c-r more ot its eight' arms ten or fifteen feet long would reach out, and there would be an endl of mo! I confess I madly unhooked my an- chor stone and rose to the canoe,- strtking my head on the bottom of It in my panic. Taa drew me in as fast as he could wtile I s-houted breathless- ly, 'Octopusi!' I seemed to have an Inv terminable length of leg to pull Inl T-aa snatched up his long octopus spear, a slim three-sided French bay-^ one* on Uie end of a twenty-foot hard- wood pole. He hurled It with tie sure, swift aim of the Tahltian. It stru-ck;' Tho beast struggled and writhed against Uxo wall, but presently worked fi-ee ot the spear, which Taa recover- ed. The bayonet had struck bet-w»ett its body and one of the arm», and itt the struggle to loosen Itself the crea- ture had jammed the bayonet against the fissure and while ti-ying tx> draw back into the cavern had bent the steel so that it was curved when wiUi- drawu. For days afterward the water In the lagoon was ainoky brown from the liquid the octopuB had emitted! while fighting for its life." Then He Qot Red. He (as they strolled along) -"What was the first thing you saw turn green ihls spring, dearest?" She â€" "Why â€" or â€" tho ring you gave me last winter, dear." Open-Air Parliament. The Munx-Parllaiiiont, or Tynwald, which met recently, cliUniiS to be the oldest legislative assembly in the world, having boen founded In tho year 938 by a certain KInK Orry. It Is held on Tynwald Hill, an arti- ficial mound constructed of soil brought from each ot the seventeen parishes In the Islandi The measares passed there cbtaln the force of law In Manxlaad, after receiving tht Royal Assent. The ceremony, which includes the entbi-unement en his chair of state of the Lloutenant-Goyemor, I» stately and impressive. Unfortunately, how- ever Its soleuuiity has bet^n S'omewhat marred of late years by crowds of "trippers." who flock to It as to a fair. New Rubber Lands. Vast tracts of potential rubber-grow- ing lands have been found In the Philippine Islands. Ninety per cent of tho world's supply of rubber Is pro- duced by UrltUh colonial and other foreign producers. A general view is shown of tho field and stands of the giant Colombes Stadium, France, where tho world -war ot sports took place. Representatives of all the great nations took part In the oi>enIng parade. During the last four yeaQ ISritis)-) aeroplanes have flown more <hki-i two million milts and have carrieU up- wards of 30,000 passengers, apart from the transport of mails nod tfthof freight. .'