The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-17
STRANGE EYES.
The Curious Organs Through winch
Fish, Frogs, Spiders, Snans anu
Insects View the World.
BY ROBERT BLIGHT.


Copyrighted, 1895, by Robert Blight.
II you were wandering by the seashore
and picked up star-fish you would
have some difficulty in finding its eyes.
In fact, it is impossible to detect any
optic organ at all approaching the hu-
man eve. either in structure or powers
let the Star-tiSh has eyes of kind
Iney are called eye-spots and occupy
the ends of the arms. There is little
mechanism about them. Each one Is
merely cell in which coloring matter
is deposited and with which nerve IL
bres are connected. and yet ii is the APP
paratus with which the star-fish tells
light from darkness
Earth worms living mainly under
ground have no organs which can be
called eyes, but worms called Turbe4-
laria, inhdDitia;s fresh and salt water,
possesses several hundred, so arranged
that the animal an see in every direc-
ton. a red-blooded worm resembling a
Centlpede in appearance is called Poly
opthalmus, because of it's remarkable
endowment of eyes, having two of the
primitive organs spoken of above on
every segment of its body. 1t requires d
considerable amount of Imagination to
conceive the clearness of brain power,
even when distributed into many CEN
tres. which can take in impressions from
so many sources when we remember
how easily we ourselves are confused
with messages conveyed through our own
two optic organs.
eyes on stalks which can be turned
around in any direction, while others
have them at the base of their tentacles.
Those having the good fortune to see
cuttle-fish peeping from cavity in some
rock pool must have been startled by
the large uncanny pair of eyes. Right
useful organs they are, very keen of
! vision, and, strange to say not very
dissinilar to our in construction.
The crabs and Holsters possess won
derful type of eye composed of several
and they are mounted on stalks so that
the creatures can look in any direction.
Seeing round a corner" is not so diff
cult with them as it is with the human
species. A relative of the crabs and
Holsters when living in shallow water
has eyes like theirs--on stalks. When
taken from depths of from 10 to 80
fathoms the eyes have disappeared and
the stalks are replaced by knob. Dar-
telescope is there. though the telescope
with its glasses has been lost" When
the crustacean is taken from greater
depths. it is found that the e, knob has
ably used as an organ of touch.
Spiders have from two TO twelve SIM
pie eyes which are arranged in groups
varying with the orders, but they, do not
appear to be very quick of vision, al
though they are very sensitive of touch.
They can feel the slightest tremor of the
from the fibres, they appear to be con-
fused. Apparently they cannot see it.
The compound eyes Of insects are fanlil-
illustrated by the large and often beau
tifully colored organs of the dragon fly:
It is difficult to imagine what sort of
consist of a multitude of separate organs
bound together in one bundle, each being
| furnished with a separate lens and the
| lines OF union of these lenses form the
! boundaries of facets.
Fishes have eyes. fashioned on the
! model of tours, but fitted. for the element
! In which they live by having fiattened
corneas and being destitute of eyelids
/ In one species called Anableps, which
/ swims with it's head half in and half out
/ Gf the water, the cornea is divided into
two halves by a horizontal membrane.
1 as also is the pupil.
Frogs and nevis. which are, amphib..
ions would find the f1attened eye of
fishes suitable for the water but not for
the land. They are provided with