Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-11-01

| ness is that of Clarence Barton, 10 years
old, son of sturdy country parents, who
lives some five miles northeast of Rodman
village and ~ miles east of Watertown, N.
Y. His senses of feeling, hearing, smell
ing, tasting and seeing are marvelously
developed.
A pin scratch will cause him to faint
away from pain. A half dozen sour grapes
or sour apple or an orange that is not posi-
lively fresh if eaten by the boy will render
him perceptibly intoxicated His sight is
so remarkably keen that he can at once
distinguish separate characteristics and
peculiarities in similar objects which an
ordinary observer would utterly fail to dis
cover. His sense of smell is so acute that if
vessels of water from dozen different
springs in the neighborhood are submitted
to him he can Immediately tell by smell
ing each in turn what spring it was
brought from, tell which is the most
strongly impregnated with iron, which
with magnesia, which with alum, etc, al
though to the common individual there is
no perceptible difference even in the taste
of these waters. His sense of hearing is
most acute, and while not particularly
| nervous as one might suppose so delicately
organized child would be- there are some
| seemingly trivial things which are almost
unbearable to his sensitive ears.
The tick of Is watch, the buzzing Of n
bee, tho patter of raindrops and the
squoaking of a door upon rusty hinges are
among these annoyanCGs. Loud or sudden
noises, as of guns blasting, etc, he does
not mind. His sense of taste is no less
acute than his other senses. Food has to
be especially seasoned for him, and is pre-
pared III vessels which must be scrupu-
lousy free of the faintest trace of anything
but the substance or articles which it is
intended each vessel is to be particularly
used for Thus each article of food has
to be separately prepared in vessel in
which nothing else has been previously
cooked or prepared.
Tho slightest quantity Of SALT pepper,
spice, sugar or of vinegar etc, is suffl-
cient for his needs. A single drop of alco-
holio spirits in "a gallon of water would at
once be detected by the boy,
Adams is the railroad station nearest to
Rodman village. A mile or so west of
Adams are tho largo seed farm and barns of
Il. V. Maxon. Last fall Mr. Maxon har-
vested less than peck each of three differ
ent new varieties of wrinllled peas, grown
from samples sent to him from England
year ago last spring These peas, to the
common observer, are exactly alike in APP
pearance-that is to say, a handful of ono
kind is so like the other two kinds that
ono would at once say they are all from
the same kind of vines.
However, when growing in the fields,
there is wide difference in these vario-
ties, which the voriest blockhcad would
have no difficulty in discerning Mr..
MaXOn is an expert seed grower, and very
slight differences in similar seeds are
quickly noted by him. but when through
the carolossness of a laundering farmland,
who thought them all the same kind tkcsc
now varieties of peas were hopclessly
mixed in bag, MaXOn could no more dis
tinguish pick out, or assert one kind from
another than if he had never seen pea.
He was in IL quandary. The seeds were
almost valuclcss unless assorted. Maxon
knew the Barton boy father, and meeting
him at Adams one day, told him how his
new peas We're hopelessly mixed. Barton
said he thought his boy could sort them
out MaXOn became interested at once
and said that if the boy could do it, which
could not be verified until the plants were
growing in the field, he would give him
$50.
On returning home Barton told his son
what MaXon had said and few days later
Clarence and his father rode over to
Adams and to Maxon's seed barns. The
sack of mixed peas were dumped into
picking tray and after handful of each of
the three varieties (Which luckily, Mr.
Maxon had saved out to send away, Just
before they were mixed) were shown to
the boy for comparison, he went to work.
Maxon doubted the boys ability to accu-
rately separate the peas, and said so. But
Clarence kept right along diligently at
york until the seeds were sorted, only re-
marking when he drove away with his IA
ther:
IN come after that $50 next fall, Mr..
Maxonw
1t was with a good deal of doubt and
misgiving that Mr.. Maxon put those peas
in the ground last spring but about the
middle of last month he sent a check, pay
able to the order Of Master Clarence Bar
ton-not for $50, but for $780, So far as
could be discovered not a single error had
been made in the sorting.
The boys sense of touch is also marvel
ously acute. He can name all the prime
colors by simply touching his fingers to
whatever possesses the cOlOr-ClothS dra-
peries, painted or colored woods, flowers,
etc.
Another remarkable test, and one which
has caused no end of wonder here, is what
young Barton calls the typewriter test. In
this test the typewriter carriage is turned
back, and the lad places the tip of his fore
finger directly over where the types are
brought against the ribbon, and as the
keys are manipulated by n skillful operator
he reads the words as fast as they are writ
ten against his finger. This is considered |
here as being the most remarkable case of |
the kind on record.
A favorite amusement with young Bar,
ton is said TO be the drawing of pictures of |
Inimalcules, which he is able to discern |
with the naked eye in glass of common
spring water, but which to others would |
require strong microscope to discover.
Otherwise the lad is much as all boys of |
his age-full Of life and fun. He is quick
to learn, and he has already absorbed all
that the teachers in his school district
have to offer i'll the way of book knowl-
Ddge.-New York Herald
HgNkI r.. r.