The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-05-24

renee OF fully developed third eye II
/ a phenomenon VI very different order
| The organ IN not possessed by those AM.
malls which come neAreat 10 man. Thry
have. like Ne. tho pinsai gland The
I funotlohatlng third eye II only possessed
I by certain Of the very loves, species oi
| ycrtrhrao animals,
The parents Of tho thrva-sycd baby are
{ Mr and Mrs, W. y. O'Neil, of Portland.
or Mr O'Neili IN u railroad man. ana
widely known and respected citizen,
The baby Was born nearly a month ago.
II waH not at nrat understood what tho
strange development on its forehead was,
Tho ehild seemed IN excellent health, ana
the doctor expressed tho opinion that it
was aamHthlng which would pass away.
Hut II psrplsted. and at the end Of three
days thr doctor at the urgent request oi
tho mother, made "a more careful rKRml.
nation af the ehlid's head, Mother and
nurse could hardly believe that tho
strange thing was what II appeared TO
DO. This done. however the doctor an
nounrrd tina, tho child undoubtedly pos.
ueHaod third ego. Al tho days went on
tho unusual organ could be seen more
clearly A. tho little ono crowcd ana
elasped its chubby little hands. the three
nliil IN good health. and appears 10 see
a. well with It's central eye as with the
other two The eye IL situated midway
between the two oIherH-lhat 10 TO say.
it Ia In vertical line with the nose II
IL above the others. II appears through
an aperture IN the skull. Immediately
above the bony ridge with which the
forehead terminates,
The plneal gland. which II 40 developed
In this Portland baby. IL deucFihed by
oray'u AnAtomy--a standard work--as a
small. rusidlah.Kray vascular body. sltu-
alSd behind the third vrntricle IN the
brain Tho name h derived from the
Latin word pinoa. a pine cone The
gland IL also called the conorium. from
II pconical shape II n about feur lines
IN length and two or three In With at
lts bape-that h 10 say. about the hlrc
OF small pea.
IL II larger In the child than In the
adult. and In the female than In the male.
Tho same IL true Of other obsolete and
rudimentAry parts OF tho body Woman
has a iarsuF vermiforn appendix than
man She has not progressed 20 far hs
he IN the scale OF evolution. The
pineal gland consists chiefly OF gray mat
ter. and a, itH baHr II a small cavtts.
which contains a Transparent yiscid fluid.
In which arv granulcH OF phosphate and
carbonate OF limo, II u commonly con-
adercd TO be- the remains of the plnoai
cyo Of some OF tho lower vcrtebratrs
II appears AH an eye IN certain iiEardp
Only IN extinct ruptiloA OF earlier geo
logical periods, however IL Il believed
10 have been a useful sense organ. That
the plncal gland has "A function as Il
exists today In the ordinary human brain
Ia possible. but that function lH not
known.
The possession OF three good eyes would
have certain advantages over our present
condition The extra eye would enable
us TO give the others u rest. and. In
these days OF excessive pressure and
work that would mean much. There
have probably been several other babies
with three eycA In the museum OF
Bellevue hospital the head OF one OF
them Is preserved. but II is not nearly
an pretty aa the o'Neil baby.
There Is nothing repulslvu in the mp.
pasranco OF the child's face on the
contrary. many people would say that
tho unusual number OF visual organs
gave II an individuality and charm
which are lacking IN many babies OF the
same age II Is Mrs, O'Nei's ninth
baby, Tho others are healthy children.
with no unusual features.