The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-11-14
MICROSCOPIC VISION.
Wonderful Discovery Of a CaIifor-
MIA Man.
Every Person With Normal Eyesight
Has This Power.

70 tho VISUAL powers OF tne human eye hos
been made by Professor i. l.. o. Rochrig
of Pasadena. The scientific world will be
deeply interested in the premises, fer 1t Is
quite probable that the learned gentleman
has simply taken tho initial step In the
whole continuous series OF connected sub
sequent facts, leading perhaps to maoy as
yet wholly unexpected important scientific
truths and variously valuable new discov-
cries. Professor Roehrig formerly occu-
pied the chair of Sanskrit and modern ori-
entail languages In Cornell university, New
York state, but was compelled on account
of his heulth TO Zee the rigors Of the east
ern winters and take up his Gbodc In tho
genial climate of California. He Is man
of wide learning ana great culture. iio
holds the degree OF doctor Of philosophy
from the University OF Loipsic and Is also
a graduate in medicine. During the late
war be became prominent In tho surgeon
generals department of the United States
army, acting as u specialist on the eye ana
ear Ho is the author of n large number
Of works on languages, and they are quoted
as an authority in both Europe and Amor
lea. AT the age of II years, Professor Rooh-
rg still retains his full intellectual powers.
TO representative of The Call, who visit
Roehrig spoke Of his discovery, MS follows:
Some time aeo. while attending to my
morning toilet. happened by mere acoi-
dent to look In an almost perpendicular
direction, and at distance of, more or
less, an inch or two down into my beard,
on my mustache as well, and especially the
whiskers surrounding my chin, how great
was my astonishment at the strange and
unexpected appearances of what 1 then
saw-eyery hair magnif1ed just as seen
through some microscope. Each hair stood
out i'm "a plain and distinct manner, often
yariously bent, knotted, irregularly twisted
and forming tube which, according TO
all appearance, was transparent, rather
colorless, hollow and empty, bounded, as
IL were on both sides BY Il generally we'll
marked bright white line or border, some-
times also more or less striated inside, and
ending abruptly In an open, either circular
or, more frequently, pentagona! orihce;
sometimes, but rarely, in closed point.
The size of the magnifled hair tubes varies
from that of an ordinary darning needle to
the volume cs a small lead pencil; it in
creases gradually in proportion as move
those tubes slowly upward from the chin,
and it seems to reach its maximum when
seen nearly high enough to be somewhat
on a level with the eye or opposite to II.
II likewise examined the very thin and
short hair on my hand and fingers, and the
result was just the same. Then took one
Of those hairs Of the whskers, plucked it
out, and isolating it completely held 1t be-
tween the fingers in order to subject IL TO
the same examination, which gave on each
trial invariably the same result.
1.-The experiment succeeded as well In
Il. H.. In
the evening artificially illuminated. Mo-
nocular or binoculnr vision seemed to make
no essential difference in that respect
Dark as well as light hnir, red and gray or
white hair, served equally well.
II could, moreover, render this maRni.
fed appearance perceptible to other persons
with the same clearness with which / saw
1t myself
Finally i took a thick hair lock from
some child's head and held it up to my
sight. when vory large mass of strongly
magnified intertwined tubes, like a net
work of strings or cords, was at once seen.
II increased in size rapidly in proportion
as i moved it slowly upward. 1t reached
Its maximum when 1t had come high
enough to be in front Of my eyes and held
there ut distance Of, more or less, an inch
or two. At last / tried the experiment In
a darkencd closet, where, through longi-
tudinal slit l let in the stream Of n very
bright, dazzling and glaring sunlight. Ev-
cry one of the hairs of my whiskers appear
cd considerably moro enlarged than ever
before, and the inside of nearly all those
magnif.ed nnir tubes seemed in their whole
length, as It were, lined with numerous
fine longitudinal parallel strokes, sonc-
what similar to the shading of pencil
drawing, or as We often sec it also in GER
tain flowers, leaves and plants. One OF
two of those tubes appeared in beautiful
rainbowlike colors.
II also tried these experiments with the
additional aid of reflector, when i oh
tained the same magnified appearance oi
the hair tubes-some OF them perhaps o
little moro bright and distinct and show.
ing many Of the or. fees less round or pen.
tagonal, but rather somewhat uneven and
irregular, lncerated, with break OF con-
tinuity In their rim, such as the fragments
OF glass tube when roughly smashed
would generally appear
Then l extended my observations tc
various small objects, such as horsehair,
blades Of grass, needles, minute insects,
etc. The result was invariably the same.
The best view, however, presented longi-
fp1ipa1 ohfacfs I'm lnoor form, anch