Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-08
THE A MIN AL Ely E
WONDERS OF THE ORGAN OF
VISION IN LOWER ORDERS.
Two Extremes Of Sight - Marvellous
Seeing Powers of the Eagle
and the Woodcock.

From the New York Evening Post
There was certainly a time long ago
when living creatures were not blessed Win
eyes. In creatures now living upon the
earth we may trace series or eyes from
the highest and most efficient to the sim
plest dot of black pigment The eye or the
eagle may stand for the first and the eye
spot Of the amphioxus or the eight-sense
germs of a jellyfish for the other extreme
of the series.
The amphioxus is little worm or fish
like creature which most of the time lives
buried in the sand of our seashores. He Is
interesting and important out Of all proper
ton to his size two inches, for he is one OF
the lowliest creatures to be honored with
backbone, the class mark Of all higher ami
mails He has no skull and no brain, but near
the front end of the thin thread of nerve
Uhe foreshadowing of our spinal corO Is
tiny black dot. By means of this he dis
tinguishes light from darkness, which is all
his simple life requires. Let US not forget
the position of this single, most primitive
of eyes-in the center of what would be the
brain If the lowly creature had one.
The Jellyfsh.
The eye of jellyish is so primitive that
we can hardly say whether it sees or feels.
That is. when floating jellyfish begins to
sink below the surface of the water as the
shadow of an advancing ship falls upon it
it is probably affected by the sensation of
darkness but perhaps the pressure of the
onrushing wave has something to do
with it.
If we would see an eye which has ac.
tually been evolved from one like that of
amphioxus let us examine the head of a liz
ard. Disregard for a time his two bright
eyes, one on each side of his head. and look
directly down on the center of the skull be-
tween them. Here we will find an oddly
shaped scale marked with a little depres-
sion. and this is, indeed, what is left of our
Cyclopean eye in the tiny sand creature
Lizards doubtless derive very little benefit
from it, as the nerve leading from it is
very small, but in some of their ancestors
it must have been of great value in detect
ing the presence of enemies from above. In
all creatures above lizards this third me-
dian eye Called the pineaD is found, al
though of use whatever; this persist
ence, perhaps showing of what great i'm
portance it once was. In a chick in the
early stages of incubation this eye is very
considerably developed. while yet the
paired eyes are but small structures. But
suddenly nature seems to realize that the
old regime has passed-that the little bird
will need other more modern eyes, and the
two side eyes begin to develop with Won
derful rapidity, and soon catch up with and
distance the Cyclops eye. whose early start
ends only in promise.
The Third Eye.
A horse, bat, a mole, monkey, a seal,
all have trace of this third eye, and when
we put q finger on the soft spot" of the
head of tiny baby we realize the won
derful import of it-that the softness is
due to near approach of this same third
eye to the surface, striving as it has done
In so many lower creatures to push it's
poor, imperfect lens to where the light can
act upon 1t. But the old ways have given
place to new, and the child's blue eyes look
out at you and the world and see all that
is necessary for its life and needs.
We can hardly imagine anything more
terrible than the loss of our eyeSight and
yet there are many creatures which have
found life more pleasant In the darkness
of caves and underground tunnels or to
roam only at night. when their eyes are
useless. and by the lack of use these organs
have degenerated to mere specks, and in
some cases the skin has grown completely
over them. Thus we find blind fishes and
lizards in dark caves and blind ants and
moles all but blind in their dark subter-
ranean homes. Certain bats, too have but
tiny dots for eyes, and depend chiefly upon
their acute hearing and some sense by
which they can feel the vibrations in the
air.
Eye of the Snake.
Snakes have but poor eyesight. and, like
fish have no eyelids. Their ewes are COW