The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-02-18

Fyt IT, ! 2 ! =&Afs With With an oval disk of brass, fastened to
 a3 handle. the whole giving the appear.
 anee somewhat or a. lorgnette. .,:
 Next, the applicant is led to d window 1 and tells what he sees before him and in the distance. Not only. that-he ! must accurately describe the shane nf sn eacn object, it's composition and it's de, taiis so far as splendid eyesight will permit. This part Of the ordeal stlceessfuIlv passed the test for Color sense ilnmedi-
 ateiy follows. Heavy curtains, exciud- Ing all light, are dropped over the win. ! doWs, the applicant is seated at one end of the room, and when all is ready the
 examiner presses all2electric button and ! the coiors used as signais-white. red. green, plue--folioWo one another in quick
 succession in the lantern placed upon the wall in front of the men. They Are flashed time and again, until the exam. aner is satisfied that the applicants color sense in lights is. indeed, perfect. But II the applicant thinks that lie is l through with colors when the curtains
 are raised, he is very much mistaken. 4 bunch of signal tiags-white, red,
 green, blue-that have seen service or; i the road and are griiny and 7din1ined in color is handed him and he must name off correctly each and every flag as of ten as called upon. ,. Then the examiner lets down the lid
 of q rack, exposing 10 view a score or more of various delicately fcolored 1 skeins of yarns hanging from rod, and 1t is up to the applicant to name off 1 each color and shade without hesitation
 and to sort the various skeins into pro- per piles as regards color. This is, per haps, the seyerest part of the color i tet. Men fail miserably here who have ! easily distinguished lights and flags. Finally the applicant is again led to a window, What is the color of that roof yon- der?" he is asked.
 Slate eolor,'' is the answer. And that woman's dress-that one who is crossing the street?''
 Light yellow"
 Now the color of the bricks in the
 skyscraper farthest from us-that one
 over there?" And so the questioning
 continues until the man proves that his
 color sense at a distance is perfect, as it is close at hand.
 { Now follows the test of hearing, with
 the applicant facing the speaker, turned { from him, near him, across the room i from him, first with both ears in use 1 and then one at time. The examiner ! talks in an ordinary tone of voice, whis- pers and enunciates words that sound
 guspiciously alike in one or more sylla-
 bles; for example sizzle, sibyl sibilant. Not infrequently the man is suddenly asked todescribe the nature of the sound just made by the whistle of a factory or a passing engine, or some pronounced noise coming from the street below.
 Let us grant that the applicant comes out of the ordeal unscathed; he is so re- ported to the superintendent, who
 gives him a letter granting him permis- , sion to ride over the road so that he ! may become accustmed to the duties of l a freight fireman. At the same time he is handed the roads book of rules and l told that he must be proficient in them,
 know the meaning of all the whistle
 and flag signals and all the other rules,
 the next time he appears before the ex- 1 aminer.
 I In the mean time the man travels up and down the division, under the wing
 of a veteran fireman, who has been told
 off to instruct the greenhorn in the art
 of firing an engine, as to the position
 and meaning of the various signals
 along the division, and, in fact, to ac-
 quaint him thoroughly with every inch
 of the roadbed and it's accessories,
 For period varying from ten days.to
 two weeks, according to his ability to
 grasp intelligently the thousand and
 s5