New Britain herald., 1922-10-19
BLIND GIRL SMELLS
 COLOR, FEELS SOUND
"MediCal Journal" Reports on
 Unusual Developments Made

oHuouui DViViVPiuVu'o NAuuV
 New York Oct. 1a--Willetta Hug gins, a IT year old Wisconsin girl, all though completely blind and deaf can see" colors by smell and "hear" sounds by touch. In many ways her case Is more remarkable than Helen keller's.
 In the current number of the Jour. nal of the American Medical associa- ton Dr. Thomas J. Williams of Chi- cago announces the result of a series of experiments with Willetta cover ing several weeks at the Wisconsin school for the Blind.
 These are some of the marvellous feats the blind-deaf girl accomplished;
 She heard" Dr. Williams talk by
 resting her finger tips on his larynx his head or his chest. She learned to distinguish the vibrations of speech through intervening objects such as billiard cue resting on the speakers head or chest She caught the V hrations in the air by holding a sheet of paper between her hands and let ting the speaker talk against" 1t. She heard words spoken over the tele- phone by resting her fingers against the receiver She learned to talk by holding her fingers on her own larynx.
 Smells Color of Thread.
 Her sense Of smell, Dr. Williams says, has been developed to a degree hitherto unheard of. This was dis covered in her sewing class when she began to tell different colored threads by smelling them. She was able to tell by smell not only which student had made a particular dress but which teacher had supervised its mak- ing. She easily distinguished the col ors of flowers and even could deter mine by smell how many persons up to eight were in room with her
 At one of my examinations Dr. Williams writes T handed her sweater the body of which was orchid color with deep hem of purple, the weave being identical. She smelled it and said it was a lavender in the body but that there was g deep pur- pie color there too. l asked her to find the line of demarcation between the two colors. which she did as ac- as if she were able to see.
 T took some Holngren's yarns handed a different color to each of eight persons present told them to remember the color given them, and after turning out the light each of US found our way before her with our yarns, which she placed in turn to her nose and correctly named the colors and tints (whether light or dark) of each.
 One of the women present wore hat on which was embroidered a three color design. Willetta correctly named the three colors. The color of the hat and its lining.
 T gave her a string of colored beads and set of different colored glass lenses, but with these she was lost She said she could not smell these because they keep their smell inside of them She gets no appre- ciable odor from them or from any glazed surface as, for instance, pot tery, though she can distinguish un- glazed pottery fairly well. She states hat all glass smells green, so she detect other colors in glass"
 Like Helen Keller.
 Helen Keller was Willettas inspira- tion. Until two years ago she was istless and apathetic Dr. Williams ga Pbycicollv hor oopdifia, good and of normal development for B girl of 15, but the total loss of sight and hearing, which she had possessed in small degree to the age of 12, caused her to develop a peculiar, uninterested morose attitude toward everything
 In 1920 teacher of the deaf at Eau Claire. Wis. told the girl of Miss keler's method of communica- ton. Willetta was interested and began to show mental de- emerging from her shell of indifference in manner that had seemed impossible for her when she possessed partial vision and hearing.
 Can Talk By Touch.
 She has learned to carry on a con- by touch and attends con- certs and lectures which she hears by touching her fingers to an audi i phone. Dr. Williams attended an Easter service with Willetta and she spld him each number on the program IS it was rendered. He continues:
 Her fine sense of touch does not stop here. She can actually read byi her finger tips over news paper headings of half or even smaller -ype and she can readily and rapidly distinguish the denomination of paper by feeling the imprint of the numbers and the difference of the de- signs"
 Four months ago Prof. Joseph Jas TOW of the University of Wisconsin | examined Willetta. He denied her l ability, but he was with the l ,irl for only two hours, Dr. Williams states. It is because of Prof Jsstrows ,eport that Dr. Williams thought it necessary immediately to publish the ,esult of his exhaustiv study.
 Prof Jastrow,' he says, simply