Powerful Sight.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3163, 26 March 1889, Page 2

Powerful Sight.

The eyes of birds when c&arcd . j with those of other animals present ,1 somt marked and palpable differences. '' -\ Tlioy mo much more variously coloured; the iris is of all hues, from wliito to black. It may bo red or bluo, brown or yellow. The eye is large in proportion to tho bead, r especially in tho case of late-flying >, birds who need to make the most of tho dim light of eveuing. Among several singular points of internal structure tho most remarkable is the piesence of a jointed ring of bono, which lies in front of tbeoyoball, round the iris. It consists of a number of segments or plates fiimly united together, but still admitting of some amount of movement at' tho will of the bird, who by this means is supposed to be able to alter the shape of the crystalline lens, which lies behind tho ring, and thus to vary the focus of its eyes. Wero .the eyes of the kestrel constructed lite our own womitjht well expect-that it would lose sight of so small an object as a motiße in its descent. We find th>t" birds of prey have large eyqfeilh these bony rings and strong; and by this arrangoment can keep their prey in view. The swift again, whose keen, wings carry him through tho' air at-]bo rate of some miles in a minutes, has a similar provision, both as regards the size of , its oye3 and the development of its '"* solerotio plates. A curious modification is Seen in tho owls, whose eyes are encased in rings, or. rather tubes, each consisting of -fifteen separate pieces of bone,. and strongly resembling the eyeglass used by a working watchmaker. The development of this focussing apparatus is equally marked in birds that are in ' the habit of diving in pursuit of fish. Watoh tho white garinet as' he sails ' on long keen wings over the restless sea, He has caught sight of a fish. Pausing suddenly, be hovers like a > hawk, though his narrow, pointed tail seems ill adapted to steady him in tho air. Now falling swiftly—pep. haps a hundred feet—tho gannet disappears in a v cloud of "spray.. It usually stays unde/fbutYour rat&yt seconds, but is capabie'of miichifjger * immersion, and . indeed'is provided with spice for the etorago : of air— J* perhaps for breathing purposcs-thfeß " 'i times as great as that in tho b.nr|| »$ luuijV The better'to follow-itaY* , under water, -the gannet b«s vwy

■'• large eyes, and its Bclcro.lio ring?,; . composed of twelve plates of bono, aro especially broad and thick, Those wliohavo chased in vaiu the divers in summer are seen upon tho : ftroads of Norfolk will have ample ovidenoo of the keen vision of a diviug bird. It is on "Tho Queen of the Bronds" perhaps that the yachtsman, climbing ouoof his bortb at daybreak, sees tho graceful figure of some large bird, vory low in tho water, drifting along among ilb coots ami moorhens that have como out of their covert among tho reeds, It dives now aud then, coming up occasionally with a fish in its beak, You cast off the dingy and pull/cently towards the bird. Ho takef' no notice at first perhaps, but before long .you observe that he comes up farther away after each dive, and as you quicken your stroke he hurries too, paddling swiftly away, and again diving out of. sight, You have put on a hard spurt while he is down, and he comes up within range. There 'ji is n flash aud a sharp report; you surely got him now. But thero IP nothing there but tho ■ widening rings that toll how the bird, wirned by tho flash, was safe beneath the surface ere the shower of shot swept harmless over his head,.

The Meeting of Socialists. With regard' to tho meeting of Socialists on the Thames embankment, London, on Christmas Eve at tho foot of Cleopatra's Needle, a cor ; respondent writes:—From twelve o'clock to balf-past ono vigorous speeches were mado by energetic orators whoso voices could certainly ho heard, hut whoso faces could not bo seen, The present condition of affairs as regards landlord and tenant and employer and employed was dououueed as totally opposed to tho laws ofhumanity. Tho poor workod A; the rich, and they had a right to Vmand of the rich some much greater portion of the profits than thoyat present got. On that day (Christmas Day) of all days, it was

their duty to insist upon their rights, and ono speaker went so far as to C, propose a procession to Trafalgar ; 'f. Square, and a meeting thero to follow 1 the ono they were holding on the Embankment. Anothor speaker suggested the drill ground behind the Horse Guards in St, James's-Parlc as being a better spot to which they should proceed, as it was not at present prohibited ground. This proposil was carried, and a procession was formed with a banner at its head, On tho way, however, the leaders appearod to have consulted together, for instead of making for tho Horse Guards they proceeded to Victoria-street, and then went on to Victoria Station singing the Boulanger March, the Marseillaise, and other songs, Those who followed them could notice that about a dozen mounted constables were close at hand, and that a large'! numjjjfeer of men on loot had been Tient on to bead the crowd, which numbered about 300 to 400, This was not done until just before Victoria Station was" reached, wheu the procession was mot by a strong force of men who had been telegraphed for from stations iu the west, and found itself between two lines of constables —those who mot them and those

■who had come in their pursuit. The *jj? . result was a short battle. The sound Jy of sticks meeting batons could be plainly heard; cries of "Cowards" were raised; several heads were broken and. hats destroyed, and the procession fled in contusion. More is likoly to bo heard of this encounter in the police-courts to-day.

On February 16th a genera! order of a very stringent character was issued from the War Office to regulate the admission of Btrangers to all national defences, position-finding stations, and submarine «'ning and lorpedo-establisliments, It tea: "No one will be allowed to inspect or enter any of the abovo without an order of admission from the gonoral ot other officer commanding the district or fortress, who is responsible that no unauthorised persons gain admittance or iwvs opportunities of inspection from tho outsido. Orders fur admission will only be issued to officers non-commissioned officers, and men of tho British army or navy when duty roquires thorn to enter the defences or establishments, or when residence within obliges them to pass from and to such defences, and to show civilians only in the employment of the State as are required to do so fur the publio service, in the caso of defences used as barracks by troops and their families, the goneral or officer commanding will \m his discretion as to tho admission ot British subjects who have occasion'to visit the \ military occupants, When, howover, such works are of a nature to render it desirablo to keep their construction unknown that consideration must be bo paramount. All passes grantfd by ~-A> general or other officer commanding bo given up and returnod to hoadquarters, except in cases where officers or civilians havo occasion to visit works in the course of their duty, in, which case tho general officer commanding may issue special passes under propor procaution. Foreigners and all persons not on duty applying for admission mußt bo referred to the Adjutant-General.

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