To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.") SIR,—In what has been
written on this question (Spectator, November 17th) is there not some confusion between vision and interpretation ? It is probable that the average British soldier in South Africa sees the tiny specks on the far horizon or hillside,—i.e., receives as complete an image on the retina of his eye as the Boer does. But the telegram "antelopes" or " cavalry " does not flash to his brain, because he has not been trained to interpret. A lad possessed of all his senses may hear all the sounds in a wood, but has no notion to what crea- tures they belong. I look through a microscope and see a meaningless film of jelly; an expert microscopist sees the same film and simultaneously recognises a special form of cell. tissue. For nearly twenty years I have been raising seedlings of a certain genus of plants, and find that my eye instinctively picks out at a great distance a flower differing from thousands of its fellows by only slight gradations of shape or colour The ordinary visitor to my garden probably sees this flower. but does not single it out from the rest and walk up to it. —I
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