In research work, such as the study of new and unusual diseases, especially those of a tropical nature, it is possible to obtain a continuous record of a subject from the moment of infection through the various stages of the malady. For instance, in the study of sleeping sickness in Uganda, Colonel Bruce had formerly to content himself with a graphic record or chart of the fluctuations of a patient's condition, with explanatory notes introduced here and there when a sudden change in the temperature or general behaviour of the patient developed. With the cinematograph it is possible to obtain a pictorial record which conveys a more forceful and exact impression of the symptoms. An interesting indication of what could be done in this direction was the film prepared by Dr. Comandon. He used a monkey for his subject, infecting it with the microbe of sleeping sickness discovered by Colonel Bruce. The effects which the bacteria produced upon the monkey were admirably illustrated, together with the changes that various remedies wrought in its condition.
So far as concerns the application of the cinematograph to scientific research the greatest strides have been made in physiology. This was due to Marey's enthusiasm in this branch of science, and the establishment of the Physiological Institute in Paris where such investigations were carried out upon a most exhaustive scale. The results of Marey's investigations are given in several volumes and in hundreds of papers which he sent to the various French scientific societies. There is no reason why the contributions of the cinematograph to physiological knowledge should not be equalled in other branches of science. Up to the present the investigation of scientific phenomena with the aid of motion-pictures has not been carried far, but there are many signs that its sphere will be extended in the future.
CHAPTER XVI
THE MILITARY VALUE OF THE CINEMATOGRAPH
Among the many uses of the cinematograph, frivolous and useful, amusing and instructive, perhaps none has proved so difficult or illusive as the attempt to apply it to soldiering for the purpose of improving marksmanship. The motion-picture had scarcely impressed itself upon the public when the war departments of the various powers were flooded with suggestions and patents for its employment in this sphere. Needless to say the majority of these ideas were found to be impracticable, and probably this is the reason why the animated target has not been seriously taken up by military authorities.
Notwithstanding the many disabilities under which the cinematograph labours, it is generally admitted that it has real practical value in this field up to a certain point. It is able to induce the recruit to aim quickly and surely, and this is to-day recognised as being the governing consideration whether the range be point-blank or long-distance.