The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1878-06-14


alternative Of taking out an eye, II a
desirable that he should leave a. much
Of the ball as possible. Makers Of arti-
fetal eyes call this the stump; and II il
Is large II moves the artificial eye back
is not perceptible except 10 very close
observer whose attention has previously
been called to the misfortune of the
wearer.
When the patient first goes to the
maker Of artificial eyes, the latter careful
ly studies the cavity. the size and shape
Of the stump, and the size of the evelids
measured on their inner surface. These
measurements differ greatly in different
persons, and are very irregular in the
same person; SO that in no case can the
porcelain be made symmetrically per-
feet. A sphere of porcelain is never
used. The new eye Is always hollow
on the inner side. The extent of this
concavity depends upon the size Of the
stump, which the porcelain must fit ac-
curately, but without hugging. There
are no rules Of measurement for making
good fit, and for this reason maker
Of artificial eyes should be an artist.
hltGl tklC Nltulukti HAS ktGn utltu-
ton to the essentials spoken of above,
he next studies the good eye of his pa
tient. He estimates the diameter Of
the pupil in ordinary light, and closely
examines the colors Of the iris. These
colors are never sslaid on" by nature
in precisely the same way. Even in
the case Of two persons whose eyes have
precisely the same shade Of color, the
effect is produced by different arrange
ments of natures greens, grays and
blues. The eyemaker closely examines
these peculiarities, and then he is ready
to go into his workshop. His material
is a kind of porcelain.
Some eyemakers claim peculiar ex-
cellences for the material they use. II
clear annealed glass could be used, an
artificial eye might last for many years;
but in order to produce wha. they de-
sire, certain oxides must be used. These
oxides are attacked by the saline humors
Of the eye, and the surface becomes
rough. This makes it necessary to re-
place an artificial eye after il has been
worn about eighteen months. The best
eyes, under the most favorable circum.
stances, can not be worn more than
three years. The material Of the eye
maker is drawn for him at glass man
ufacturer's into tubes about one inch
and half in circumference. He redraws
a tube until it is little smaller than
lead pencil. Next he blows bulb at
one end of the size Of the sound eyeball
in his patron, contriving to make it
slightly oval to initiate the natural curv-
ature Of the eye. At the place where
the iris and pupil are to be he fattens
the little sphere, and in the center of the
flat surface he applies q circular patch
of black pigment. This is the pupil.
Next follows a work Of great nicely.
With indelible colors taken from pal
cite he initiates on the flattened part Of
the sphere around the pupils, the iris
which be has previously studied in the
sound eye. This having been done, a
circular piece of clear crystal glass, fiat
on one side and convex on the other, Is
laid upon the pigments, with its fiat side
down. 1t is firmly fastened in place by
fusing its edge with the porcelain with
the aid Of a blow pipe. After this deli
cate operation the front of the sphere
should exactly resemble the sound eye
which it is to match, with the exception
Of the small red veins in the eyeball.
These are initiated by drawing out red
glass to the necessary fineness, and APP
plying bits Of this glass thread, while
yet hot, in vein-like shapes, to the cor
nea. They are fused into II under the
flame Of the blow pipe. The work OF
initiating the natural eye Is complete.
Next the opei ator draws with a lead
pencil an irregular line on the porce-
lain sphere inclosing the iris. This
marks off that part Of the front of the
sphere which is to constitute the artiti-
cial eye. He afterwards follows this
line, with the hot point Of piece Of
glass or iron, and thus cracks of the
part he wants. The edges are then
filed or clipped off until the eye will
accurately fit in the spaces beneath the
eyelids, according TO the measurements
he has taken. After this has been done,
the artificial eye Is annealed by heating
It, and allowing II to cool very slowly in
4 little box. II an alteration is to be
made on fitting the artificial eye into It's
place beneath the lids, II Is necessary,
after using the file and the blow pipe, TO
anneal the porcelain again. II Is not
necessary that the artificial eye be at
tached to the stump further than 70 nj
over 1t like cap with a very slight
pressure. This has been found TO be
sufficient TO give il free movement to
and fro. II the porcelain is allowed to
become rough it causes what the eye
maker calls a fungus growth. This Is
the same as the "proud flesh = that
often impedes the healing Of sores. y
Is usually recommended TO insert an ar
tificial eye very soon after the surgeon
has done his work, and il is said that
the insertion should not be delayed be-
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