Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-03-29
Reading Back wards.


One of the recent publications of the vellum-
Parchment Shilling Series of Messrs. Field and
Tuer. is an interesting little volume entitled
'Shall We Read Backwards" The introduce
ton alone. by Mr. r. B. Carter, short as it is,
gives much useful information on the subject of
training the eyes from infancy in order to obtain
the full benefit of perfectly developed sight.
This is only possible by a judicious use of the
eyes. which, however. does not consist in alb
staining from work In which the eyes are
used, "idencss Of the eyes," according to
one Of Mr.. Carters former works, being Gin
every way hurtful to them" 1t is, therefore,
necessary to develop the vision by that "proper
and varied employment which is emnently con-
ducive to their preservation in beauty and eff
cIency. How, then, can we arrive at the high
est possible stage of development without in
jurng the eyes? Reading is undoubtedly one
OF the commOnest means. and the most read
able print is that by which we may obtain the
maximum of reading with the minimum ofinjury
to the sight The experiments which have been
tried b. many eminent authorities to settle the
question are very various. Light and color are
OF course, two chief considerations to which
good deal of attention is paid in the little book
another is the way in which the type is set
European nations print as rule. from left to
right; but whether this is the most readable
style is 10y no means certain. In ancient writ
ings there is much variety in the way of writ
ing. Among these the Monaghan columnar
style is not suitable for European languages,
because of the varying length of words, as may
be seen in the annexed Illustration:
Commence here and read backwards.
in and The
perpendicular Monpols Chinese
lines. write Japanese.
1t would. however be less difficult to accustom
the eyes to this system than to that of the an
Gent Europeans and Semites-
fhTir nrfp nj rSbrr ahf ho;bx
dedeeccus noos saw hcihw redro ma ,tfel OF
.rehtOna yb epOruE nj
This was the double mode called 6oustrOphelon
Gas the OK pIOughs''), which has the benefit Of
equalizing the muscular action of the eyes:
'In it the alternate line follows an ODpO-
site direction, and some have therefore urged
hchw rennam keerG ylrae shit OF nruter
was finally succeeded by the present system
.thgir eht OF eds tfei eht mort gnitrw 70
With regard to the size of type Mr. Wilmington,
the author of "Shali We Read Backwards?''
says: ut has been accepted by oculists that
type embraced by an angle of s. five minutes)
is the smallest printed matter which can be rec
ogniZed by the average normal eye. According
to this formula the smallest print which nor
mai eye can readily recognize at distance of
one foot is about 1-50 of an inch; at Is inches
the average distance at which the book is held
by an adult the smallest recognizable type
would be about 132 of an inch. The normal
eye should never be subjected for any length of
liIhC W " pc Twice SlZe-tIIaC
is, 1-l6 of an inch, and it would be better after
middle life to employ type even a little larger
than this"
The general rules for preserving good eye
sight put down by the author may be summarized
in the following extract: "See that the light is
sufficient. and that it falls properly upon your
work. Never sit facing it. 1t is best that the
light should fall upon the work from above or
behind. Failing this, it may fall from the side.
Never use the eyes at twilight. Any artificial
nhf for bn 10 3; lS, h,l
enough and steady. Reading while riding in
any conveyance should be avoided; it requires
too great an exertion of the accommodative
power to keep the eyes fixed on the letters
Never read when lying down; it is too fatiguing
for the accOmmOdative power Many tedious
case of weak sight has been traced to the per-
nicious habit of reading in bed after retiring for
the night"