The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1885-01-15
Short Sighted.

| wy, say, tNtltS tCdio dSo, nOlucliDltS
has an opportunity in the hurry of bus-
ness to inspect the Outpourng of one of
the largest schools when the young peo-
pile are making their way homeward.
Two things will strike him as notable,
namely, that while the conversation buzz
es and chatters fully as much as of yore,
there is an absence Of the old-time eXu-
berance Of the ruder sort, and especial
ly, that the youngsters, boys and girls
alike are now frequently wearing glasses
across their juvenile noses. score Of
years ago it was rarely children, or young
men and women, found it necessary to
patronze the working oculist or the doc
tor who makes the cure of defective eyes
his speciality "Specs" were then the
privilege Of old age, seldom found across
the nasal front Of middle age, and eX-
ceptioual when used by young men. The
school train on any of the railroads now
shows marked change in this respect,
and observations OH the streets will
prove almost one young man or woman
in dozen to have some description of
sight assister in use or ready for use on
short notice. A prominent Penn street
oculist was conyersed With Oh this phase
of human change as follows:
''Why is it, Doctor, that so many chill
dren are wearing glasses ~
''Oh, there are several reasons for it,
The people have gone mad about culture,
and the children have caught the intec-
=,
Just now, and even the cooks have their
college course and diplomas. Children
are sent to school too Young and are kept
at the desk too many hours day a
child ought not to 20 to school lill nne
or ten years of age, then their plastic lit
tie brains would not be developed at the
expense of their bodies. 1t is pititul to
see children of five or SIX Years going to
school with d bundle of books, when they
ought to be in the home kindergarten
playing with toys and picture books.
Mothers often send their little children
to school to get rid of them, and expect
strangers to perform all the tender offices
which they shirk. How many mothers
can say with Corneia, pointing to her
children, These are my jewels" Many,
| if truthful, would eXclaim, These are my
troublesome brats.' pity the teachers,
for | know they are entrusted not only
with the intellectual advancement Of lit
tie children, but have to perform nursery
| duties as we'll, and a mercenary public
and an unappreciatlve and tyrannical
school board keep their salaries down
and rob them OF holidays when all the
world is rejoicing. wonder if these
| rulers ever remember that they We're
once children. | am sure that the CON
trolling majority has never experienced
tie worrying and depressing effects of
teaching, or it would have more regard
for teachers and pay them better. pity
the children more, however, because they
are too young to know how much they
are abused by the enforced rules Of the
magnates. They are subjected to the
manifold evils which arise from bad heat
| ing and imperfect ventilation of the school
rooms, AS we'll as to an excessive and un-
| reasonable use of the ewes in the usually
mourning daylight Of this smoke palled
city. In our murky atmosphere it is hard
on many days to get enough daylight to
see to read and write, and when the light
comes into the school room in an i'm
| proper way it adds to the difficulty.
was struck with the inattention to this
matter at the Western University On the
occasion Of a lecture which | delivered in
| the chapel on the "Classitication OF Ami
mails" when the institution was on the
hill. My diagrams and pictures were
upon hlackboards against the western
wall, the windows of the room were be
tween the boards and directly in the
faces of the students, and the natural re-
suit was the illustrations could not be
seen, and the force Of my speech was
lost So it Is often in the lower schools,
and have often heard complaints from
| scholars whose eyes were suffering from
disturbances. We hear much of hygiene,
sanitation, &c, and disregard their most
elementary principles constantly, because
what IS every bOdy'S business is n0bOdy'S
and, il you ask the doctors, who ought to
know all about these things, you will be
treated to few glittering generalities."
Does the placing Of the desks have
any effect on the eyes ?"
"Ies. When the school desks are not
arranged properly with reference to the
light, and it strikes the face, there is
blinking, squirting and compression Of
the eyes, with more or less STOPPING to
|
near the object and the accommodation
muscles are consequently strained. All
these are most potent factors in the pro-
duction OF near sight. When the eyes
are OF normal shape and power, seeing at
a distance is as easy as the reflections OF
a mirror In proportion as an object Is
brought near to the eye, is the increase
of muscular and eye strain. A child of )
to I'D years can generally see as close as
three or four inches, but ought not to be
allowed to see nearer than twelve to tit-
teen. All continuous near work, such as
reading and writing, requires the action
of certain eye muscles. which become
tired like muscles elsewhere in the body.
The nearer the paper and the longer the
near work is continued, the greater the
muscular and ocular strain and the dan
ger OF congestion, inflammation and the
development Of near sight. This is a
disease as much as rheumatism, and it
not only often requires glasses but also
demands active treatment to arrest
pathological changes in the chorvid and
retina, which often diminish vision even
to blindness"
"What are the causes of nearsighted-
ness ?"
"As have said, myopa, or near sight,
is caused by poor light, the improper
direction of it, STOPPING or dropping the
head, holding the eyes too near the OBJ
iect, and using them too continuously
upon print, writing, &c. | could pile up
statistics to prove that education is the
cause of myopia, but every well informed
layman knows it, But it is not education
particularly; it is the vicious ways in
which it is acquired, and it is plain that
all the causes have enumerated may be
removed by an intelligent school board
and thoughtful teachers. One OF the
most perncious practices in some public
schools, and one calculated to develop
more eye diseases than an army Of occu-
lists can control, is that Of requiring such
a vast amount of writing of lessons by the
little ones. Writing in poor light is worse
|, than reading, because the paper must lie
upon the desk, which does not slope
enough, thus causing STOPPING and bring
ing the eyes too near it. The light falls
upon it obliquely and is reflected in such
way that much of the illumination is
lost. Every letter must be looked at as
wrjttaD which iS NOT the ease in roo 6inu