Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-04-08
EYE SIGHT OLE CHILDREN.
An Important subject for Com
sidsratiOm.

and therefore knowing that there ex-
isted a necessity for some provision for
the protection of the eye sight OF the
children Of our public schools, the I'M
dersigned conceived that on account oil
his official connection with those schools,
it had become especially his duty to take
some steps in the matter.
Finding that the County Board OF
Education has no power to act, but that
you have, by virtue OF subdivision !, OF
section 1917, Of the Political Code. /
take this means of calling your attention
to the subject.
Aided by the Principal and assistants
of the Santa Monica school, made
test Of the eye sight Of the children at
tending that school on the LIST Of March,
1886, testing only for myopia.
One hundred and ten children's eyes
were examined, showing 20 cases OF
myopia, of which cases were so seri-
GUS that the parents were advised that
their childrens eyes required further ex-
animation by an expert.
A s., bright little girl OF IA,
exhibited frightful coudition-an evl-
dent case Of RAPIDLY progressive bullying
backwards of the eve ball (posterior
stanbvlonia She was only able to see
Is.I;ne MICA gothic tvpe 81 inches long)
at l6l feet When the normal eye sees
double plea No. ? Is l6 OF an inch) at
that distance. Upon inquiry she SAID;
.,When frat came to school could
see things on the black board from my
seat. have To 20 on to the platform
10 see them now.H
~ have headaches regularly every
afternoon in school,
"Mv ewes are getting worse all the
time.
mo doctor has ever examined my
ewes"
This girls eyesight would probably
have been preserved at the power she
had when she commenced coming to
school by the use OF proper glasses and
other safeguards. Now they can never
be restored, perhaps not even be kept as
thew are. / personally interviewed the
mother. even intimated that a compe-
tent oculist's advice could be had with
out charge. A month has passed, that
mother has disreearded the warning,
the child attends school without any
safeguards against the practical blind.
ness which is rapidly approaching.
A. W. aged IL, reads double
Mica No. . with left eve at 1874 feet,
barely able 10 see Is line plea Gothic
with the right eve. Did not suspect
This almost blind condition of the right
eve Her parents were notified. and
have Maid no attention. The other
four cases were not so bad, but for that
verv reason IL was more important that
thew should be properly care for, mas
much as this care would prevent Just
such results as were exhibited in the
iirst case. Three OF these four children
were found TO be subject to headaches,
evideptIv caused BY the difficulty OF
vision. The parents were notified.
Tbose of one child responded to the
call: All @ has now worn her glasses for
. two weeks. She was subject to almost
daily headaches; she has not bad a
headache since she began to wear
glasses
THE other parents have been so far
deaf IN the warning.
This left fourteen cases of defective
vision which the teacher can watch and
notify parents of any child when the
difficulty aopears to be increasing. which
l am afraid will happen in some OF them.
The Santa Monica school house is bet
ter arranged for light than most school
houses ia the county, II is under the
charge of a careful. able principal, with
efficient assistant teachers, am conf
dent that few schools in the county
could make as good a showing, outside
the citv- Of oonrae. where parents can
more easily obtain advice.
Twenty youths were recently examined
in Los Angeles for West Point Cadet
shin. OF these thirteen did not come up
to the proper standard of eyesight, Of
which five showed serious defects in
vision. OF course none of these thirteen
would have presented themselves If they
had spsnected the STATE of their eyesipht
1t would seem hardly necessary to add
ANYTHING TO this homo experiences, but |
call your attention to the following
facts:
Herr just, by tests made in 1880 at
the gymnasium of Zettau, found IS. per
cent. OF the students myopic. At the
Polytechnic School he found POI per
cent; in the second class as much as SO
per cent.
Termination .f two public schools in
Vienna in 1881 bv Won Reuss. showed
474 children examined. I4.5 per cent.
mvopic. 339 per cent. bypermetropic
.the contrary OF myopial, The number
of byperopes remained stationary, but
the mvopes increased in the upper
Glasses (my experience also at Santa
Monica).
Weber examined 400 school children
at Darmstadt In 1881. showing 60 per
cent defective in vision, of which 30. 7
per cent. were myopic.
Observe that the trouble increases in
the higher classes.
Remember also that it is a recognized
fact that conQenital myopia is SO rare
that most authorities denv its existence
altogether. The defect is developed
principally by school work.
There is a CRYING necessity for the
prevention of these evils. No doubt ex-
eessiye conveyance Of the optic axes is
the chief agent in the production of
myopia, and the great preventative il to
keen the ewes of the pupil as far as pos
sible from the work. Every twentieth
of an inch gained is OF great import
ance.
COIN, OF Breslau, and Horner, of
Zurich, have for this reason advised
that states be banished from the schools
because of the comparative indistinct-
ness Of impressions, children holding or
binary states much closer to their eyes
than paper or other white surfaces; and
| attribute the really very good show
inc of the Santa Monica school to the
fact that its teachers make comparative
lv little use Of the slate. | observed
large proportion Of pup ills using note
books. Until good, cheap substitute
can be found Tor states they must De
used as little as possible, ana pupils
who show any tendency 10 myopia not
be allowed to use them at all. The
blackboards should be used as much as
possible, pupils parents who can afford
it are advised to furnish their children
with white states or note books.
Rut "a If most inheritance The writer