Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-06-30
NEAR SIGHTED PEOPLE.
A Broadway Optician Explains h Canses
and Remedies OF Myopia.

SIN no other city in the world can be
found SO many people afflicted with my
opia or near sightedness as right here in
New York, /" said a Broadway optician a
few DAYS since. ''Nlore than half the
population OF our big town are 20 af-
ficted, and the number of persons who
wear spectncles or eyeglasses Is astonish-
ingly large. rs is evincel by an cxamina-
ton of the faces of the crowds which
surge along Broadway. The number of
sufferers from myopia is, ! am sorry to
say, annually increasing, and not a few
of these are from our schools and col
leges."
''To what do you attribute the rrpva-
lence of this partial blindness queried
the writer.
''i'ear sightedness arises from n num-
Der of causes, chief among which are
reading in the dusk of the evening, or
fatiguing the eyes in trying to read by
aid of a bad artificial Illumination; read
ing while in a lying position, or with the
head thrust too far forward; the perusing
of blurred or s~lovenly printed books, or
matter printed in a very small type. All
these and many other things conduce to
gradual decrease in the power Of vision,
and if too greatly persisted in will finally
end in the total destruction of the sight.
''The principal cause of the prevalence
of short sightedness (among our business
men at least, is the pernicious habit so
largely INDUCED in of reading newspa-
pers while riding in the surface cars or
omnibuscs. The jolting or swaying mo
ton Of the car or bus causes an unstcadi-
ness of hand, which makes the type APP
pear blurred and uncertain. Tllesteadier,
easy motion of the cars on the elevated
roads has done much toward the preser-
walton of the eyesiGht of those who find
that they must read while en- route and
who pa~tronize the aerial mode Of
transit"
"When does one become conscious Of
failing visual poweri" WAS asked.
''One first begins to discover that he Is
losing his keenncss of vision when the
signs along the streets and distant oh.
jects are not easily discernible without a
conscious effort, accompanied by q pain
full straining and extension Of the pupil.
When one is convinced that his cyesight
is failing him he should not delay a mo-
ment before consulting an oculist."
SIS not near siShtedness sometimes
hereditary"
II believe hereditary influence TO be
of great effect in causing short sight. i
have known large families, whose mem
bers, from the youngest to the oldest,
were afflicted with weak eyes or a TIC
short range Of vision. The sight can he
preserved and prevented from growing
poorer only by the use Of proper glasses
at the proper time. \ dangerous mis-
take, too often made. is that Of wearing
glasses which are either too weak or,
what is worse, too strong for the require
ment of the eye"
Continuing the optician remarked that:
'Presbyopia or so called far sighted
ness supervenes earlier with those who
are constantly at work than with other
persons. and as soon rs 1t does convex
glasses should be at once resorted to.
without which the muscle of accommo-
dation would be fatigucd 10 no purpose.
At first they should he used for working
in the evening. after the fatigue Of the
day, but a long sighted person SHOULD
only use specgacles for looking at neal
objects, not at far ones"
Speaking Of spectacles and eyeglasses,
the optician further remarked that but
few lenses were made in the United
States, and those only Of the poorest
quality. Said he: The best lenses are
imported in a rough state from France,
and cut and polished after arrival in this
country. Glasses are numbered from five
TO fifty; those below No. ) are worn only
by persons undergoing treatment for
cataract or other ocular diseases. AS
%tiguatism is one Of these. Astiguatism
is an abnormal development Of sight
power In one of the eyes. with a CORES
ponding weakness Of vision in the other.
1t is often mistaken for myopia, anl so
treated by ignorant men who prse rs
ophthalmologists, or, more properly
speaking. not Oculi,t3 at all.
''ln conclusion | will only say That a
man can part with a lee. arm or other
member Of his boiy and eventually bc.
come accustomed to lis loss. AID may, il
he be Of a philosophical turn Of mind,
manage to suck much nectar from life.
flower, but the loss Of sight units n man
alike for pleasure and for duty, and rc.
moves forever the one thing noedfl To
the most complete and fullest enjoyment
of his existence. II there Is one thing
more than another which | would strive
10 impress on the minds Of youlg people
iC is tho advice. Take care vi y0ul
eyes"