The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1888-10-04
EXPERIMENTS IN OPTICS.
How the Eyesight Is Affected by Much
neutrality-suspicious. of Color.

Oculists say that reading people are
wearing out their eyes. They trace
near-sightedness and many other de-
fects of vision to much reading. 1t is
matter of common observation that
persons who read most have the sense
of sight most impaired. Scientists
have feared that the prevalent defects
of the eye might become hereditary
and that years of evolution might pro-
duce Il sightless race-or, at least, one
partly blind-and many experiments
have been made and suggestions Of
fered to lessen this danger.
A number of experiments have been
made with reference to the color of the
paper and the printers ink. The gloss
of highly finished OF eaIendered paper
has been condemned. A natural tone
and dull surface is preferred. The
contrast between white paper and
black ink is believed to be too great
and diversity of colors has been sug-
gested for both paper and ink. A
very light buff tint in the paper has
been found to be grateful to the eve
and a MANILA paper has been used
with good results. An eastern expert
menter has satisfied himself that the
ground should always be darker than
the print-the paper of deeper color
than the letters. He suggests black
paper and gray ink, or a blue page
printed in orange. Signs are printed
on this principle oftener than. on any
other.
This suggestion is based on the the
ory of scientists that objects are see
because they are lighted up-that is to
say, the rays of light reflected from an
object form its outlines on. the retina
of the eye. In the white page and
black letter it is claimed that this pro-
cess is reversed and that every part of
the page except the letter is seen. The
letters are observed because in certain
lines the white page makes no impress
sion on the retina. A silhouette, it is
claimed is not as grateful to the eye as
the same figure on slate, and bronze
bust against a white wall is less pleas
ing than a marble bust against a black
shield.
A Russian physician named Malaney-
sky after many experiments proposed
a black ground and white letters. Prof.
Bowditch of Harvard experimental
with several classes, however, and
found that a majority of only small
per cent. in each class preferred the
black ground and white ink to a white
ground and black ink. The Harvard
experiments prove that Maianeysky's
scheme is not of n general value. In
Paris it has been decided that street
names in white letters on blue ground
are more easily read than the black or
white lettering.
Tho nlnSt nntad in oo1o,.a
has been that of firm of Dutch pub
fishers, which has printed a number of
books on light green paper in sky-blue
ink. These are claimed to be-nature's
favorite colors, and their pleasing eff
feet in vegetation and sky is sought to
be reproduced by the printed page.
The experiments said to be successful,
though the combination of color is not
likely to ravish artistic souls. Still
other plans for relieving the eye have
been suggested.
A London firm of printers asks if we
do not read backward, and suggests q
heavy-faced itaiic type. 1t is claimed
that perpendicular letter is not best
adapted to the sight, and that the
vision would pass more readily and
with greater ease over a line slanted
toward the right as if the letters were
flowing in the direction taken by the
eyes in reading.
Other persons have suggested that
matter be printed in columns, a word
to the line, like an old-fashioned SPELL
ing-book or a Chinese newspaper, and
that the column be read from the top
downward. The,colunfn would be an
odd-looking affair where a short word
and five-syllabled one came together
and the waste of space incurred makes
such suggestion impracticable. An
other suggestion is that the lines be
printed to read right and left alternate
ly. For instance, You begin at the
first line and read to the right-hand
side of the column, then drop your eve
to the next line and read back 10 the
starting side, and so on. The loss Of
time in carrying the eye to the right
from the left hand side of a column at
the conclusion of each line would be
saved, as well as the strain on the eye
in catching the next line. But no
language will read both ways and the
proposition is not worth considering.
Mr. Tuer of the London firm suggests
a new type with broad face, and that
capitals be made of size uniform with
the lower case or small letters. He
would reduce the '.talr' letters-those
that project above or below the line
such as !, h, y, and p, to the same
height as those without tails. But his
suggestion has rather the object Of
economy in space than a relief to the
eye, though both are considered.
About the best suggestion offered for
newspaper printing is that of two
practical printers Of Chicago-Mr. A.
c. Cameron and Mark L. Crawford.
They want less printed in the news
papers and the size of the type in
creased. They want the news in brief
and to the point. The people do not
want a dictionary for cent, they say,
and complain that the papers print SO
much matter that it takes too much