The morning call., 1891-01-25
FACULTY OF The EYE.
Make The Surroundings in Your DWELLINGS
HARMONIOUS.

As, long while ago, | installed myself
IN my new dwelling, l was not little sur
prlsed, on first inspection, to find condi-
ton of things which ran precisely counter
to my wishes and directions This disap-
pointment was chiefly ascribable to the
multiplicity and variety of cOlOrs that had
been selected. Not that any faY0Tite tints
had been forgotten; but the great diversity
dlspieaSed and disappointed me so much
The more, as [ had previously directed that
a decided tone should be preserved in respect
to all the other colOTS which were 10 he
purely decorative, and that were simply to
Oe brought In unison with the primary tint,
SAYS DR.. Strum IN Over Land and Sea"
10 my representations l received the an
sWer: Such disposition is modern only,
and IN regard to the utility or effect |
might fully tranQUliZe myself. Not until
the entire apartments had been fitted np in
the manner proposed would everything
blend together, and thereby a harmonious
effect and ensemble be produced" This
view, however, l could not at all concur in,
Tor the contrast OF color was so vivid that it
impressed my eyes diSagreeaDiy in the high
est degree. To this the fact also contribute
that the tIntS were of the llveliest tone. As
sequence to this disagreeable Impression,
l experienced a certain weakness of that
organ which, In view of the frequent recur-
renee of such oveT-eXertiOn, was in no wise
slightly preiudiced, for the eye has lis
nerves as well as every other organ. The
stronger becomes its influence upon the
latter, for in the inverse ratio with the
strength of the eye decreases that OF its
nervous constitutional condition which is.
called nervous debility, or rather nervous
ness. We must, therefore, speak of such in
respect to the eye Just as in respect to any
other organ, IN so far as it is nervOuSly de-
bilitated IN exact proportion as it is itself
weakened.
What is characterized for the most part as
! nervous debility in a person is, in fact
nothing more than the sum of the nervous
ness Oh the individual organ. As a eonse-
quence, 1t Is not matter of Indifference
Tow we select The cOlorS of our dwellings
Daily our vision wanders over the latter.
ana III VIII not escape the attentive observer
now much the vivid and dazzling irritates
the optlc nerve, how much Il mild and
healthy primary tone, on the other hand
VIII animate aud refresh it. For this reason
IL Is highly important that our ewes be ar
cuStomed to rest upon prevailing tint win
which everything Will naturally haFmnnize
ms Is apphcaole not merely TO the dwell
Ing, put also to our clothing, and so on; in
snort, to all those subjects in which wa
have to deal with colors
SIM more frequent occasions for render
ing the eye neryously weak are afforded by
conditions Of Light, for too much as wei rs
too little light is equally preiudieiaL In
earlier times duskiness was agreeable.
People sat often and long in dark rooms
and were pleased to order lights not until it
grew late late, at least in the present &C
eeptation OF the term, when they insist in
living as far as possible in a full light"
But they do not reflect that as n general
rule they carry this too far, and that thereby "
strong lmpulsi0n IS given 10 an ever-in-
creaslng short SightednesS Self-obsarva
ton and experience will here teach what is
the just mean, as have shown in detail in
my work on the prevention and cure of
nervous debility.
A third faculty of the eve is that of per-
ShnnnS and
around US. Here, too, no excess should be
committed in our contemplation of too
many men or objects, especially when the
latter are passing before TIE eyes in rapid
alienation. This is the more important, as
without this the eye is very much exerted,
and therefore peculiar conditions demand
corresponding foresight. That reading too
much tine print, and Sa forth, should natur-
ally do injury to the eyes, every one of my
readers will already sufficiently know. Not.
less than our organ of sight, that of hearing
demands like care and economy. While
men accord u the body. through the agency
OF athletic and gymnastie exercises, sys-
temate development. this sense has 10 con-
tent itself, for the most part, with what cas-
ually falls to its lot.
One does not consider the fact that the ear
is irritated and weakened by the din of ma
chinery or the uproar of the street. etc He
is surprised. indeed, to find that his ear for
music becomes more and more preiudicially
affected by residence in noisy cities The
senses and the brain must be sedulouSly fos-
tered if we wish that their power should re-
main more or less intact This attention
should be accorded them not alone for their
own sake, but also for the sake of our bod
les, which sustain all the more detriment
the greater the damage experienced by the
former. Experience teaches that in the
same ratio as our organs of sense and men
tai power become eDfeebied, disorder aud
debility manifest themselves in our digeS-
ton, respiration and capacity for move
ment. and innumerable nervous maIadieS
remain unbealed and uncured for the reason
that the relations between the body, mind
and sensOrium are not carefully watched
and nreSRrVPd