Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1891-05-08

Ophthalmic hospital Of England, re-
Gently took prominent part in bring
Ing to light many facts connected with
color blindness, and has been instru-
mental in getting laid before the Eng
lish public the Board of Trade Report.
He says;
'In family of seven children, four
sons and three daughters, the eldest
and the youngest of the sons are color
blind. The defect is inherited from the
grandfather through the mother; but
neither the mother nor any other men,
ber Of the family is color blind In
family of five, three sons and
two daughters, the three sons inherit
color blindness through their father
and grandfather; while the two daugh-
ters, and indeed the whole of the fe-
males of this family, are free from color
defect"
The question may be fairly asked:
Does color blindness increase with in
creasing age? There are some physical
defects which can be outgrown and
lost forever; but Mr.. Jabea Hogg says
of this very thingi
IA few carefully recorded cases lead
me to think that age does aggravate the
defect of blindness, as it does GER
tain other defects of vision. 1t un-
doubtedly becomes more pronounced
as the near point Of vision recedes. In
the case of Mr. d. B. c., who at the
early age of fourteen went to sea, and
who, five or six years afterward, con-
suited me before he applied for his GER
tificate as third mate, | pronounced him
red-color blind nevertheless, afterward
he obtained his certificate; and subse.
quently those of second and first mate.
But when, at the age of twenty-six, he
applied for his masters certificate, he
was unable to pass the color test. At
this date i once more tested him for
color, and on referring back to my
notes of an earlier date, | came to the
conclusion that his blindness had
sensibly increased.
Another was as follows: Capt,
F. consulted me for a disturbed
state of vision - tobacco amaurosis.
His color sense was also very i'm
perfect; but as he soon recovered l saw
no more of him for nine or ten years,
when he one morning called upon me,
complaining of defective sight and an
inability to distinguish the ships light.
He was then very uncertain about his
green's; dark-greens he called black and
dark-reds were simply warmer colors
than greens. In short, he was color
blind. Soon afterward he retired from
the service.
"The next case is more strilSingly
| corroborative. III. J., q lad aged
sixteen, myopic before going to sea,
was examined at an ophthalmic hospi-
tai and pronounced free from color
blindness. On his return home, he
passed the color-test examination and
obtained his certificate. Four years
afterward his father brought him to
me. He was then complaining of his
inability to distinguish the color of the
ships signal lights, and he often missed
the ropes This he attributed to his
short sight. He was unable to select
or sort the skeins of colored wool; in
short, he was completely color blind.
| recommended him not to go up. for his
second examination. His friends
thought otherwise. He was rejected,
and his certificate was indorsed color
blind This, of course, put stop to
his further career in the service. The
father of this. patient was not color
blind; but he was unable to say
whether his father or grandfather had
suffered from any defect of vision. The
myopia must have been transmitted"
The statistics we have just presented
to our readers plainly prove that the
utmost caution must be exercised by
parents, railway officials and marine in.
speotors before they allow their chill.
dren or their candidates to enter upon
q line of occupation for which by ma
turc they are wholly untitled. And the
public itself ought to lay to heart the
many facts revealed by Mr.. Jabez
Hogg. A largo percentage of the pub
lie is every day travelling either by sea
or rail, and it is absolutely necessary
that the utmost precaution should b5
exercised in ascertaining the compc.
tency of the men in charge for reading
Alright the colored signs and signal.
which in their various and silent ways
predict safety, caution or danger. N
Y. Ledger.