The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-05-01
The Out-of-Door Treatment.

1t Is said that children under tWelVe
years of age are wearing spectacles
nowadays to an extent which is alarm
ing or encouraging, according to the
ideas of the observer. 1t may be ar
gued on the one hand that ill-lighted
schoolrooms, an increase in the pumber
of hours devoted to study, and the use
of badly printed books are running the
eyes of the children; on the other hand,
it may be said that seventy-five years
ago nobody thought of putting spec
tacles on children, and the eyes of
many persons were allowed to go to
ruin through the lack of proper care by
an oculist.
There may be some truth in both
views of the matter. 1t is undoubtedly
true that The right sort of glasses worn
for a time in childhood will often cor
rect a slight abnormality of vision and
improve the eyesight so much that the
same aids to vision in later life will
not be necessary; but ii is also true
that this same abnormality might not
occur If the child were placed in proper
surroundings and net allowed to abuse
its eyesight.
1t has recently been stated by an
eminent scientist that indoor life is
responsible for much of the trouble
which the modern person has with his
eyes, and of course this Is quite as true
OF children as Of grown persons. The
normal eye Is so constructed as to ad-
just itself unconsciously to the percep-
ton of objects at any distance within
the range of vision, and this is usually
much greater In savages and people
who live in the open air than in the
average civilized man. The abnormal
far-sightedness of the sailor is well
known, and this is unquestionably due
to his habit of scanning the horizon,
as the old-fashioned novelist put 1t,
accustoming himself to look for OBJ
iects at the very extreme of his range
of vision, which may be extended al
most Indefinitely on the open sea, not
being limited by objects in the fore
ground or middle distance. The plains
man has something of this ability to
discern objects at distance, and the
woodsman, though not perhaps so far
sighted, sometimes develops almost the
ability to see in the dark, and his eye
takes in every least detail OF his sur
roundings 1t should be noted, how
ever that In none OF these out-of-door
workers, except perhaps the sailor. is
the power of seeing objects at a short
distance at all diminished. They gain
without a corresponding loss in the
other direction
With the bookworm and dweiler with
in doors it is not so. He is absolutely
deprived Of opportunity TO see any
thing at a distance. except for short
periods each dag He is indoors most
of the time, and his eye can range no
farther than across the room. Even
| when on the street it may be noticed
that he is more likely to fix his eyes
on the pavement or objects near by
than on the distant view. His eyes
therefore lose, in time all power to see
anything distinctly except 1t be within
| a range of four or five feet.
The remedy for this state Of things is
obviously out-of-door life. The student
should take pains. when out of doors.
to look away into the distance. and he
should, If possible have view of dis
tant hills or buildings from the win
dows of his study. He will save his
eyes more in this way than by wearing
spectacles. though spectacles are good
in their place.