The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-29
THE WONDERS OF
 THE HUMAN EYE Remarkable Mechanism Can-
 not Be Initiated BY ANY MECHANICAL ART Some of the Constitutional Defects of the Organ and How They May Be
 Remeded-Is the Most
 Useful Member.

arranged in a dark chamber. By means 1 An enthusiastic young student once re- marked to a noted professor:
 "oh, professor, ism it wonderful how little we know!"
 After a moment he replied: Tt is more wonderful how little We know how little we know"
 The human eye, for instance, is mas terpece. It is so perfect that it cannot be initiated by man. It is camera and consists of a series of lenses and media arranged in dark chamber. By means of these media and lenses images are thrown upon the retina, which is an ex- pansion of the optic nerve, and are thus transmitted to the brain
 When perfectly formed and acting nor mally the eye is called emmetropic, and is said to accommodate itself to light and to distance so exquisitely that sight Is per feet. Such an eye is a rarity, however, as owing to slight deviations from the nor nal. which may be congenital, or due to acquired faults induced by bad habits of one kind or another i'll health or what not 1t may safely be said that fully 75 per cent of all eyes are defective.
 The eye is noted for it's swiftness, its silence and it's precision. It is able to fix an object at a great distance and trans init it's image perfectly to the brain, and yet at the same time it is never absolutely still except during sleep. Even when the lids are closed and the eye is apparently put to rest it continues to oscillate while consciousness remains.
 The eye is, therefore, in use to greater extent than any of the other sense or gans and the train of evils resulting from it's misuse and its abuse is so far reaching that one celebrated American oculist says eve troubles are the cause of all the ills to which flesh is heir!
 However, it has only been within com paratively recent years that the medical profession has awakened to a full realiza- ton of the notable role the eyes play in illness and disease, and especially in men tai conditions. Every effort is now being made by physicians to bring this fact home to educators and to the public in general. III OTueT lllaL SAlbhb dCNAotAOAS from the normal may be corrected as early in life as possible and the child be given as fair a chance as his more for tunate brother to acquire that education with which it is the duty of every parent to equip his offspring.
 It is impossible for a child with poor vision to do himself justice at school. He cannot attain proficiency in his studies and labors under a constant and twofold disadvantage. Not only does he suffer physical pain, and lose the greater half of his school work, and therefore of his education, but he is misunderstood and accused of laziness, inattention, stupidity and what not simply because the defect in his vision has not been recognized, and he is unable to call attention to it, as he cannot distinguish between good and bad sight
 One of the commonest congenital de- fleets of the eye is hypermetropia, or far sghtedness. The globe of the eye is too short iR its antero- -posterior diameter (from front backward) and rays of light, instead of being properly focused on the retina, are projected behind it. This con dition may ocur In several members of one family, and is, therefore, hereditary. It is due to arrested development; the eyeball is smaller than it should be, and is usually deeply set in the orbit It is more common among the uneducated and among uncivlized peoples, whose free and nomadic lives demand far-sighted vision.
 The trouble exists at birth and when the child attends school he experiences great difficulty at near work and in the reading of small type. The page soon be- comes indistinct Relief is momentarily gained by looking away, but upon re- sumption of his task the same thing hap pens. Power to focus upon the print be- Fcomes exhausted. The book is held closer in the hope that that will aid the vision, but it only increases the difficulty; the eyes smart and pain and begin to water; the lids are then compressed in order to cut off the divergent rays of light: they become reddened and swollen, feel hot and heavy; headache and dizziness follow Insufficient light is particularly harmful to hypermetropic eyes, as they require the open more than any other variety
 Every far-sghted pupil should be seated so that the rays of light fall over his left shoulder upon his work while the eyes are in the shadow. Special care should be given to the quality Chat it is soft and brighD and the quantity Chat it is abun- dant) The print should not be fine, but large and distinct; the book or work should be held directly in front of the 
 eyes/at distance of F or IA inches. Con tinuous application exhausts the focusing power of these eyes very quickly, ant there should be frequent periods of relax ation Persons possessing such eye: | should seek out-of-door employment, al l all occupations necesstating close ant | confined use of the eyes are very harm l full
 l The opposite of the foregoing condition 1 is myopia, or near-sightedness; here tn | diameter of the globe is so long that ray 1 of light are brought to a focus in front o the retina. It is an acquired trouble, a | it practically never occurs in the newborn but it presents itself early in life fror
 overtaxation of the eyes at near worl
 It is so common among school childre
 that it is called school myopia." As tn
 higher grades are reached and greate
 application is demanded the vision ma
 become alarmingly impaired.
 This trouble may be observed in yer
 young children at play; they do not car
 for out-of-door games. but prefer indoo
 amusements; they shun the light, an
 when inspecting an object hold it Yer
 close to the eyes. In well-marked case