The Washington herald., 1914-06-14
ARTIFICIAL ILLUMINATION.
Remarkable Progress Made in Re

Enormous progress has been made dur
| ing recent years in the science of illumi-
nation. This has not only been of great
value in safety and convenience in trains.
boats. factories, streets. stores, .theaters
and churches, but II Is a distinct benefit
in conserving the eyesight of the human
| race The development of the electric
lamp is probably the most marked i'm
provement in artificial illumination that
has recently been made. for 1t not only
increases the light capacity but decreases
the cost of consumption Most electric
l'companies will. on request, furnish latest
lamps free to consumers, Just as they
have heretofore supplied the now old
fashioned carbon filament lamps.
One of the best lights for illuminating
such places a. railroad sheds. foundries
and blacksmith shops is what is known
as the flaming arc lamp" II has been
improved so that the fumes of the arc
are condensed and do not escape into the
air nor become deposited on the globe.
1t is a cheap lamp to maintain. as one
set Of carbons will burn 100 to 10 hours
without attention.
I The proper natural and artificial light
ing of schoolrooms has a most marked
effect on the health of the school children.
One interesting fact disclosed by these
;nvestig ations is that girls eyes are
usually worse than boys eyes. This is
accounted for by the fact that girls are
taught to sew early in life and often
times with insufficient illumination Sew
ing lessons should not be given to little
girls before seven years of age good
| light should always be assured, and dis
elimination shall be shown between girls
having good eyes and those having poor
eyes
On account of the effect on chiIdren's
eyes, the size and style of type, the quail
ity and color OF paper, the illustrations.
the angle and the position in reading and
writing. the color of blackboards and
chalk should always be taken into con-
Fideration in selecting school books and
school supplies. Black type on a yellow
background is the most legible of all
combinations. especially for distance,
while black type on q white background
comes sixth in order out of thirteen speci-
mems.
The work Of the railway mail clerk
Is one of the most trying occupations on
the eye The United States Postoffice
Department has recently taken up the
matter and is preparing to equip all our
pnstoffice cars with the best and least in
furious methods of illumination. Several
of, our State governments are taking
active steps to regulate the lighting OF
cars and the headlights of locomotives
and automobiles. The binding result of
excessively powerful lights on locono-
tives and automobiles is well known.
While such machines should be abun-
dainty lighted. to insure safety to all
concerned, excessive illumination should
be condemned and forbidden.
The indirect lighting of theaters,
churches. restaurants. and cars has pro-
duced a revolution in interior illumina-
ton. This method is most restful to the
nd u-har hnn
an ideal method for the lighting of in
teriors
Street lights should be protected by
glazed or opaque shades. When prop
erly installed and placed. such lighting
Is sufficient and 10 much easier on the
eyes than the old unprotected style of
lights The glazed or opaque globe
seems to be coming into general use
and its use should be encouraged. not
only in public places. but in houses as
well. Clear globes or lamps should never
be used: they are very trying on the
eyes. The nearer artificial lighting can
approach daylight. the more nearly per-
fection is reached.
In Germany they are experimenting
with marble globes instead of glass
globes. The marble is planed down till
IL Is thin and translucent. and the light
produced is almost the exact counter
part Of daylight. One investigator has
shown that screen coated with an
aluminium powder. placed in front of
light will produce an illumination ex-
actly like daylight by means of which
even colors can be judged with per-
feet accuracy. The day may not be far
distant when artificial illumination will
become perfect substitute for daylight.
In Holland women and children are for
bidden to work in factories or work.
shops where artificial lighting Is neces-
sary before 3 o'clock in the morning ana
after o'clock n the afternoon. These
questions are being discussed in Eng
land, France, Holland, Austria. and Ger
many. In this country, New York and
Wisconsin have taken up this question,
and it is to be hoped that 1t will soon
receive serious official consideration ev-
Observation-Disclosures.