THE SPECIAL SENSES 



271 



is removed, the better. Rubbing the eyes or pulling the 

 eyelids only makes a bad matter worse. When the eyes 

 smart or tingle, after going to bed, and are bloodshot on 

 getting up the next morning, it is safe to conclude that 

 they have been irritated or overtaxed, and need rest. Rid- 

 ing against the wind, especially on a bicycle or in an auto- 

 mobile, is often hurtful, at least for eyes that are inclined 

 to weakness or any form of inflammation. 



It is not a wise economy to tamper with one's eyes when 

 they are ailing. Better to do nothing than do the wrong 

 thing. If a few days of 

 rest do not give relief, a 

 good oculist should be 

 consulted at once. 



374. Effect of Alcohol 

 on Sight. The govern- 

 ment coast survey every 



summer employs several small companies of men in meas- 

 uring distances from high points along the coast. It has 

 been found by experience that whenever these men indulge 

 in strong drink their work is often impaired and faulty. 

 They fail to signal correctly or to be accurate in their 

 own records. 



375. Effect of Tobacco on Sight. A personal examination, 

 conducted by Dr. Francis Bowling, of about ten per cent 

 of the employees of a Cincinnati factory employing fifteen 

 hundred men showed many of the men who used tobacco, 

 either chewing or smoking, to be suffering from a gradual 

 failure of vision. With one exception, the women em- 

 ployees of the same factory who were examined by him 

 gave no evidence of tobacco poisoning as manifested by 

 troubles of vision. 



FIG. 171. The Actual Size of the 

 Test Type, which should be seen 

 by the Normal Eye at a Distance 

 of Twenty Feet. 



