November 2, 1888.] 



SCIENCE. 



209 



"The Irish, Swedish, and Germans have the highest percentage 

 of affections ; the English, French, Scotch, and Americans, the low- 

 est percentage. Out of the whole number examined, 1,162 were 

 girls and 878 boys ; 458 had some ametropia (some anoirialy of re- 

 fraction). Of the 1,162 girls, 290, or 24.9 per cent, were ametropic ; 

 of the 878 boys, 168, or 19.1 per cent, were ametropic; being a 

 larger per cent of affection among the girls than among the boys. 



" Out of the 2,040 pupils, 13, oro.6 percent, had strabismus ; 94, 

 or 4.6 per cent, were myopic ; 202, or 9.9 per cent, were hyperme- 

 tropic ; 42, or 2.06 per cent, wer6 astigmatic; 99, or 4.8 per cent, 

 had spasm of accommodation ; and 63, or 3.1 per cent, had latent 

 hypermetropia. 



"We find that hypermetropia predominates. If we add latent 

 hypermetropia and spasm of accommodation, saying nothing of as- 

 tigmatism, of which the majority was hypermetropic, we have 364 

 hypermetropes to 94 myopes, or nearly four times as many hyper- 

 metropes as myopes, or over twice as many as all the other affec- 

 tions taken together. In the table, as seen, all the grades, from the 

 primary through the grammar school, high school, normal school, 

 and university, are represented ; but in no instance, e.\cepting the 

 Kansas State University, is there any thing like a gradual increase 

 of myopia or any of the anomalies simply or collectively. In nearly 

 all of the schools there seems to be a higher per cent of affection in 

 the first years ; then, a little later in the course, a marked diminu- 

 tion ; and then again an increase. Probably many of those having 

 some trouble after remaining in school for a short time drop out, 

 which would account for the diminution ; and then spasm of accom- 

 modation and latent hypermetropia becoming manifest later on, or 

 perhaps developing into myopia, would account for the increase in 

 this affection. 



" School-life, however, as stated above, so far as I can gather by 

 these examinations, has little or nothing to do in the development 

 of these anomalies. That they exist, however, in a much greater 

 degree than is generally supposed, is very evident ; and that con- 

 tinuous use of the eyes having these errors of refraction, whether 

 in the school-room or out of it, if not corrected, is sure to have its 

 evil consequences. The importance of a recognition of the exist- 

 ence of these anomalies, of their extreme frequency, and of detect- 

 ing and correcting them, is obvious enough. We should take into 

 consideration that spasm of accommodation and latent hypermetro- 

 pia frequently exist, and that these affections often develop into myo- 

 pia ; and if recognized early, and timely treated by rest and glasses, 

 much suffering and irremediable troubles are averted. Cohn and 

 others may have been able, twenty years ago, to trace the develop- 

 ment of myopia to badly appointed school-rooms ; but here in 

 America our school-rooms are so carefully arranged as to light, 

 seats, desks, ventilation, etc., that we can scarcely attribute to the 

 work in the school-room the cause of anomalies. In a very great 

 degree these errors of refraction are congenital, frequently they are 

 latent, and, if the eyes were not overtaxed by near work, they would 

 never become manifest. The evil arising from work in the school- . 

 room is that these errors of refraction are not perceived, and hence 

 not corrected. If the teacher could be made to understand that the 

 little pupils complaining of headache, pain through the temples, and 

 weakness of the eyes, or dimness of vision, arose neither from stu- 

 pidity nor desire to avoid study, but that these complaints were 

 symptoms of some defect of the organ of vision, or, what would be 

 better still, let a competent oculist carefully examine each child as 

 he enters upon each year of study in the school-work, and his an- 

 omaly, if he have any, corrected, anomalies would gradually di- 

 minish." 



COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY. 



The Neglect of Native Fruit-Plants in California. 



Since the settlement of California, its fruit-growing interests 

 have rnpidly gained great importance. It is remarkable, that, not- 

 withstanding the economic value of this industry, hardly any at- 

 tempts have been made to utilize the native fruit-plants ; and Mr. 

 H. Semler, who is so well conversant with the flora of California, 

 has done good service in calling attention to the numerous plants 

 that appear well worth being cultivated, and promise to become a 

 source of considerable revenue. He states, that except the seeds 



of the nut-pine, which are sometimes used as a dessert, only one or 

 two species of blueberry ( Vaccinium) are sold, although they are 

 not cultivated. Hardly any attempts have been made to cultivate 

 the numerous native berries. In a recent number of Peiermann's 

 Milteiliinc;en he draws attention to a number of these plants. 



There is a good Californian raspberry (Rithus letuodermis). The 

 European raspberry is cultivated with limited success only in the 

 valley of the Hudson and in New Jersey, although its culture is 

 made difficult by the extreme cold of winter. For this reason at- 

 tempts were made to cultivate Rubiis strignsus and Rubiis Occi- 

 dcntalis (the red raspberry and the thimble-berry). By breeding 

 and crossing these species, the raspberries now in use were ob- 

 tained. These have been introduced into California, while the native 

 raspberry of that State is neglected, although, even in its wild state, 

 it has a better taste than the wild eastern berries. 



In the same way the eastern blackberries and dewberries have 

 been introduced, although two excellent species are native to the 

 Pacific coast. Since the discovery of the 'Lawton' or 'New 

 Rochelle,' numerous varieties of Rtibus villosus have been cultivated, 

 and plantations of great extent and value are found in California. 

 No attempts, however, have been made at developing Rubus 

 ursinus, a native of the Californian coast, which is used by farmers 

 for making jams and jellies ; nor has Rubus pedatus of the Sierra 

 Nevada, which has small and sweet jet-black berries, attracted any 

 attention. 



Gooseberry-culture has so far been a failure in North America. 

 The European varieties degenerate and perish after a few years. A 

 few years since, Ribes aureum, a native of Missouri, was cultivated 

 and used as a stock for the European great-fruited varieties. The 

 Californian Rzbes divarzca/ztm seems still better adapted to this pur- 

 pose, and with proper culture it will undoubtedly produce fruits that 

 will equal the European varieties in every respect. 



The salmon-berry {Rubus spectabilis) and the Pacific thimble-berry 

 {Rubus Nutkanus) are admirably adapted for making jams. Both 

 have a jjeculiarly sweet and aromatic taste and very small seeds. They 

 do not keep any length of time, and cannot be transported on 

 account of their softness, but may be preserved, as is now exten- 

 sively done by settlers in the woods of Oregon and British Colum- 

 bia. The young sprouts of the salmon-berry are boiled, and are 

 said to be better than spinach. 



Besides these, we mention the large currant, Ribes bractcosuin, 

 which would probably prove a valuable shrub ; the Leila amarilla, 

 one of the four Californian barberries, which is frequently used in 

 Mexico, but has not attracted the attention of horticulturists ; and 

 the Californian vine, Vitis Calif oriiica, which might be developed 

 just as well as the eastern species of Vitis astivalis and. V.riparia, 

 which have become the stock of renowned eastern vines. 



It would be well if Californian horticulturists would not only direct 

 their attention to foreign products and to endeavors to introduce 

 them into California, but also attempt to cultivate the native plants of 

 their State, many of which might become sources of important in- 

 dustries. 



ELECTRICAL SCIENCE. 



Improvements in Methods of Manufacturing Storage- 

 Batteries. 



Mr. Madden, in the Electrical World, describes some recent 

 improvements in the methods of manufacturing secondary bat- 

 teries of the grid type. The plates of which these batteries are com- 

 posed have been made heretofore by pasting by hand a mixture of 

 red lead and sulphuric acid into hourglass-shaped holes in a cast- 

 lead frame. Hand-labor in such work has two objections : it is ex- 

 pensive, and it does not give uniform results. The life of the cell, 

 and its freedom from expensive depreciation, depend to a great ex- 

 tent on a perfect uniformity of condition all over the plate. To 

 attain this, Mr. Madden has devised a machine that pastes the 

 plate automatically, giving a uniform density to the red lead in each 

 hole. 



The red lead, mixed with the proper amount of dilute sulphuric 

 acid, is fed to a mixing-screw of varj'ing pitch, working in a 

 cylindrical casing. The pitch of the screw is such that the mass is 

 compressed as it nears an opening which has a length equal to 



