Kemp.—On the Medical Aspects of Education. xxxix 
time? or, Has school-life caused the short-sightedness ? Statistical in- 
quiries prove the latter to be the case, and have shown at the same time 
that the percentage of short-sighted children is greater in schools where 
unfavourable optical conditions prevail. Dr. Colm, a German oculist, ex- ` 
amined the eyes of 10,000 school-children, and could distinctly trace the 
increase in the proportion of short-sightedness according to the construction 
of the desks and lighting of school-rooms. 
Tt is true that short-sightedness is often inherited, but this must not be 
thought to mean that the children of short-sighted parents are always born 
short-sighted. They have only the pre-disposition to become so, and this 
pre-disposition is developed during school life more or less, according to 
certain external conditions; and the more so, of course, under conditions 
which tend to produce short-sightedness even ìn children who have no 
inherited pre-disposition. There is an idea prevalent in the minds of most 
people that short-sighted eyes are particularly strong, and last longer than 
other eyes; unfortunately this is not the case, a short-sighted eye must 
always be looked upon as being unsound; the reason why they are con- 
sidered to be so lasting is that they can see near objects distinctly at an age 
when the normal eye requires glasses; and also that owing to natural 
changes which take place in the eye as age advances, the range of vision 
increases ; but under all circumstances a short-sighted eye must be looked 
upon as an organ requiring special care, and to be placed under the most 
favourable circumstances in order to keep it from getting worse. Short- 
sightedness has an injurious influence on the health by inducing a habit of 
stooping ; and the very habit which it induces reacts again upon the sight 
and tends to make it worse. There can be no doubt that the degree of 
short-sightedness is often greatly increased during childhood by long-con- 
tinued study, more especially by insufficient illumination, and a faulty con- 
struction of the tables or desks at which the pupils read and write. An 
insufficient illumination necessitates a close approximation of the object to be 
seen, which gives rise to straining of the accommodation, and congestion of 
the eyes. A faulty construction of the tables, or of the latter and the seats, 
is also injurious by forcing the children to stoop. This continued straining 
of the eyes is of itself sufficient to bring on short-sightedness in eyes per- 
fectly healthy, provided it is kept up for a long enough time. The near 
approach of the object necessitates a strong convergence of the visual lines, 
which causes an accumulation of blood in, and congestion of the inner coats 
of, the eyeball, and if this lasts for any length of time, more or less thinning of 
the coats takes place, which is the first step in the production of short sight. 
Have we no means at our disposal for preventing these evils? There 
is no doubt that a great deal can be done by the proper construction of 
