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 Hghting of school-rooms. 



It 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 in 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 requh-es 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 



