28 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
January, 1913 
advantages of these modern illuminants, but let us temper their 
use with respect to our eyesight. With the same quantity of 
amber and white light on two reading pages, any person will be 
able to read longer, and more comfortably with the amber light. 
Since the illuminant manufacturer and “Illuminating Engineer” 
will not recognize the obvious physiological requirements of the 
reading light, let every person interested in conservation of vision 
prescribe his own remedy, for the procedure is simplicity personi¬ 
fied. Granting that the requirements of the individual differ, 
then let the individual recognize his requirements. 
There is to-day, a material termed “gelatine film” which is 
manufactured in sheets, about two feet square. It is a thin, 
transparent medium employed in the theater for the projection 
of colored lights 
and the attain¬ 
ment of realism in 
scenic effects. It 
i s available in 
many colors, in¬ 
cluding amber, 
and is practically 
fireproof. It may 
b e cylindrically 
shaped to con¬ 
form with the 
various sizes of 
modern light 
sources, and held 
in place by or¬ 
dinary paper 
clips, such as are 
used in attaching 
office correspond¬ 
ence. It may be 
obtained at any 
electric stage 
lighting supply 
house, for a few 
cents. It will make 
light sources 
which are an an¬ 
noyance to the 
eye, soft and attractive. It may be inserted in cylindrical form 
about an illuminant, without removing its shade, or globe, or 
glass. 
Just one experiment will convincingly demonstrate its ability 
to transform harsh, white light into the soft, agreeable radiance 
of the oil lamp. Any density of color may be obtained by in¬ 
creasing the number of layers forming the amber cylinder. 
While a fluid preparation, known as “lamp coloring” has been 
available for staining lamp bulbs, its application has been limited 
to exterior sign effects. Moreover, it is impossible to obtain 
permanency of color or variation of color density with its use, 
and the operation of "dipping” lamps in coloring solutions is 
fraught with many uncertainties. 
The standard makers of incandescent gas mantles, recognizing 
sometime ago that a white light mantle was unsuited 
for home lighting, devised what is termed an “amber 
light mantle,” which is most pleasing and restful to 
the eve. Unfortunately, the manufacturers of electric 
lights have not considered this matter. 
Too much emphasis cannot be laid on this question 
of light modification. Great physical discomfort has 
resulted from the substitution of high intrinsic bril¬ 
liancy of light sources for older types of illuminants 
to which their visual functions had become accom¬ 
modated. Overstimulation of the retina decomposes 
Good decoration suffers from over-lighting. There must be shadows — light and shade. A touch 
of light against a tapestry or a sprig of blossoms — and the thing is done 
the visual purple much more rapidly than it can be restored, and 
the result is retinal exhaustion followed by its attendant depres¬ 
sion of other organic functions. 
That occasional feeling of drowsiness sometimes noticeable in 
the brilliantly overlighted drawing-room, is due to retinal over- 
stimulation, and the expenditure of nervous energy wasted in 
the continued muscular effort expended in squinting and brow- 
puckering to exclude the annoying glare. 
Similarly those who immediately after dining peruse an over- 
brightly lighted reading page, add to digestive exertions the 
burden of an ocular-muscular action inspiring fatigue and 
drowsiness. 
There are other reasons why a white light is undesirable in 
the home, and 
these involve psy- 
chology. Sub¬ 
consciously and 
unconsciously we 
experience many 
sensations which 
are directly due to 
psychological pre¬ 
cedent. Unex¬ 
pected contact 
with a subtle per¬ 
fume, a certain 
quaver in a 
musical theme, 
and instantly our 
mind reverts to 
some incident or 
personality of long 
ago, revivify¬ 
ing the past with 
startling realism. 
Through the in¬ 
terminable space 
of centuries hu¬ 
manity has been 
trained through 
hereditary p s y - 
chological prece¬ 
dent to regard light as a symbol of warmth, comfort, and repose. 
For ages the comfort of the open fire has impressed on the sub¬ 
conscious mind the invariable association of that physical comfort 
with the coloring of the dancing flames. Recall the pictorial 
beauty of the setting sun, transfiguring everything with its kindly 
radiance, and know why nature’s teaching has endeared to hu¬ 
manity that soft mellow quality of light which imbues the environ¬ 
ment of the home with an atmosphere rich in tone, feeling and 
expression. 
No woman can appear to advantage beneath the cold, harsh, 
white light of modern illuminants which cruelly reveal every 
wrinkle and emphasize every facial blemish. Even the bloom of 
youth pales under the brutal glare of the tungsten lamp when 
it is unmodified. 
Schopenhauer and Herbert Spencer devoted most 
exhaustive research to determine the effect of music 
on the nerves; yet the influence of color, particularly 
on the overwrought nervous system, is even more 
definitely marked. The great student of chromo¬ 
therapy, Van Bliervliet, maintains that those senses 
which are most sensitive to color appreciation, directly 
stimulate intellectuality, indicating that those in¬ 
dividuals possessing superior intelligence are particu¬ 
larly susceptible to the suggestion of color or music. 
(Continued on page 52) 
