Personal hygiene and physical training for women

by Anna M. Galbraith

Lace work, very fine needle work, working on black goods, reading very fine print, or print on an inferior quality of paper, or attempting to read in a dim light, are all a severe tax on the eyes, and should be avoided, as they are certain to cause them permanent injury.

Defective vision is so common in school-children, it is so often present without being suspected, and so much harm is done to the eyes and the general health of the individual before it is discovered, that there should be a compulsory law requiring the examination of all school-children; and, again, before boys and girls enter the normal schools and colleges.

Clear vision gives clear judgment; defective vision in its various manifestations gives different warps and bents to the mind of their unfortunate possessors.

Veils.—The wearing of veils is responsible for not a little deterioration of vision, particularly when they are thick or dotted. Unless the meshes of the veil are very large, it holds a layer of impure air close to the face, so that the wearer is breathing vitiated air. It hinders clearness of vision, because the external world is viewed through a narrow lattice.

The best veil for the eyes is one with a single mesh, either without dots, or the dots so far apart that none shall come over the eyes.

Protection of the Eyes from the Glare of the Sun.—In very hot weather the eyes should always be so protected that the rays of the sun do not shine directly into them. This protection may be afforded by the brim of the hat or by a parasol. At the sea-shore, or on an ocean voyage, where the glare of the sun is constant and particularly trying, the eyes should be protected by wearing slightly tinted smoked glasses.

Artificial Lighting.—The main sources of artificial lighting are kerosene, gas, and electricity. The principal questions of importance are the quantity and quality of the light, its steadiness, the vitiation of the atmosphere by the products of combustion, and the expense; also the proper arrangement of the light.

Kerosene is the most extensively used means for artificial lighting. The principal objections are—the heat, the trouble of filling and keeping the lamps in order, and the danger of explosion and fire if upset; the odor and the great vitiation of the atmosphere.

The modern lamp gives a brilliant light, and if properly shaded by a slightly bluish chimney, so as to absorb the excess of yellow rays, it is very satisfactory.

Illuminating gas, as furnished in cities, has a great excess of yellow rays, which are very injurious to the eyes, and the vitiation of the atmosphere is very considerable. Gas-light is modified by the Argand and Bunsen burners. Of these, the Bunsen burner, a patented composition burner, heated to incandescence, is the best. It gives a white light, resembling daylight, and, under proper adjustment, a far greater volume than any other burner. It is not so hot, does not consume as much gas, and so there is less vitiation of the atmosphere. It is intensely brilliant, and must be shaded by ground glass or a proper shade.