Weekly telegraph and messenger. (Macon, Ga.) 188?-1885, April 25, 1884, Image 6

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G THE WEEKLY TELEGRAPH AND MESSENGER, FKIDAX APRIL 25, 1584. CHILDREN’S EYES. Short-Slfchtedneca Caused by Over-Ap plication to Study by Young'Chlld- ren and Badly Constructed School Buildings. Gcorpia Med l* Prom the proceedings of the Gcorgi cal Association. Macon, April 16, 1584. By Dr. R. J. Nunn: “Resolved, That In view of the very great practical importances of the President's ad* dress to the public generally, it he published In the secular press of the State." DR. CALHOUNS ADDRESS. Gentlemen of the Medical Association of Georgia—Ladies and Gentlemen: It will perhaps surprise some* of you that I have departed from the usual order of addresses before this association, and to some degree have been actuated by rather a selfish mo tive in the selection of a subject, for 1 have fallen upon one not only in accord with my own tastes, but one which I feel as sured will impress each individual of this intelligent audience with its appropriate* ^83, with its practical facts, and with its notes of timely warning. My subject—School Hygiene in Relation to its Influence upon the Vision of Child ren, or School Sanitation—does not express the full scope of this discoftrse, but is a faint ontline of wliat I shall have to say to you in the time allotted to me. Education is a preparation for the work of life, not a thing that is good in itself. If it has helped life to be healthy, happy, suc cessful and long, then it has been good; if in any degree it has caused disease, unhap piness, non-success, then it has been bad. The medical aspects of life are deservedly attracting more and more the attention of doctors in every land where education and civilization have made much progress. The researches of one investigator devel oped the fact that out of more than 2,300 infants examined by him only 122 posessed abnormal peculiarities of any kind, and from this fact drew the conclusion that children, as a rule, are physically sound when they start to school. ’That deformi ties of one organ or another, simple or serious, do exist amongst schoolchildren admits of no argument, and many of these may be reasonably attributed to the in fluences surrounding a child during its life in the school room. The various parts of the organism of youth are easily disar ranged, and if the cause operates continu ously the disarrangement is liable to be come permanent. Before the child ever see the inside of a school room he learns many useful things —often more than he does in the next suc ceeding live years—and yet this learning does not injure his eyes. It is a fact that children at the time of entering school are free from that common affection, near sightedness, Lut almost immediately there after the disease begins to show itself. This is conclusive evidence that the fault to a great degece, at least. lies in the school. Before his school days begin, and while the child is learning, and that too very rap idly, all the knowledge that he gains is re$l knowledge of concrete things, gained through the use of all his senses and all his activities by being brought into contact With the things about which he learns. He is free to sit still or to move; to fix his at tention u|>on a thing as long as it interests him, and then to leave it for something else. Bat at school nearly evervthing is unnatural. Very often the child is seated xm a hard bench, so high that his feet can not touch the floor, with the bark, if it have any, so straight that a comfortable position is Impossible, and the desk, if there be any, so far In front of him that he can not use It without leaning forward much further than is good for either his bt\ck or his eyes; and th re with foul air to breathe, with windows improperly shaded, or not at all, with light coming from the front as often os otherwise, and with little or noth ing to make the place look cheerful or homelike, he is confined for six hours a day, five days in the week, from twenty- eight to forty-five weeks in the ybar. and for as many years os his constitution can stand such abuse, or bis parents afford to send him. In this room he seldom comes in contact with natural things, or even 1 with representations of them, excepting his teacher and fellow students, and they, too, are made as unnatural as i>o*sil»lV. Seated on his high, hard bepch, prohibited from looking to the right or left, book in hand, be is committing to memory the words of the author, and this they ca’ll get ting an education. "What's in a name." It has been truthfully said that sight Is the noblest avenue of the mind, and its im pairment or loss is a greater evil than would be that of any other bodily sense. For many years deterioration of’the eve among pupils in public and private schools has been a subject of complaint and invest!- gationbothln this country and the older portions of the world. This impairment of aight. this deterioration of the eye. is prin cipally the immediate result of Myopia, or nearsightedness, which, in its turn. Is caused by defective modes of education and their hurtful surroundings. Myopia Is a disease. A near-sighted eye is not a normal eye. Children born in the normal atato do not have near-sighted what *• Myopia? Anatomically, the diflerenco between a normal eve and one that is myopic, or near-9ighted. Is practically a difference in the length of the •ye-ball. The slightest fractional increase in the length of the ball beyond its normal length is an increase of Myopia. As the eye becomes elongated the Retina, which growth and of study from too close appli cation; but, provided its degree is still moderate, its further prom** may be ar rested at or after maturity if the individual grows more prudent. But—and this con stitutes the gravest feature of the disease —if the myopia has, during this period, already reached a high degree, the tenden cy to continued progress frequently cannot be arrested, notwithstanding the exercise, too late, of the greatest care; ami degener ative changes go on in the ti««ues end me dia of the eye, with the sad prospect of partial or even total blindness at or before middle age. "Since it has been shown that it is espe cially by continued tension of the muscle of accommodation in study that myopia with its attendant dangers is generated and increased, and as it is well known to be only preventable and not curable, it fol lows that a change in our methods of edu cation is an absolute necessity, or else this, which might be termed self-imposed dis ease, will impose a more and more griev ous burden on the community. "A child having an hereditary leaning towards myopia is expected to give a large portion of time every day to study of often times badly printed books, perhaps in a dim light, and sometimes with thereouire- ment from his teacher that lie shall not take his eyes from his lesson. Myopia is thus begun. As this augment*, tfie child who does not see things about him clearly has less pleasure in the usual sports of his age, and finds more enjoyment in books. His close application to reading, writing, drawing, etc., keeps up convergence of the eyes ami pressure upon them of the recti muscles, which tends little by little to in crease the ellipsoid change of form and elongate the anteroqfosterior axis. These alterations go on during the period of growth and of most continuous.'study, be cause at this time the tissues of the globe are softer and more extensible than after maturity. If on reaching this latter term the structural changes are still only mod erate in degree, the myopia may continue stationary during life. But if at this time great deviations from the normal condi tion have already been produced, the affected parts are less capable of resisting further yielding, and progressive myopia is thenceforward an ever-present source of danger. "Prevention is the sole resource at our command; restoration is impossible. And in order that preventive measures may be seasonably adopted, it is first necessary that the profession and the public should become alive to the fact that in a large number of cases myopia is one of the gravest affections of the eye, capable of limitation by constant care during child hood and youth; but if not thus limited likely to be a source of future disability and misery, and to be handed down as ah onerous inheritance to children. At pres ent the warnings inspired by frequent sad experience in the practice of every skilled observer are almost unheeded, and it is but too common to see the chances of re taining even moderately useful vision in future years recklessly sacrificed to a vain ambition for acquiring mere book knowl edge. which when gained is often valueless to its possessor, or if otherwise it could be usefully applied, cannot be made service able beenuse of the imperfection of sight winch has been created in obhJning it. "Very high degrees of myopia should also be recognized ns an infirmity deserv ing careful consideration before assuming the obligations of marriage; for those in moderute circumstances may well hesitate to choose partners who. though highly cultivated, may probably at middle life become unable to provide for their house holds or their children." That, the eye grows weaker as the term of study grows longer, is clearly proven by actual investigation. Careful tests have been made of the eyes of many thousand school children in America, Germany, Austria, Russia, Switzerland and other countries, and invariably with similar re sults, viz: that the proportion of normal- sighted children generally lessens as the age of the subjects advance, and as they reach the higher grades of study. The statistics thus gathered show that while In children at common village schools there js but one-fourth of one percent. of myopia, it rises to 21 per cent, in city schools of high grade, and in some high-schools and universities it has reached GO to 70 per cent. The examination of six hundred students of theology at the Univerity of Tuabingen found 70 per cent, suffering from myopia. Other statistics have shown that in those who studied two hours out of school, the proportion of myopic students was 17 per cent.; in those studying six hours, 40 per cent. Germany furnishes more myopic, or near-sighted subjects than any other coun- 1 incommon disease among negro btudeuts. Bad air and defective light play an Im portant role in the production of myopia. Says a distinguished author: ‘‘Air and light are the lust uuu lust and best mes- sagers of life—die first breath and the lost breath—the first glance and the last glance; how wonderful ! ,T Bad air alone, in a school room, acting i a primal cause, may set in train a series of morbid processes, which may, and often do, effect not only the working capacity and integrity of the organ of vision, but which may lead even to its total destruc tion. One of the professors in the law school at Cambridge, in commenting upon the frequency of eye diseases in that insti tution, says it must not be supposed that the young men injure their eyes by exces sive application. “Bad ventilation and the gas-hcated air of the lecture room cause the trouble." But light, plenty of good light, is one of the chief needs of the scholar. Too much light can never be thrown into the school room, especially when we have at our com mand the means of regulating the excess of glare. A room is not sufficiently lighted when a child cannot easily read fine.print. on a moderately clear day. at a distance of twelve to fifteen inches. The less the light, the nearer an object must be brought to the eye, and the greater the strain in the act of vision; for reduction in illumination i9. as a rule, precisely equivalent to a re duction in the size of the object. A model school room would be one which there was not only an abundance ofjjood light and of good quali fy. but in which the eyes both of pupils and teachers were alike shaded from the painful glare. In all cases the light should come from the left and at a distance of four to live feet from the floor. Next to this a rear light is permissible, but light from the right should, if possible, never be used. Windows should never be placed in front of *he pupil. Light from such a di rection is positively injurious. They should always bo placed < n the leftside; the next best place is the rear and after this the right side.whichjposition should only be occupied when.no other can be obtained. But the true light should come from over the left shoulder. It does not harm the eye, does not cast a shadow on the pupil’s work and is not reflected di rectly into the eye. A German wri* er thus sums up the results of his investigations: "The narrower the street in which the school house was built, the higher the oj>- posite buildinzs, and the lower the story occupied by the class, the greater the num ber of near-sighted scholars." A recent investigator writes: ‘‘Among the causes of visual weakness among American youths may %e named a stooping posture, which cramps the chest and brings the eye too near the book or paper; reading at twiligh t and late at night, and studying by lamp light in the early morning, reading in the cars, using kerosene lamps without shade, reading while facing a window or anj light natural or artiticial, and still more while facing the bright sunshine, reading dime novels or other books printed in too fine type, reading while lying in bed, wear ing a veil, and neglecting to cultivate far sightedness by carefully examining dis tant objects. Hence myopia is more com mon in cities than in the couti try, more among those work ing on near ami minute object* than those laboring in the fields |\vit!i a jjo of vision and more objects to those hours out of school in idleness or plav.” Fewer hours of study and more rational methods of teaching, less cramming of mere memory and more healthy develop ment of the intellect, will make brighter, healthier and more intelligent students, who will develop Into stronger, hardier, more energetic men and women. For such as these the practical affairs of life offer many and varied fields of usefulness, while for the sallow-faced, narrow-chested, weak-eyed book worm, there is no room in a busy world. LITTLE BRASS RED JACKET. try in the world, her schools showing at least (12 per cent, while in America, so far as examinations extend, the rate is about 27 fier cent. 8o it would stem that even in our own land the school room is a factor most directly influential In the gradual and increasing development of a race of spectacle using people. The ratio has licen found to be smaller In America than in Europe, because, proba bly, of the greater activity and variety of life and the loss degree, as.yet, of heredi tary tendency. A curious fact made known by these Investigations is, that colored school children sutler so slightly from nivopla as to be practically free from it. These facts deserve serious attention, es|»ecially In connection with our un doubted power of modifying or arresting the progress of myopia by pruper manage ment and by self-denial during the years of growth and of education. Myopia, says one. is especially prevalent among the so-called cultivated classes, ami the more time people »|>ond In Intellec tual pursuits the more myopia do we find. Yet students do not use their eyes for more hours a day. or on finer objects thau jew elers, engravers, draughtsmen, seam stresses, type-setters, and many other* who engage in long continued work on small object. These occupations do not show any tendency to myopia, while the professional and literary callings do. The wider Invite habits of observation. Tension of the accommodation, that is. long continued use of the eye upon object? brought close to it. is considered by nil au thorities one of the most (if not the most) fertile causes of progressive near sighted ness. The act ot reading involves very considerable physical labor. It is said a book of oOO pages. 40 lines to the page and 50 letters to the line, contains 1,000,000 letters, all of which the eye has to take in, identify, and combine each with its neighbor. Yet many readers will go through such a book in a day. The task is one he would shrink from if he should stop to measure it beforehand, It is well known to every investigator that imperfect type Is influential in the production of eye diseases. “Bright white paper, particularly if its surface is glazed is dazzling or irritating. It is on account of the quality, rather than the size of Eng lish print, that it is usually so much pleas anter to read than American. “Some cheap publications manage to combine all of tfie defects referred to. in such n degree that a mere paternal governmen than ours might well suppress them as enemies of society. Fortunately, such publications do not contain intellectual treasures that it need tempt one to risk his eyes to reach." While too tine print is regarded as a factor in bringing about eye disease, it must not be forgotten that too coarse point is wearisome to the eye, for it requires more exertion of the mus cles governing the movements of the bull. Especially is this the case if the breadth of the page Is too great. It is for this reason that the narrow form of the English blank verse is so little fatigue- ing to the eye. A doubh- coiumn page which is well printed and |>roperly divided,.is certainly preferable to THE NEWS IN GEORGIA. 1ATHERED BY CORRESPONDENCE AND FROM THE PRESS. BUY the BEwli m A Confederate Cannon that has Made a Noise In New York for Years. New York Sun. The little brass howitzer known as “Red Jacket," which has been used by Mr. James W. Godfrey, arms and ammunition manufacturer, of 72 Catharine street, in firing salutes at the city hall at every pub lic demonstration since 1865, lias suddenly loomed into historical prominence through ! proponed a paragraph printed in the Hun in its ac-1 °* technology, count of the celebration of last evacuation dby. The paragraph is as follows: "All the salutes were duly responded to by a little pony howitzer aboard the Sam Sloan, concerning which the story is told that it was, after the war, fished up on the fluke of an anchor in the Chattahoochee river, where it had been thrown by the fleeing Columbus Guards, of Columbus, Ga.. to whom it had been presented." This paragraph was read away down in Whence the Expense Comes. Waynesboro Herald. ’PI The grand jury of Schley countv find ■ that about half the expenses of the courts is cause by negro stealing, pistol currying, fights and divorces, ana that they pay none of tho tax to meet this expense. Good Advice From Outside. Cuthbert Enterprise. The Cuthbert Enterprise hopes that the goo<l people of Bibb county will send Mr. N. E. Harris to the Legisla ture for another term. He can do good work in establishing the most impor tant enterprise for Georgia that lias been proposed for some time—a school |t Jodi Georgia, and Lieutenant Chappell of the Guards wrote to the Association of Owners and AgenvS of Steam and Sail Vessels of the Fort of New York asking for informa tion concernling the gun. Commander and secretary 1). M. Munger began an in vestigation, and found the gun in the pos session of Mr. Godfrey. It was readily identified by the following inscription; RED JACKET. | Presented to the Columbus Guards by : Lieut. Clements, : July 1861. : Better Than Sullivan's Show. Calhonn Times. A nde through the country shows from one to a half dozen young colts on nearly every farm, and we are led to believe that stock raising is on the in crease in this county. There is no rea son why it should not, as just as fine The inscription was nearly effaced, but could be traced with a magnifying glass. Commander Munger reported to the Co lumbus Guards, and wrote that Mr. God frey was willing to restore the relic to its proper owners. Answer was duly re turned from the captain of the Guards. It enclosed a resolution of the common coun cil of the city of Columbus, thanking Mr. Godfrey for his offer to restore the gun, and offered to defray all expenses for pur chase and sending. A San reporter called upon Mr. Godfrey yesterday, and from him learned the history of Red Jacket. “I bought the howitzer,” he said, “from Captain George H. Whiteside in 1865. Captain Whiteside was then commander of the Shamrock, and afterward commanded the Rebecca Everingham, recently burned on the Chattahoochee river. I purchased it for a mere song in a general invoice of old junk. It was coated with veTdigris, and not until it was cleaned, some time after ward, was the inscription decipherable. Capt. Whiteside drew the gun and carriage from the bottom of the Chattahoochee river on the fluke of ilie anchor of the Shamrock, and had no idea of its histor ical record." Red Jacket began firing salutes in 1861 at the inauguration of Jefferson Davis as President of the Southern Confederacy at Montgomery. Ala. On that occasion it was handled by the Columbus Guards, who were stationed on Capitol Hill, and fired it 10) times. When the Guards were ordered to the front and became Company c; of tfie Second Georgia regiment, and joined Toombs’s brigade Red Jacket was left in the care of the citizens of Columbus and did duty in tiring salutes for Confeder ate victories. At the close of the war, when Gen.’Canby penetrated through Ala bama to Columbus, the Columbians, who had not heard of General Lee’s surrender, planted Red Jacket on the bank of the Chattahoochee river and prepared to beat back the invader. They were soon con vinced of this error, but to save their little howitzer they spiked it and tumbled it to the bottom of th* stream. Since Red Jacket has been in New York it has belched forth salutes for the inau guration of each President of the United .States, beginning with Gen. Grant, “ex cept,” said Mr. Godfrey, “the inaugura tion of Hayes. It tired 100 guns in the City Hall square on receipt of the news of President Tilden’s election, and I trust the little gun will tire auother salute for his election this year." The Columbus Guards will celebrate their fiftieth anniversary on April 28. On that day the howitzer will be restored to them by J. W. Woodford, president of the Board of Trade of Coiambus, in behalf of Mr. Godfrey, who has engraved upon the howitzer this Inscription: “Restored to the Columbus Guards. April 28, 1884, by James W. Godfrey, of New York." Red Jacket leaves the city to-day on hoard tho steamer Chattahoochee for home. horses can be raised here as in the blue grass regions, and we are glad to see our farmers engaging in this profitable branch of the farm. Not n Political Question. Cuthbert Enterprise. We notice that in two or three coun ties in Georgia candidates will run for the Legislature who hope, if elected, to repeal the prohibtion law of their county. We regret this course. The question of prohibition is one of mor als, and not of politics, and ough f - to be kept out of politics. It is a local matter, and the people of each county ought to be allowed to settle it for themselves. The Champion Reapers 1 IVIower AND CO RD BINDERS. iversally acknowledged to be the most EFFECTIV Machines in the market. They have been indorsed k the most progressive and successful farmers of this sectioi after several years’service We have in store a large of all sizes and styles, which we will sell at low priejs on such terms as will no doubt suit any one who contem plates buying a machine. Correspond with us. A. B. FARQUHAEt & C0.| MACON, GEORGIA. I What Milton Needs. Milton DeraocraL Milton county needs a member in the next Legislature who will advocate ^ n rand og 4«xrth g u 8 B ’ & plowJ ing its prosperity, instead of allowing worthless curs and half-fed hogs to de stroy more than a sufficient amount of property to pay the taxes of its citizens every year. acuer, joo 10 xne neeuv anu ior support of tho gospel. and I have Dished the itineracy with a horse for which receives impressions, and ti|>on i particular reasou why members of me- which images are formed. Is thrown lie-1 chanical arts show less myopia than those jond the focus of the ray* of light coming i of studious and literary occupations, is not Irora a distance. j because they use their eyes less, but that Very rarely before the fifth or sixth year the application of the eyes occurs at a dif- of life does myopia make its appearance,; ferent time of life and under entirely about which time children usually, begin different conditions. Germany is confess- their attendance upon school, hut from edly one of the most studious nations In this time on, under certain unfavorable the world, and she certainly is the most circumstances the eye gradually elongates, nearsighted. Many of her school houses reaching and remaining, perhaps, at a cer- are very old structures, originally built for tain point of elongation, a slight or high J convents, and poorly lighted; moreover degree, or constantly increasing through ' the German text itself is obscure compared’ all the years of school life, even to the with the clear Roman letters. twenty-fifth year, and indeed In some in- In writing and study, it is easier to sit stances, continuing slowly to lengthen bending over an ordinarily located through almost the whole of life. deak, In the stooping itositicn, than Myopia is essentially a disease of child-; in an erect posture. This position pre- hood, beginning from the sixth to the- tit- i vents by compression the free return of teenth year, just at a time when the body ; blood from the head. The posture of the as a whole is developing most rapidly. > head favors its detention in the eyes, white Barely does it originate after the twentieth , the working of the brain itself demands year. When once in existence in a child, more blood, and hence we easily have a It is usually progressive, and therein lies congestion of the eye-ball, and especially the danger; and this fact, coupled with j of those parts that are moat active, viz: the fact that it is an incurable disease, j the retina and optic nerve. With this makes it an Important subject in connec-1 congestion there occurs softening of the tion with education, for the causes that scleraotic or outer coat and an increase of produce the disease at this period of life the fluid contents of the eye-bail, also operate to increase it. The eye of a ' increasing the pressure from within, child is a plastic organ, easily changed in At the same time, the muscles on Us shape, and Its tissues are in a condition the sid.s of the ball, produce pressure to be readily modified by the use which is without in their effort at converging for made of the organ. The child goes oil to | rear vision. This condition of things the eighth or tenth year, perhaps a little ; causes a bulging of the interior wall of longer, when it is observed that it has to the eye. oml in this way myopia, or near hold whatever it is looking at a little nearer ; slghtedness begins an«f increase* for the >> the eye than previously, and then, u{H>n ; same causes continue to act wim greater examination, the fact is revealed that the j force a* the trouble progresses. In cldl- •ye is myopic or near-sighted. If you fol- dren the tissues of the eyeball are much low such a child up to the age of twenty- i softer thjn In the adult, and this one of the five or thirty yearn, it will be found that j princle reasons why these causes are more the myophs has doubled, ami perhaps i active In producing thediseasebetween the quadrupled. i ages of six and, twenty. Undoubted- I cannot here refrain from quoting a j ly the disease Is often hereditary, well known author, who thus writes: but the predhi>oaltlon to it may be largely “Predisposition to myopia is almost al- counteracted by proj>ercare. the absence ways inherited by at least some of the of myopia among savage* is attributable to children where one parent is myopic. In absence of herediury tendency, together these children myopia may often de- with absence of undue tension of the eye* tected, if eotiglit for, at a very early age, for near objects. British surgeon* tell us and is generally evident at from eight to'out of many thoa*<aiids of the native* of twelve years of age. Once present, it British India examined by them, not a tends to increase, and should lie watched tingle uear-sighted one was found. Who with car*. If not existiag at least in some of you can call to mind one near sighted d* %tbefore sixteen years of age it is never i negro who lived in anted* Un m days ? Ed- developed, even by excessive use ot the! uration baa out its mark upon them now, «J >* . I however, ami wonderful to relate, they are •Daring the period of youth, which is proud of their inttrmitr. nim ly also the time of closest application j The examination of several hundred ne- to study, there isa deposition to gradual 1 gro school children in New York found .1 . - ; -ent of the inherited myopic ten-! only per cent myopic. In many negro •t-mey; buttb:imay be kept In abeyance schools in the south, examinations dis- ' “ ar? iiGi principally for Jarre cover less than I per cent. Absence of ml if, during this period, the hereditary predispositi the sume amount of matter extending in a single line across the entire page. An eiithu»iastic and Ingenious writer as serts that “nature ami science declare" that the color of the paper of all books should Iks green. “Green grass covers the t ground and green leaves are our canopy, und no other color is so grateful to the eye. Let onr book* be printed on green paper, and let our printers nse red, yellow or white ink for the noxious black.” When this has been done, lie *ays, “every body will rejoice except the spec tacle makers. The eyes of the seoliol- ar and of the student will no longer be wearied with the myoplan con trast of black and white, but strengthened and refreshed by congenial colors; and to pore over the pages of a book would be no more fatigueing to the eyes than gazing on a verdant prairie decorated with variously tinted flowers." Wc must agree with him in this, that the reform wouiii be revolu tionary. and that the interest of the trade would he hostile to the change. The tiest safeguards against harm are afforded by the beat position* and best light, clear tyi>e, plain inks, with the best paper of yellowish tints and abundant space between the lines. “The increased demand that the exigen cies or the fashion of the times make upon the even as well a* upon the brain* of the children, and the increased numbers that are yearly brought within the influ. enceof school life by the compulsory law* of governments or of public opinion. -houM l)e accompanied by a corresponding in crease in the use of all the alleviations and precautions that science and humanity can suggest. School tiaining 1* necessari ly an artificial process, and unless it is conducted under rational and fa vorable conditions universal educa tion can never be an unmixed universal blessing." Much of the Injury to laxly and tuiiul a* well os sight, is traceahLfto causes which goad the children on to tasks that the brightest and strongest of them are scarcely equally to and the “higher edtication ,r that is now so earnestly de manded for the gentler sex, .is t‘>o often dearly bought at the expense of shattered constitutions and unstrung nerves. But if these thing* must be, in 4uc name of hu manity and justice, let them be anmnuid- ed by all the checks that can lessen their power for evil. After a diligent study ui*>n the quei tion of construction of school bov.-os and the construction and arrangement of desk* and seat*, a dis inguished surgeon has stated that 00 per cent, of curvature and For Coughs and Throat Disorders, use Brown’s Bronchial Troche*. “Have.never changed my mind respecting them, except 1 think better of that which I began think ing well of."—Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Sold only In boxes. The Pioneers, of Athena. When the Werners returned to Savan nah, one of them was interivewed by a Nears reporter, nudsin the course of the conver sation said: “But talking about running and ladder-climbing, the Athens boys do certainly take the whole cake. They came tearing down the course like lightning, and the ladder man was on the top of the ladder before they fairly got it off the truck, and when the ladder was taken down he fell will) it. If we had been in good trim I doubt if Wt could have held them n candle. I never saw such work in my life." Never in Macon, since the days when Archie McQueen, peace to his ashes, ran with the boys and performed wonderful feats on the ladder, has such neat work been executed by book and ladder com panies, as that of the Pioneers. Besides Prepared for 8torma. Elberton New South. Mr. McAlnin Arnold has a #100 cy clone pit. It is dug out under his dwelling—about eight feet deep, walled up with large, split granite rock, laid in cement and covered over with huge blocks of timber twelve or fourteen inches square. It is well drained and ha.* two avenues of escape in case of necessity. Ho also has an entrance to it through a trap door in one of the rooms ol his residence. , Words From a Wise Farmer. McDuffie Journal. When the war closed I owned 330 acres ol land, and was #250 in debt. Now I own 1,160 acres and owe no man anything hut good will. As to the rais ing of cotton, corn, grain, otc., I never make anything above my expenses; my f nofits arise from stock-raising. In the ast twelve months my profits on 100 head of sheep were #180, and on cattle and hogs #320, making a total of #500. Besides, I gave away Two horses, both of ray own raising, also gave #120 to a preacher, #35 to tho needy and #25 for the fnr&isH&d four years. I make it a rule to raise the meat for tho white members of my household, and my wife has never used a pound of bought lard in her life, but on the con trary has sold a great deal of our own ruining. My success in stock-raising, I claim, is duo to a large extent, to our fence law. Therefore, I say “let well enough alone.” I think if our ]>eople would turn otti more of their worn-out lands and raise more stock our country would he in a better condition. Wise Methods In.Farming. News and Advertiser. The Xncs and Advertiser lias had oc casion to speak often ot the condition of the farmers in Dougherty county. We have condemned the miserable “cropping system" which has brought, and is still bringing, wreck and ruin to some of the finest farming lands in the State. At the same time we have commended the sagacity of those thrift v men who keep their smoke-houses wefl supplied, and their corn cribs in their own barnyard. There is another fact connected with farming in Dougherty which is claiming the attention of some of our best farmers, and that is, our plantations ore too large. There must 1 be a division of land, und this can only ; be done by an increase of population, j A smaller area well cultivated will pro duce ns much as the largo fields of to*, clay. A diversified system of crops is : already popular in the county, and in ( producing each year evidences of it* ! wisdom and worth. The question e** I sential to prosperity is, how can we 1 secure immigrants for this section .’' It makes a tool at once lighter, while much stronger, more effective at work, while less liable to clog, and far supe rior to anything we have ever of fered yet at a price at which none can afford to be without them. A Greatcnt Cotton Plow Aaownl Planters can reduce their labor account onc-half by using the above. Plants corn bed* cotton land, burs oil’and cultivates cotton, one row at a single trip. Twohun tired and eight-tlirco sold in Bibb and Crawford this season. E. 1V1. SARGENT & CO., Seedsmen] Second and Poplar streets, Macon, Georgia JOHNSON & LANE] i 07 and 109 Third St„ Macon, Gj . - fSMMMsym D ESIRE tocall the attention of the Planter to the Tlu ■ as a great labor saving machine in the cultivation just received alargu lot of Builders’ Hardware, in whicl MAKE MONEY-—HOW Ily coming to hemiiiuarter* and »e!n| stock of Endues, Bowies ami Waeoni into the 1 in the Uo t terms. ( •7liey have <mt > tl!e l liook i «nd > *la3d"r ! h l u« n i' IJohn J* Fort ha. furni.ho.1 the j ness down fine," to use an expression of ycnt method we na\e heard of, and that j _ expression _ Macon firemen, and the company that can excell them will have to work hard. Ttie Pioneer’s laurels were worthily won, ami are worthily worn. A Great Blood Medicine. Rosadnlie cure* scrofula, swelling*, goitre, r ; Uin diseases, liver complaint, rheumatism, etc. Head the foil, wing: 1 have been a great sufferer for 15 years: not able to walk, from an injured leg. I have frequently tried many M. I).’s and their remedies, to little pur|*ose, 1 believe Rokadali* will cun* me. Send me one dozen by steamer. It was recommended to tne by a friend. I have taken two bot tle* and find it helping me. The drug- gist* who usually*keep it are all out of it, and I cannot at lord to wait the slow ar< rival of their supplies. John T. Berks. Snpu Board of Public Instruction. Lake Irena, Florida, I time to work it out. IBUGGIKS AND WAGONS. Don’t buy those peddled out in a retail over the country. Come and examine stock. Save money by coming. II you Three ^nllTflv,Hi (1 .n l< i^!,rS U i l ^,Zm ' t5S«JOriFMiU.’fh.'tot. Dtrl* Tarl.ine Water W1 pcni'inal etfort. to secure ncrmanent n ,ite, of (Jim. Buckeye Reapers and Mow^r-. Sumlardaml OM iw.u>, wUlets on hi. hmu.. Mr. fcort has one year', guarantee. Wo have the b.)t and largest itockot any houa. m auccocdeil in locating a colony of thrifty c..h or time. Wholeeale and retail. Ma.sachu.ett. farmer, on hi. |>Ianta- tion in Hou.ton county, and i. in cor respondence with other parties in refer ence to locating in this county. If a dozen of onr intelligent farmer, would take hold of this matter and make per sonal etfort to secure the right kind of immigrant.—as they can Ik- had if the proper inducement, are held out—then our prosperity would be certain. LUMPKIN. AUEBICC. AND LI MI-KIN RAILROAD—MR. RAOUL’. PROPOSITION. April 10.—An important railroad meeting was held here to-day at which incorporator, of the proposed road from HI. J. HATCHER & CO. SCHOFIELD’S IRON WORKS] OPPOSITE THE^PASSENCER DEPOT, MACON, CEORCIA. ■PreryeoiuMermble, 1 ury daring the rert ttierce of myopia iring them year, of I with increased educational facilities, and with the hereditary tendency steadily In creasing, near sign ted ness w ill become not oilier disease* of the spine are develop*d during and largely attributable to school life. It should not lie forgotten th t “there i* an architecture for school* as well a* an architecture for palace*. One Is not Uv*t worthy of study than th * other, and we are at fault in taste as well a* in hygiene if we forget that here real beauty consists above all things, in the perhet adaptation of a building to its uses. ' An abundance of property regulated light, good ventilation and plenty of room, are the essentials of a perfect school house. A certain school committee after thor ough investigation, reports that it i* “of the opinion that the practice of retpiiring pupils to commit their lessons from books, is not only the cause of much ot this near sightedness, but that is a most pernicious practice t om every point of view, ami more especially so when nracb of the so-called studying must be done at home evenings. Children under fourteen or fifteen years of age. should never he re quired to get regular lessons out of school —The Duke of Baccleucii, who has { A meric us to Lumpkin were elected, just died in Scotland, was known wherever American was represented by Metwni. he went uncovered by a peculiar mark-a g. if. lhuvkin. »n<l U. B.'llarrokl; large wen upon the top of hi. head. Webuler bv W. P. Joncr» ; J. IV. May With lh.rk.e, ’.Irev-i,.* there I. ! JjJ no waste or itiiappotntuient. You are ; *■ harttr aill he made at th® or " certain to produce a good salad. It coat. | ganization perfected and book, of «ub- lesa than homemade, and 1», beside., a .a-1 scriptiou opened, perb table sauce. A new feature has developed in this -■ I railroad project in which Mr. Itaoul, —Ednmmls, .ays a correspondent, of the Central railroad, take, n hand, always speak, of Blaine “a* a man without i He propose, to eituip and run the road the.JWdMt idea of law. and when he has if the people of Sumter, Webster and •aid that Edmund, has laid hu wont of a st.araM «?;il ..,.1 pubLc man. Luck. Letter, pl.y.r, of ttM OoliMn Cat*. 1. Kratmer la not a happy man. He bought ticket 1,242 of the March Iltli drawing of Tli. houiiiana State Lottery, but placed »> little dejieiidcnce upon lit. luck that he forthwith aokl ball of it to John Martell, a.ilvenmitb of 03 Sacra mento atnet, and C. F. Bobbin., a ma chinist living .1312 Leavenworth street. The ticket drew the third prize. $10,000, and Kraimcr is not in the bat of humor. This it the rnartb time within a few month, tnat Han Franciscan* hare been the winner, of valuable prizes.—.Saw Ftan. Tlu. i* not to uy they mut spend | cue* (Cbf.) Cknitklc. March 10. Stewart will grade and bridge it. - .. The probability is that the proposed J™* Kp *’ Ftw “ extension from Smithviile to Preston j ’ will give way to the project. The peo- pie ail along the line ore vigorously at j work anti tfie construction of the road | is an assured fact. With this road from I America* to Lumpkin the valuable trade of this section will be accessible . _o o j o. to Macon by direct communication l>y *7® oecoflu otreet, two routes, viz., over the Ce’itrml by! .. America., or over your proposed air- Marble, Granite and Limeston line from Vienne, which will tie the T. B. ARTOPE, caztc—. tenuiuu. of the new road. Will it not tie to the internal of Macon to encourage this new enterprise T Macon, Georgia Works, Wrought Iron | Railings of every description. Best Force Pump in the ket. Plans, prices and estimates given 0*1? ..r.Doivlr