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Simple Precautions Which Will Prevent Blindness and Other Serious Eye Troubles
® « 1. • 1 .. 1 ... ..11 j r«Aniinn f 1 ir nnnaavo in oni'dpmin form At
Children’s
By Dr. LEONARD K. HIRSHBERG
A.B., M.A., M.D., (Johns Hopkins)
S TALKING the civilized lands of the earth to-c'ay
are a million needlessly blind women and men. who
cannot see the beauty of thiR world as you Ree it;
end it is the Ignorance of fathers and mothers and the
incompetence of nurses and doctors that is to blame for
most of this unnecessary suffering.
It Is a rare thing for a human being to be born with
defective vision, but it is almost as rare for any one to
pass through childhood without suffering some damage
to the eyes. Nevertheless, it is possible, by proper pre
cautions to guard a growing child’s eyes against all of
the greater injuries of common occurrence, and most of
the lesser ones.
A child's eyes should receive attention the very
minute it is born. This is because there is always a
chance that they may harbor a few germs of the terrible
disease known as ophthalmia neonatorum. Although
these germs often make a lot of trouble for adults, they
eeldom invade their eyes, but in new-born babies the
organs of vision are their favorite abiding place. , in
two days, or maybe three days, the baby's eyes grow
red and begin to discharge a creamy pus. The upper
lids swell and fall over the lower ones. Hy and by the
infection extends to the eyeball and the child’s sight is
permanently impaired, if not entirely destroyed. A
generation ago nearly half of the blind people in the
world had lost their sight in this way In infancy. To-day
It is possible to cure ophthalmia neonatorum before it
has fairly set in.
The method is very simple, and consists solely of
dropping two drops of a 2 per cent solution of silver
nitrate into each of the new-born child's eyes. The
silver nitrate is a poweriu! antiseptic, and it kills the
germs instantly. In itself it is utterly harmless to i#:
eye. This should be done immediately after the child
Is born.
The child's eyes need constant attention for several
W'eeka after birth, hut the services of a physician are
not necessary. Perfect cleanliness Is the end to be
attained, and frequent washing is the means to that
end. Instead of plain water, it. is best to use a solution
made by dropping a teaspoonful of boracic acid (not
common kitchen borax) into a cupful of water that has
been boiled and then permitted to cool till lukewarm.
Before washing your baby’s eyes, cleanse your hands
thoroughly with soap and warm water, and after that
dip them in a basin containing a gill or so of peroxide
of hydrogen in half a pint of water. Then tear off a
bit of sterilized absorbent cotton, dip it into the boracic
acid solution and tenderly mop the baby’s eyelids.
Never touch a child’s eyes with a rag, and, if possible,
use absorbent cotton instead of a towel.
When the child’s eyes are actually inflamed it is
always best to send for a doctor at once, for all diseases
of the eye, no matter how slight they may seem, are
dangerous.
In early infancy an infant’s eyes are exposed to the
twin dangers of neglect and coddling. See to it that
neither direct sunlight nor strong artificial light shines
into your baby’s face, aw r ake or asleep, but do not make
the mistake of shading it too much. The eyes of all of
us, in later life, must take their share of heavy acci
dental strains, and so they must be trained to bear the
burden.
As the Child begins to run about and explore the
world the strain upon its eyes begins to grow serious.
If it is of an alert, inquiring mind, it will tackle the
alphabet very early and try to master the art of reading.
This spirit always pleases parents vastly, but it is well
to discourage it. A child under six can derive nothing
but harm from poring over hooks, even when the type
Why We Have SO FEW DOMESTIC ANIMALS
I T seems strange that with more than 800,000
different species of animals to select from,
man has been able to tamo and domesticate
eo few'. All told, the number of animals which
have been brought into subjection and made to
minister to man’s needs does not exceed twenty-
six; and to make up this number we have to
Include animals like the elephant, llama, yak,
camel and reindeer, which have been only par
tially domesticated.
One reason why we have so few domestic ani
mals, W. P. P.vcraft, the English student, thinks,
is because when primitive man began the work
of domestication he had only limited facilities
for keeping stock. Another is that only a lim
ited number of animals thrive in captivity, and
come will not breed in confinement.
No one, too, has ever succeeded in subjecting
the rhinoceros, even in zoological gardens, where
other creatures no less formidable, like sea lions,
bears, lions and tigers, have been more or less
tamed. Other species which d ! play more or
less docility in captivity either breed but slowly
or not at all, or they exhibit a peculiar fixedness
of type—a conservativeness which the skill of
the breeder lias tried in vain to overcome. The
ass, goose and turkey afford good instances of
this “conservativeness."
From time to time attempts have been made
to enlarge our stock of domesticated animals
with but little success. Some years ago, for
example, an experiment was made to test the
possibility of breeding that magnificent antelope,
the eland, in capitivty, so as to increase our
food supply. It was hoped that its flesh would
afford us a welcome change from beef and mut
ton, or, at any rate, that it would be as easily
procurable das venison. But, so far, nothing has
come of these efforts, although on account of its
size and inoffensive character the eland is well
adapted for domestication.
In like manner, all efforts at taming the zebra
as an addition to our beasts of burden have
proved unavailing. The camel and the two-
humped (or Bactrian) camel have been domesti
cated for thousands of years—indeed, as wild
animals they have long since been extinct—yet
there are no distinct breeds of these animals
is large and the pictures are alluring
Neither should it be permitted to strain
its eyes by attempting to write, or by
engaging in any game or handicraft em
ploying small objeots.
I sometimes believe that the kinder
gartens are the greatest enemies of
Young America. They drag into the
stuffy classroom youngsters who should
be exercising their lungs and legs in
the parks, and they put into practice
theories of education that are to the last
degree absurd and pernicious. Con
demned to serve as a subject for this
sort of pedagogical vivisection, it is no
wonder that many a child grows rest
less or sluggish. Nine times out of ten
a physical examination of the backward
or unruly child will reveal enlarged ton
sils, massive adenoids, bad hearing or
faulty vision.
If your child is irritable,.has headaches, squints his
eyes when his attention is attracted, holds his book
close to his face or seems otherwise uncomfortable at
his studies, take him to an opthalmologiat at once. The
oculist who offers to examine eyes free should be
ovoided. The proper examination of a child’s eyes re
quires professional skill of a high order, and this is only
to be found among men of long training. If you live in
a small town it is best to seek advice in the nearest
large city. Your family physician will give you a letter
to the right man* and if you are wise you will remember
that the latter’s comparatively high fee will be money
well invested. It stands to reason that a competent
specialist must be well paid for his labors. His educa
tion was very expensive and it has required long years
of good work with little pay to prove his capacity.
If this ophthalmologist prescribes glasses for your
child, have them made at once and see to it that your
child wears them as he directs. Most children object to
glasses, and parental vanity often supports them in
their protests. Taken in time, there are few defects of
vision that cannot be permanently corrected, and there
is often good reason to hope that if the glasses are
worn faithfully,
It will be possible
at times to lay
them aside.
The curriculum
of the average
public school is
planned for the
entirely normal
child, and i t s
drain upon the
resources of this
child is always
pushed to the
limit of safety.
The child with
defective vision
is not a normal
child, and should
comparable to the various breeds of cattle.
Realizing the hopelessness of further experi
ments in this direction, attempts during recent
years have been made to utilize some of these
intractable creatures in another way, by hybrid
izing—that is to say, by crossing them with
domesticated animals. In Canada and the United
States efforts are being made to cross domesti
cated cattle with the bison, or, as it is erro
neously called, the buffalo. So far, this experi
ment has been only fairly successful. The end
desired in this case is increased size and greater
stamina. Another interesting experiment is being
made in regard to the ,
humped cattle or ze- ■
bus. These are being
crossed with European
cattle, in order to pro
duce a race of animals
which will be immune
to many of the tropi
cal diseases so fatal
to oxen of the ordi
nary breeds.
ping up of the pair of tiny ducts which carry
the surplus tears from the eye into the nose.”
have its studies arranged accordingly.
Instead of being sent to school at the
age of six or seven, it should be kept
home until if is twelve, and its pe
riods of book study should be short.
Until nine years old a child should
spend no more than three hours a
day at Its studies. At nine another
hour may be added, and at ten the
customary five hours may be safely
attempted. This should be the limit
for boys until they are sixteen, and
for girls until they are eighteen. I
rather doubt if it is ever safe for a
girl or woman to give more than
five hours a day to severe mental
exercise.
When your child reads or writes
at home let it do so in the daytime,
and see that it sits where the light
will fall from over the left shoulder.
In writing, if the light comes from the
right, the hand casts a shadow, and
this causes a peculiarly severe strain
upon the eyes. Until the child is ten
years old it should read notning but
large type, and no more than a doz
en pages a day. It Is needless to say,
of course, that the child who is per
mitted to read itself to sleep, or to
read in a dim light, or frpm a book
printed with small type, or a glossy
paper, is doomed to eye trouble.
Stray germs and flying dust cause
most of the minor eye maladies from
which children suffer. A typical dis
ease of this sort is conjunctivitis, or
"pink-eye.” It is caused hy the lodg
ment of germs in the inner lining of
the eyelid. As there are many va
rieties of germs capable of producing
it, this disease is very common,
and frequently appears in epidemic form. At its mildest
it Is a simple infection which disappears after a few
days. At its worst, when it is caused, for example, byl
diphtheria germs in the eye, it may become extremely
serious.
The treatment is ordinarily confined to irrigation with
mild antiseptic washes, administered with a dropper.
Sometimes it is necessary to apply Ice compresses, or
to combat the tenacious germs with strong drugs. In
such cases a physician must be summoned, since it is
very hazardous for inexperienced persons to deal with
the human eye. In ordinary cases the boracic acid
wash described above will afford relief. The patient
should always be kept in a darkened room until the
pain ceases.
The so-called “sty” is nothing more or less than a
.small pimple upon the edge of the eyelid, it usually
comes to a head and discharges its pus in a few days,
and after that it quickly heals. When a “sty” happens
;o be uncommonly large or painful it may be necessary
to have a physician lance it, but ordinarily a mild
mercurial ointment will afford all the aid that nature
need3. When “stys” appear frequently the child's gen
eral health needs attention.
A very painful eye malady is caused by the stopping
up of the tiny ducts which carry the tears from the eyes
to the nose. When the bodily machine is working nor
mally, just enough tears are secreted to lubricate the
eyeball. The eyelid, in the act of ’winking, spreads them
over the eye, and the waste runs down the nasal ducts
to the nose. When dust irritates the eye, or some
powerful mental impression stimulates the tear-making
giands, tears flow in extraordinary quantity and the
eyeball is suffused. They come so fast that the nasal
ducts can’t carry them all off, and they run down the
cheeks. But, all the same, the ducts do their best, and
so, when a child weeps, a part of its tears escape by
way of its nose, and it “sniffles.”
If these ducts, by accident or disease, are clogged up,
the tears needed for the ordinary lubrication of the eye
ball run over the lower lid and the patient has ‘‘watery
eyes.” To remedy this a surgeon must be consulted.
He will pass a series of probes through the ducts, be
ginning with one as fine as a needle and ending with
one as large as a small lead pencil. This will clean and
stretch the ducts and restore them to their old useful
ness as drains of the eyes.
The surgeon is needed, too, to correct crossed or
squint eyes. This disfigurement is due to a faulty
balancing of the eye in its socket. The muscles on one
side pull harder than those on the other, and as a
result the eye turns. The remedy consists in splitting
the more powerful muscle. This weakens it' and thus
equalizes the pull on both sides. The eye then assumes
a normal position. It is sometimes possible to straighten
the eye by the use of glasses and without an operation,
but this method is so tedious and uncertain that It is
usually best to have recourse to surgery.
Let me lay stress upon the necessity for taking good
care of the eyes. Nearly every one is quick to seek
relief for any eye malady attended by inflammation or
other visible symptoms, but there is a general tendency
to regard eye-strain and defective vision as purely local
afflictions, and to treat them more as annoyances than
as definite diseases. The child with defective sight is
irritable, and this is reflected in the bodily processes as
well as in the disposition.
The Way to Acquire a GOOD SPEAKING VOICE
T
HERE is nothing more attractive in a
person than a beautiful speaking voice,
but, although this fact is universally
acknowledged, few persons really try to at
tain this attraction. Nevertheless, it is
How Decent BURIAL Will Be Provided for DEAD CHURCHES
T HE church throughout the ages has had charge of
the solemn duty of burial. It probably never
oocurrod to any one until recently that some
thing would be necessary to bury the ohurch. Yet at
this time an active movement is on foot to organize a
society to give "decent burial” to “dead” churches. If
this is actually done, as is extremely probable, we will
see the dead burying the dead, according to Scripture.
The new society is to be organized with branches
among all the religious sects, and has already the sup
port of a large number of devout church people. Re
ligious conferences have repeatedly pointed out the
growing number of empty and abandoned houses of
worship throughout the country and suggested ways and
means for reclaiming them.
In spite of all efforts, the ranks of the dead churches
have grown until they have become an offense to re
ligiously minded persons, not only on account of their
numbers, but because of the worldly purposes to which
the sacred buildings are put.
“Gasolene, 19 cents a gallon,” appears where once the
pastor’s text was lettered. Moving pictures have crept
An Idea Thai May Make EGGS CHEAPER
O NE of the reasons for the high
cost of eggs is because they
are so fragile that unless you
go ’£o much pains and expense in
patfklng them they cannot be
shipped any distance without break
ing. Even when every known pre
caution has been taken, the number
broken Is usually sufficient to raise
the price per dozen to the consumer
quite materially.
Although this is a problem that
has been with us ever since hens
began to lay and men began to eat
eggs, it bus persistently baffled our
Ingenuity. One half crazy inventor
tried to solve the problem by feed
ing his hens a chemical which ho
believed would make the shells of
their eggs ‘ less breakable, but he
succeeded only in poisoning his
fowls.
Since the establishment of the
parcels post the need for some way
of packing eggs so they will not
break has been felt more than ever.
If it were possible for every con
sumer to receive frequent ship
ments of eggs through the mails he
would he able to obtain a fresher
product than he now does at a lower
price.
At last an Oregon man seems to
have solved this troublesome prob
lem. After a careful study of various
geometrical designs, with the Idea
of determining how the greatest
number of uniform spheroid and
ovoid objects could be packed in a
limited space and at the same time
he pm*tfcd t/am Urwkjge, he has
t. 6
A Man Standing on a Case of Eggs
Without Cracking a Single Shell.
evolved a paper packing case which
Is making gqod under all sorts of
severe tests.
This case is so light that the ex
pense of sending it by parcel post or
express Is very slight. It Is so com
pact that twice as many eggs can be
carried in the same space as with
the equipment now in use. And at
the same time it is strong enough to
stand all sorts of rough handling
and to protect its fragile contents
from damage. When one of these
new cases is filled with eggs a man
can walk across the top layer with
out fear of cracking a single shell.
One of the caseiA filled with eggs
was loaded on an express wagon,
over the hind wheels, and hauled
rapidly over the roughest of plank
logging-roads for three hours. It was
then dumped, as any unbreakable
box of freight might be handled, on
to the depot platform. Just one of
the 50 dozen eggs was broken, and
that was due to a slight imperfec
tion in the case, which was hand- s
made. This will be easily overcome )
when the fillers are turned out by i
machinery and are all uniform. \
Representatives of the British as *1
well as our own Government are 1
watching the tests of the new in- s
vention with Interest, and negotia- <
tions are under way for financing an '
organization to manufacture and \
market it on a large scale.
The cases can be manufactured '
very cheaply, it is said, and will do j
good service for a long time.
into abandoned houses of prayer in nearly every State
in the Union.
In Boston a gas company has occupied a nice little
church. In Pittsfield a Summer hotel has cheerfully
converted a church designed by Bulfinch into a dance
hall. Here the time-stained rafters look down upon the
unholy sight of tangoes, bunny hugs and turkey trots.
New Y’ork City is full of houses of worship turned
over to unholy purposes. A Madison avenue church now
harboi'3 a very active express office. One of Mr. Froh-
man’s stage directors frequently rents a deserted church
further downtown for the unholy purpose of training
Chorus girls in their steps.
A saloon will be found doing business still further
south, unabashed by the faict that a few years ago a pulpit
once stood near the present site of the bar. How little
the ministers of some years ago thought as they in
veighed against the demon rum that they were destined
to be turned out in his favor. Stables, garages and
moving picture shows aud prize fights pay the rent of
other churches now that the plate is passed no more.
Such sights as these are shocking to devout persons.
The society, when organized, purposes to rescue aban
doned churches and tear them down. Then if saloons
and theatres must go up in their place, at least the house
of God will not be mocked.
within the reach of everybody, and can be
obtained with but very little effort. A daily
fifteen minutes or half hour of work is all
that is necessary.
In the first place, one must gain control of
the voice producer, the breath. Begin by
taking just ordinary breathing exercises
every day, deep inhalations, filling the lungs
to their capacity and expanding the dia
phragm with each breath. Soon you will
find you possess a new strength, force and
power beyond words to describe.
Now, having gained the moving voice force,
direct your attention to the voice itself.
Most speaking voices have from five to
eight primary notes. The first one is the
lowest the voice is capable of touching easily,
with no effort or sound of hoarseness, and
then on up the scale to the highest that can
be pitched without sound of shrillness and
attained only with absolute ease.
These notes are the background, as it
were, of the speaking voice. We must use
them first, later adding the other tones.
Take a deep breath, then sound the vowel
"a” (ah) up and down the scale on these
primary notes, at the same time exercising
great care to think each tone as far forward
In the mouth as possible, while also striving
to keep from using the slightest effort so far
as “forcing" the tone is concerned. In other
words, vocalize the spoken tone with as
much gentleness and sweetness as possible.
The mouth must be well open and the jaw
relaxed.
After repeating this exercise several times,
begin to intone words on these same notes,
speaking them gently and placing them as
far forward in the mouth as you did in the
exercise, all the while being careful to no
tice the sound of each word, its quality, tone
and placement. Take a poem or prose selec
tion like Shelley’s- “Cloud,” for instance, and
intone it carefully on the primary notes,
chanting each verse on a different key, but
with no inflection. Then take the same poem
and “speak” it in the different keys.
Gradually you will find that the voice is
taking on a different tone and developing in
richness and quality, and then follows the
detection of faults in your own voice, which
you are now eager to overcome. When onca
the ear is trained, the time is not far dis
tant when you will have attained that much
coveted possession—a beautiful speaking
voice.
Think at least twice before using your voice
once if it is well trained, and try never to
utter a word that is not clear, distinct and
well modulated. Hurried, careless habits of
life and a tendency to irritability are respon
sible for the harsh tones of many voices
which nature fitted for something better than
to grate on our ears as they do.
How the BEST FURS Are Grown to Order on FARMS
W
1 E no longer have to depend on Nature’s
uncertain chances and the skill of the
hunter and trapper for the finest furs.
Better pelts than ever came out of the wilder
ness are now being produced on farms where
some of the more valuable fur-bearing animals
are being successfully bred in captivity. It is
ho-ped that the methods of breeding will some
day reach a point where furs of a particular
fineness or with any desired marking can be
grown to suit the special wishes of each pur
chaser.
Fur farming was begun as a result of the
singular success of the ostrich farmer, and the
blue fox was the first animal to be scientiftcally
bred in this way. The results
surprised everybody, finer' skins
being put on the market from
the captive animals than had
ever been obtained from the wild
ones.
There is a curious reason for
this. The fur of the blue fox,
which is the trade name for Arc
tic fox, reaches perfection in the
Winter time, when it is the long
est. But the wild animal often
very inconsiderately spoils hi-
coat by his habit of basking in
the midday sun. Not that the
sun hurts the fur, but the warmth
of the animal’s body melts the
ice, which speedt'y freezes agaiu
and encloses the tips of the longest hairs, so that
when the animal rises these are plucked out and
left behind. When kept In the enclosures pro
vided for them on the fur farms, however, the
animals do not lose their valuable long hairs.
Attempts are now being made to breed skunk,
mink and sable In the same way. Scientists are
earnestly in hope that the effort will be sucees-
ful, for otherwise all three of these animals are
doomed to early extinction.
The skunk, as everybody knows, has the power
of dispersing a fluid that has a particularly vile
odor, and is possessed of a singular pertinacity.
It is ejected with great force aud precision from
two large glands placed at the base of the tail.
This power insures for its owner respectful
treatment, both from man and beast. It mad*
skunk farming a very uncertain Joy, till som*
genius hit on the happy idea of removing th*
glands from the young animals The skunks ar*
in no wise the worse for the deprivation
If the experiments with skunk, mink and sabl*
prove successful, breeders plan to add the chia
chilla and the egret to the list of the fur-hearin%
animals that can be bred in captivity; but th*
prospects of success with these are very small,
indeed.
When the HUMAN RACE Is BANKRUPT
W
HEN a man has spent all his resources and can't
meet his obligations he is bankrupt. The hu
man race within a time variously estimated
will have dug out the last available ton of coal and metal
from the earth. That substitutes will he found from
time to time cannot be doubted; that man may keep
going indefinitely so far as metals and fuels are con
cerned and then stave off racial bankruptcies in these
matters is not impossible. But long before the coal and
iron are gone he must face another problem—that of
food.
All animals are parasites in that they live by eating
other animals or by consuming vegetable food. It is
conservatively figured that the earth, if cultivated with
the utmost skill and intelligence, may be able in the end
to feed permanently one thousand million human beings
Before the end of the present century the earth is ex
pected to have at least that population.
As soon as the population grows beyond this poin\
some one must starve, even though the last beast and
bird has been killed and all non-edible plants have given
way to fruits and grains. '
When this time arrives the race must either ceast
multiplying or learn the secret of the plant and “eat
dirt.” Then man can multiply until the world no longer
provides standing room.
Copyright, 1919, by the Star Company. Great Britain Rights Reserved.