ined eyes, but rather
(1) an increase in the regular misuse of eyes by school children,
seamstresses, stenographers, lawyers, etc.; and (2) the incipient
propaganda growing out of school tests that show the relation of eye
strain to headache, nervous diseases, stomach disorder, truancy,
backwardness.

Every school, private and parochial as well as public, should supply
itself with the Snellen card for testing eyes. Employers would do well
to have these cards in evidence also, for they may greatly increase
profits by decreasing inefficiency and risks. If there is no expert
optician near, apply for cards to your health board or school board;
failing there, write to your state health and school boards. In many
states rural teachers are already supplied with these cards by state
boards. In October, 1907, the New York state board of health sent out
cards, with instructions for their use, to 446 incorporated towns. The
state commissioner of education also sent a letter giving school
reasons for using the cards. Results from 415 schools having shown
that nearly half the children had optical defects, it is proposed to
secure state legislation that will make eye tests obligatory in all
schools. Such a test in Massachusetts recently discovered twenty-two
per cent of the school children with defective vision, and from forty
to fifty thousand in need of immediate care by specialists.

[Illustration: POSITIONS OFTEN SUGGEST EYE STRAIN]

Of course eye specialists,--oculists,--if skillful, know more about
eyes and eye troubles than general medical practitioners or teachers.
Preliminary eye tests, however, may be made by any accurate person who
can read. The Massachusetts state board of health reports that tests
made by teachers were "not less efficient" than tests made by
specialists. In June, 1907, a group of eminent oculists recommended to
the school board of New York City that teachers make this first test
after being instructed by oculists. Persons interested in the schools
nearest them can quickly interest teachers and pupils by starting tests
with this card. In cities oculists can be found who will be glad to
explain to teachers, individually or in groups, how the cards should be
used and what dangers to avoid.

Nature intended the human eye to read the last line of this card at a
distance of ten feet. This conclusion is not a guess, but is based upon
the examination of thousands of eyes. In making the test, the number o