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grow their errors alter, and the glasses must be repeatedly
adjusted if the ground gained is not to be lost. Short sight does
not—except in the congenital cases—arise in infancy. It appears
usually between the ages of 7 and 12 years in children predisposed
by a family history of myopia, often in a case previously recorded
as being long-sighted. The tendency once developed " progresses
"—that is, the myopia increases—sometimes with alarming
rapidity. It never improves. Predisposition is assisted by
weak general health in adolescence, and repeated attacks of infectious
disease. Two important factors are the presence of infected
teeth, tonsils and adenoids, and the element of " competition "
which plays so large a part in education. In development the
teeth and eyes are formed from nearly the same structures, so that
it is not surprising that eyes liable to stretch before the intraocular
fluid tension are often associated with soft teeth, unable to resist
the bacteria which inhabit the mouth. The element of competition
has a specially severe effect in myopia because these children are
handicapped at games, and the desire to be good at something
being a human characteristic they fall back on the sustained close
work of their school studies for the necessary satisfaction. Myopia
cannot be checked by the mere provision of glasses. It is necessary
to attend to all the details of general health. The condition
of the mouth must be watched and the amount of close work
reduced to that which is suitable to the health of the eyes, even
to the ordering of "oral teaching only." If this is not done,
education will proceed at the expense of the vision, so that a
child, although a scholarship candidate at 12, will need stronger
and stronger glasses, and at 20 may not be able to obtain firstclass
employment. A " vicious circle " is eventually set up, the
standard of employment falling with the acuity of vision.
Although checking a child's education while leaving it in the
ordinary class insures disappointment to the child as well as to
its parents and teachers, the only other course which has been so
far open to us has been to send the child away to a residential
special school. This has been a difficult matter. Parents are
always loath to part with one who has occupied a large place in
their affection by reason of its " defect," and one cannot but
sympathise with them. The Council, by consenting to institute a
special " Sight Saving Class " in East Ham—the word " blind "