Bronze plate of Professor Ernst Fuchs

Bronze plate of Professor Ernst Fuchs

CORRESPONDENCE lenses which give them comfort in their every day work. There is something more than the mere transmissive properties of the lens which...

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CORRESPONDENCE lenses which give them comfort in their every day work. There is something more than the mere transmissive properties of the lens which is a factor in reducing the dis­ comfort caused by glare. The eyes are a part of the nervous system. They are also part of the psychic system. There is something more which affects the pa­ tient than the mere light which enters the eyes. Just as blind people feel light, so are patients psychically affected by glare, by color, by darkness, and by the clearness of the atmosphere. W h a t I wish to emphasize is that the transmissibility of a certain lens to light is not the whole story. Patients who are inclined to be nervous, highstrung, irritable, and affected by lights, noises, and by any external stimulation find a great deal of comfort in tinted lenses, especially the lighter tinted lenses. Children who suffer from blepharospasm are very often cured of their nervous irritability and of their car sickness when light tinted lenses are placed on the eyes, even though they are emmetropie. Perhaps the manufacturer of tinted lenses is not aware of the fact, but he should know that certain tints allay general nervous irritability and give the patient a sense of comfort which cannot be explained by test tube experiments or by the laboratory of physics. If we look upon the eyes as mere cameras, then Mr. Coblentz's article on "The Transmissive Properties of Tinted Lenses" will be rated as 100% in value, but as applied to human beings whose nervous systems, including the eye, vary as do the species of flowers in their reaction to light, then tinted lenses take on a new significance, namely their af­ fect upon the complicated nervous mechanism of the human being. Louis Lehrfeld. Bronze plate of Professor Ernst Fuchs I have in my office a bronze plaque upon a black wood easelstand repre­ senting a likeness of the late Professor Ernst Fuchs ; it was presented to me by Professor Fuchs and his son ; I prize it highly not only on account of its asso­

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ciations but because of its artistic merits. T h e plaque measures 3 " by 4 j ^ " , and the black stand measures 4^4" by 7Y\"· Many of my ophthalmologist friends have admired the plaque and envied me on account of its possession. When in Vienna last summer, I men­ tioned this to the younger Fuchs, Dr. A. Fuchs, and asked whether it was not possible to obtain some of these plaques for distribution among my colleagues. H e said that duplicates could be ob­ tained and would cost about $2.00 each. It has occurred to me that I will be doing many ophthalmologists, who re­ member the late Professor Ernst Fuchs with affection and esteem, a favor when I put them in the way of obtaining this bronze likeness. I am willing to undertake the work of ordering the required number of bronze plaques on stands, and of for­ warding them to those who desire them, if they will send me their names with a request to this effect. The price of $2.00 will be increased, of course, by the expressage, broker's charges and federal customs charges; but, even with these additions, the cost ought not to be more than $5.00 or $6.00 each. Charles H. May, M.D. 698 Madison avenue, New York City (Ed. The publication of this letter was delayed through a misunderstand­ ing·) Folia Ophthalmologica Orientalia The first number of a new ophthalmic journal the Folia Ophthalmologica Orientalia edited by Dr. Aijeh Feigen­ baum, in Jerusalem, has just been re­ ceived. Excerpts from a letter relative to it follow: The journal is a trilingual publication in English, German, and French. Every article is briefly sum­ marized in three languages. The exter­ nal appearance of the first issue is some­ what similar to that of this Journal. I t contains ten original articles as well as abstracts of the meetings of the various ophthalmological societies in the East. The Folia Ophthalmologica Orien­ talia is intended to serve the eastern and