MAKING EYES.

Cromwell Argus, Volume L, Issue 2649, 24 November 1919, Page 7

MAKING EYES.

■* HOW ARTIFICIAL EYES ARE MADE. Befare the war the only country co take up the industry seriously was Germany, whence England was importing 10,000 artificial eyes every year.

These more than sufficed to meet pre-war needs, but when the Government realised'the demand that would have to be met in consequence of the war, a return was made of all stocks held by opticians, ■ with the result that 30,000 were accounted for. That is 30,000 foreign-made eyes, because, j whilst the German practice was to j manufacture "stock" eyes by the : thousand, English makers only made an eye to match the surviving optic. I The only English "stock" eyes con- j sisted of a negligible number of "misfits." j PROFITABLE WORK. ! A few other countries have "made eyes" for England, if not at England, notably France, which produced j a type made of india-rubber, the I iris being painted under the piece of j rounded glass fixed on the rubber to | form the cornea. The life of such eyes, hawever, was found to be considerably shorter than that of the [ glass eye, which will usually retain its brightness and naturalness for j about two years. i It is given to few persons outside the charmed circle of makers to watch the artist at work. It is highly profitable work, for a maker operating on his own account, and having well-appointed consultation rooms, can often earn £I,OOO a year. Fixed on a table is a blow-lamp, worked by gas and air, and lying within reach of the operator are numerous small tools. The raw materials consist of crystal glass tubing and thin glass sticks of colouring matter. A length of tube is so manipulated over the flame that a bulb forms at its extremity. Heated to a given temperature the round end of this bulb becomes opalescent and eventually assumes the white of the eye. PAINTING IN FLAME. Then, b3? means of the skilful use of the colour sticks, in a kind of thread-like circle of figure eights, the iris is formed. A deft touch of black in the centre and the pupil reveals itself. All this time the artist's eyes have been intently watching the blending of the radial tints of the iris as he rotates the bulb over the flame of the lamp, for upon the correct variation of temperature everything depends. Presently the process has reached a stage at which the bulb formation is changed by concentrating the flame upon the portion of it nearest to the tube. First it assumes the shape somewhat resembling a small mushroom with a long stem. Then the latter is melted oil and the general formation and. interior of the eye bear the appearance of a shell with certain parts thickened by means of special tools to form a patented arrangement, enabling the wearer to control the eye and to move it in perfect unison with the action of the real one. THEY RIVAL NATURE. By this time the eye is complete, with the exception of the cornea and the very fine veins (to be observed in the most natural eyes). The former consists of a skilfully-applied layer of clear glass, and the latter are put on with tiny threads of red glass, similar to that used in forming the iris. The eye is now finished, the operation having taken about half an hour. In all the world there is no more natural-looking eye made than in England. In the case of many public men and women the fact that they wear an artificial optic is never even suspected. How many, for instance, of the thousands who listened to General Booth in the later years of his life, imagined for a moment that one of his eyes was artificial ? The best work of the English artist is an extremely close rival of Nature herself, the artificial eye even weeping with its real member. There are fears, since the supply of German eyes has been cut off, of a shortage. To meet this new situation efforts are being made, by research and other means, to extend the knowledge in England of how to make them as true to nature and in as large quantities as possible, and no doubt exists that this problem will be solved.