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Table 15 gives details of age, color, sex, and occupations.

Age when blindness occurred. -- The age at which blindness occurred has a most important bearing upon the statistics showing the relation of other factors to blindness; but the nature and development of the disability in certain cases prevent an accurate statement of the age at which it occurred, and where the exact age could not be given the individuals were requested to indicate the approximate age by specifying the period of life, as infancy, childhood, youth, adult life, or old age.

This permits the subdivision of age of occurrence into two broad groups -- under 20 years and 20 years and over -- which have been used in all of the tables showing the age at which blindness occurred.

Table X shows, by degree of blindness, the number who became blind in the specified age periods, and the number in each age period per 1,000 blind of all ages.

Table X. -- The Bind, by degree of blindness and age period when blindness occurred.

The figures in Table X include the foreign born whites, for which class the number who became blind under 20 years of age is inadequately represented, as the disability prevents their immigration; the proportions under 20 years are therefore somewhat too low, and those for 20 years and over are somewhat too high.

Table XI shows, by degree of blindness, the number who became blind at the specified ages, and the number who became blind at each age per 1,000 blind of all ages.

It will be seen from the figures that of the totally blind, 2,317, or 65 per 1,000, have been blind from birth, and that 2,084, or 58.5 per 1,000, became blind after birth but under 2 years of age. Of the partially blind, 2,413, or 82.9 per 1,000, are blind from birth, and 1,352, or 46.4 per 1,000, became blind before reaching 2 years of age. Thus the number who lost their sight, either entirely or partially, before reaching the age of 2 years, is 8,166, or 126.1 per 1,000 of the blind at all ages.

CAUSES OF BLINDNESS.

Table XI.-- The blind, by degree of blindness and age when blindness occurred.

The proportion of congenital blind, or blind from birth, is greater among the partially blind (82.9 per 1,000) than among the totally blind (65 per 1,000); so, too, is the proportion that became blind under 5 years of age -- 170.1 per 1,000 of the partially blind and 163.3 per 1,000 of the totally blind. But the proportion that became blind in each age period above 5 years of age is greater among the totally blind than among the partially blind.

The relation of age or period of life when blindness occurred is shown in the following general tables:

Table 2 gives age of the blind and age when blindness occurred.

Table 3 gives present age, sex, color, and nativity of the blind and age when blindness occurred.

Table 4 gives the age when blindness occurred.

Table 5, in greater detail than Table 4, gives the age when blindness occurred.

Table 6 gives the data similar to those in Table 5, with greater detail as to age when blindness occurred.

Table 7 gives the age when blindness occurred, sex, and marital condition.

Table 10 gives the age when blindness occurred and causes of blindness.

Table 13 gives the age when blindness occurred, color, and school attendance.

Tables 14 and 16 give the age when blindness occurred and occupation.

Table 17 gives the age when blindness occurred and age when deafness occurred.

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TABLE 13 THE BLIND, BY DEGREE OF BLINDNESS, COLOR, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, AND PERIOD OF LIFE AND AGE WHEN BLINDNESS OCCURRED, FOR CONTNENTAL UNITED STATES: 1900.