Dynamic skiametry in theory and practice

Historical Significance: Andrew Cross (d 1925) was an optometrist. The book describes the techniques of dynamic retinoscopy and has notes on the Geneva retinoscope. Mr. Cross was dubbed the "Grand Old Man of Optometry." He is most famous for devising an improved method of skiametry. As a practising refracting optician around the turn of the century, Mr. Cross had grown dissatisfied with static skiametry, which had been in wide use for more than 40 years. That technique, which required cycloplegia to mitigate accommodation, was time-consuming and discomforting for the patient. Instead, Mr. Cross developed dynamic skiametry. This method of retinoscopy, in which the patient focussed on a near object of fixation, required no drugs, making it quick and convenient. In 1895, he helped form the Optical Society of the State of New York, the country's first optometric organisation. A few years later, he was a founding member of what would become the American Optometric Association, and later served as the group's second president. He and his colleagues introduced the nation's first optometry bill in the New York state legislature in 1896. After years of lobbying efforts, the bill finally became law in 1908.Source: http://www.revoptom.com/archive/resource/visionaries.htm