Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1831-05-04
WEDNESDAY. MAY 4, 1891.
From me London LITERARY Gazette.

The effects OF the prlncipai hrts, traueS anu
Professions, and of Civic States and Habits OF
Living on Health and Longevity; with par.
ticular reference to the Trades and Manutac-
lures Of Leeds; and suggestions for the Reno
val Of many of the Agents which produce
Diseases. and shorten the Duration of Lie
By.C. Turner Thackrah, Sv. Up. leo. Lon
don, 1881.
.This paper (says the author IN his conciu-
sion) has proved much longer than | expected;
and its details, fear, have been often tedious
and desultory There has been frequent re-
petition of facts and opinions-sometmes from
design, often from oversight. For the hm9 Ia
Dor have now neither time nor Inclination
Careless OF criticism, and indifferent to litera-
nv reputation, have sought to be useful. The
uncertainty of life, and the sense of responsible
70. urges us to spend our short-lived day less in
matters of taste and refinement, than in pursuits
which we believe caculatedto relieve human sui
f.rips. and promote human happiness"
Useful in an eminent measure do we consider
MIR. Thackrah's inquiries and publication calcu-
lated TO be. Practical research has led him to
an accumulation of facts at once curious in them
selves, and vitality interesting to every living
he;nv: for though confined TO Leeds and its vlcl-
nIty, the results apply to every part OF the ctun-
try. and TO every condition of lite. "lt we
look Immediately at home The says, we observe
the wonders which science and art have effected
We see large buildings, manufactures OF almost
every kind, and substances, so changed, reform
ed and combined, that nature could scarcely
know her own productions. We admire the in
yeotons of science, alike in their minuteness and
their size, their accuracy and their extent OF oPe-
ration. We see wool converted into cloth in es-
Establishments so numerous and extensive as al
most 70 supply the civilized world: we see the
slight blue.howered product Of the field formed,
in the same mill, into the thread which passes
throuoh the eve of The needle, and into the can
yass which bears our ships to every region OF
the Globe: we see rough and MASSEY minerals
drawn from the bowels Of the earth, converted
on the one hand, into instruments which surpass
in power the united strength OF the largest AMI
mails, and on the other, formed into the hnest
aud most delicate pieces of mechanism. These,
and works like these, are assuredly wonderful.
But while we admire, letus examine. Whist
are the effects of these surprising works-etfects,
mean physical and moral? say nothing OF
the wealth they produce, or have pdoddced-for
wealth is good or evil according to its application:
I refer TO the health of FIFTY thousand persons
who spend their lives in the manufactures OF
Leeds and its neighborhood, or in allied or de-
nendent occupations. | ask if these fifty thou
sand persons enjoy that vigor Of body which IS
ever direct good, and without which all other
advantages are comparatively worthless? ask,
if the duration of life is as great here as IN the
agricultural districts? To the first inquiry, the
mere appearance ofour population affords reply
Take indilerently twenty well fed hdsbandmen,
and compare them with twenty manufacturers
who have equal means Of support, and the suPe-
,ority Of the agricultural peasants in health, VI
yor and size, will be obvious. Medical men,
moreover, have daily proof of the i'll effects on
the human constitution which our employments
produce. They find a number variety, and
a complexity Of diseases, which arc little known
in country practice, and which though not d.
rectly fatal, greatly reduce the powers OF lite
The second inquiry will be most satisfactorily
answered by reference to the bills OF mortality
MIR. Thackrah then goes into his striking de-
tails, dividing for that purpose, the population
into four great classes OF operatives, dealers,
master manufacturers, and merchants, anu pro-
fessional men; and examining "the atmosphere
they breathe-the muscular exercise they take
the postures of body they maintain-the vari-
atoms of temperature and humidity to which they
are exposed--their diet and habits of life; and
finally, in some classes, their state OF mind.'-
We will display some of the results in almost
tabular form.
OUT oF-DooRS.
:. Butchers, and the slaughtermen, their wives
and their erraud boys, almost all eat fresh cook
ed meat at least twice a day. They are plump
and rosy. They are generally also cheerful and
GOOD .natured. Neither does their bloody occu-
patton, nor their beef eating render them savage
As some theorists pretend, and even as the En-
gl,sh law presumes They are not subject to
SL ,x;s,;ss as the fluctuations of other trades
nraduce-for meat is always in request; and
butchers live comfortably in times as well OF ge-
neral distress as of general prosperity: They
are subject to few ailments, aud these the result
of plethora" Though more free from diseases :'
than other trades, they, however, do not ENJOY
greater longevity: on the contrary, Mr.. 1. thinks
their lives shorter than those Of other men who
spend much time in the open air.
Cattle and horse dealers are generally healthy,
except when their habits are Incorporate
Fishmongers, though much exposed to the
weather, are hardy, temperate, healthy and long
lived,