Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1858-06-24
The Duration Of Mans Life-A New Idea,

1NO. 81
The Duration Of Mans Life-A New Idea.
"A work has recently been published by
M. Flourens, the celebrated French physio
logist, in which he asserts that the natural
length of a mans life is five times as long as
the period of growth, and assuming thatthe
latter is twenty years, concludes that the
destined pilgrimage of man ON earth is enc
hundred years
From his own observations, and facts de-
rived from the observations Of Button, and
from natural history, he believes that the
proportionate length of life in animals t6
their periods Of growth is established, and
now claims to have discovered the peculiar
physical change in the system Of both ami
mails and men which indicates the completiou
I, of growth. 1T consists" says NJ Flour-
ems, rim the union of the bones to the epi-
tphyses. As long as the bones are not united
to their epiphyses, the animal grows. In
man the same effect takes place at twenty,
and consequently the duration Of mans life
is five times twenty. It is now fifteen years
since L commenced researches into the ply
siological law of the duration of life, both ii,
man and in some of our domestic animals,
and have arrived at the result that the nor
NAL duration of mans life is one century.
Yes, century's life is what Providence
meant to give u.s. z s8sar aaI
NJ. Flourens brings some striking and in
teresting facts forward, toprove the truth Of
this theory as applied to domestic animals.
and claims that it has an exemplifation in
the relative duration of growth and life in
the camel, horse, OK, dog, and other domestic
animals. In dividing the several periods Of
mans life, M. Flourens prolongs the dura=
ton Of infancy up to ten years, because it 10
from nine to ten that second dentition ter
inmates; adolescence up to twenty, because
it is at that age the development of the bones
ceases; Of youth, up to the age of forty, be-
cause it is only at that age that the increase.
'of the body in bulk terminates. AT forty"
he says, ''the body does not grow, properly
speaking; the augmentation of its volume
which then takes place is not veritable or
ganic development, but a simple accumula.
ton of fat. After the growth, or more ex-
actly speaking, the development in length
and bulk has terminated, man enters into
what may hn tormad thu p0r;od of ;a#igssa-~
tion-that is, when all Ills parts become
more complete and firm, and the whole Or
ganism more perfect. This period lasts to
sixty-6ve or seventy years, and then begins
old age, which lasts for thirty years." 'a,t
Although we cannot entirely agree with
the theory of NJ. Flourens, that with cor
rected manners, passions, and habits. tho
life of man can be prolonged to the length
ened period he mentions, we yet think that
with the good conduct he recommends, mod,
crate labor, study, and systematic course
OF living, it may not only be extended, bat
its evening may be sustained in beauty and
vigor until night has entirely set in. Sci
entifc Americum. -
WITNESSING FACTS Among other In
teresting facts of De Bows statistical view
of the United States, the Boston Transcript
mentions that the State of New York has
about one-eighth of the population Of the
Union that there is one house to every six
persons in the country; that the Roman
Catholics have but one-eleyenth, as many
churches as the Methodists; THAT Che num-
Der Of persons who live east Of the .Missis-
sippi is twelve times greater than those
who live west thereof; the distance between
New York and New Orleans is more than
that between London and Constantinople,,
or Paris and St. Petersburg; over two-6fths
Of The rational territory is drained by the
Mississippi and its tributaries of The 1887
political newspapers published in the United
States.in 1855, S55 were Whig, and 75g
were Democratic There are four hundred
thousand Indians in our territory; at, the,
close of the Revolution, there were but 80. -
900 in the old thirteen States, according to
an estimate of Gen. Knox direct and indiS
rect tax paid by each white person in the.
country, 81 "a; number Of real estate own
ers, 1 500, 900, or one in about S19 Of the
free males over twentysone years Of age
number of Federal Office holders (exclnsfve<'
of army andsnavy, IS ,456, a ninefold in-
crease since 1800-the populations having
increased about fve-foid fourth part Of
the people reside in villages, towns and ci-
ties the number of people to dwelling in
New York city averages more than thirteen,
in Boston nearly nine, in New Orleans nine
and three-qnarters, in Richmond. about five;
in ffty-four counties the females greatly
predominant, in one hundred and ffty-fye
the slaves, and in seven the foreign born.
Coop REpLY.-A line in Moore's songs
reads thus: s'Our couch shall be roses
bespangled with dew" To which sensi-
bic girl, according to- Landor replied -
".''Twould give me rheumatic and 50 it would
you'll" ae .ef.#s
EWA young man who had light Incl
pient n1oustache. one day while. lingering