The union Democrat. [volume] (Sonora, Calif.) 1854-1946, 1870-11-19
Tse 1ssasarc OF a Nan.


an angel says the seer of the Apocalypse,
suggesting that the perfection of the human
form is the physical master piece of creation.
But the question what that perfection is, has
been greatly disputed, and from the days of
Phidias and the great school of Athenian
plastic art to those of muscular Christiani-
tyn and fashionable Athletic training at Ok
ford, it has never been regarded as a settled
question.
Perhaps, after all, it can only be solved at
last by science, not by art; and the test OF
physical completeness is to be found in har-
mony with the laws of life, and in the full
power of labor and endurance. rather than in
beauty and grace. 1t is from mere statisti-
cal point of view, as least that the subject
has been lately approached, and an interest
ing summary Of the results is given by DR..
Lancaster in Nature.
His first inquiry is, what ought man of a
given height to weigh? He concludes, from
the best statistics yet collected, that person
FIVE feet in height ought to weigh Is pounds;
and that, for each additional inch in height,
FIVE pounds ought to be added to the weight !;
SO that the proper weight of the man six feet
high is It's pounds. If the weight is much
less than this rule indicates, the deficiency of
fatty matter gives reason to suspect some dis
may shorten life; if much greater, it may
sometimes result from an unusual develop
ment of the muscle and the bones, but more
| commonly from an excess OF fat.
Since the differences in the weights Of per-
sons of the same heights depend chiefly on
the amount of fat present, DR.. Lancaster in
quires carefully into the body. 1t is a med
ium for sustaining and nourishing the mus
cular and other tissues and it is besides a
reserve of material to be used up when want
ed, in producing muscular force. Thus all
animals grow fat in summer and lean again
in winter, when they use up their store. The
serious loss of weight, or great deficiency in
| fat. then shows that this reserve of strength
and life is consuming.
This loss of weight is the first symptom in
consumption Of the lungs, and may be OBJ
served long before any tubercles are formed,
| and while the progress of the disease may
still be prevented. This is the secret of the
| success of cod-lver oil and other fatty sub
stances in such diseases they are concentrat
ed nourishment for the wasting tissues, and
supply the needed fat. In the opinion of
many physicians, they ought to be given to-
gether with butter, cream and similar arti-
Giles of food, in every case in which there is a
prolonged tendency to lose weight.
On the other hand an excess OF weight
above the proper standard is disadvantage
in life The man has more to carry !; his
heart must throw more blood into the tissues
to keep them alive; when fat accumulates
around particular organs it partly smothers
them and hampers their action. In snch
cases, if taken in early life, and with judi
cious caution, there is commonly no difficulty
in relieving the system and in bringing the
weight down to the proper standard by Sc
lected diet But this is Important only in
those persons who have q real tendency to OPP
pressive corpulency /; a "full habit is better
than the violence sometimes practiced toover-
come it.
! The study of this subject is recommended
whose officers certainly ought to know how
much a deficiency or excess of weight. as
compared with the normal standard, affects
the expectation of life. But he fails to re-
mark that not merely the weight. as proper
tened to the height, ought to be regarded,
but the height itself.
Dwarfs and giants are Botoriously frazier
of frame and of fewer days'than men of aver
age stature, and the question how great the
deviation of height may be without affecting
the prospect of life is one which has never,
so far as we know, been investigated. That
any such deviation, beyond quite narrow
| limits, is defect, in an artistic point OF
view. is admitted, although popular heroes
and demigods, in the Imagination of men
whose taste is not critical, have generally
been distinguished rather for great size than
for perfect form.-N. 7. Erening Post.