The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1882-06-07
LONGEVITY AS A SCIEyCP.
Novel and Startling Theory Advanced on
the Subject-Infallible Indications of In.
herited Long Life.

around the city. Whether in reform clubs..
where he may be heard discussing social
political or scientific questions, or at tenn
perance meetings, his appearance is certain
notification is related, however remotely
with the subject under discussion.
Are there any indications of longevity
that can be relied 1pon" he vas asked by
an Item reporter.
Certainly. All living things have a
natural inherited life, which may not be ex-
tended beyond the time to which it is lin
tied, but which may be shortened by in-
proper treatment"
HAS not vocation something to do with
length of life?''
1T apparently has. but moSe apparently
than really. 0ftentimes vacations haze
been thought to be especially favorable TO
long life, when, IN fact, If naturally short
lived people should undertake to follow
them they would be found very prejudioiai.
Farmers, for instance have been found to be
a very long-lived people, according TO abe
report of the Massachusetts Board of Health
but person mast be naturally long lived TO
be q successful farmer. IL there are weak
boys in the family the Ribther almost al
ways, out of kind-heart edness, will say:
james or Johnny ought not to be ka9t TO
work on the larm;
he rs TOO DELICATE.
he must be put as a CLERK in a store 90 a stu
dent with adoctor:" or, perhaps, study for
the ministry; so that those who are ro3 long
lived do not usually become farmers
"Tailors and shosmakers are usually
thought tc.be,short-liyed; yet in some towns,
where nearly all the population have been
shoemak Rrs, as great length of life has been
found in towns whe1e nearly all the popula-
ton are farmers. Those who are Not strong
and vigorous, however, frequently enter up
on the trade of farmer or shoemaker, where
=. 81 Il Il
| and the trade gets the credit of tho length of
life of abe person who seek it. This or that
vocation can not be said TO be aong or short
| lived so much as that long or short lived
people naturally seek that trads The labors
of Judges are severe, yet they are among tie
most long lived people in the community.
as found before the War, when / had an
opportunity of examining the inheritance
| of every Judge of the United States Courts,
and found in each instance they came from
| lonslived ancestry on both sides of the
house. So, also, when 1 inquired into the
ancestry of three Selectmen in each of Ill
towns in Maine Massachusetts, and COnnec-
tieut, found invariably that they were
long lived on both sides of the house."
1T is said that a new generation of news
| paper men arises every seven years. Does
! their vocation affect their longevity
/ II have had my mind upon the fact that
the business of reporter would not tend to
| longevity; though the accidents of the busi-
ness connected Herewith have more TO do
with short life than
THE BUSINESS ITSELF.
The tobacco which they smoke and the
been which they drink do more to shorten
| life than their labors. Yes, in this city and
New York, editors have shown higher than
the average length of life. Bryant, though
tIreless worker, lived TO an advanced age,
and Mr.. Greeley would have done so also
had his system not been reached by malarial
disease contracted in the South
Can the indications of this longevity OF
brevity of life be discerned?
Every readily. The indications are de-
| pendent upon form, size, color and surface,
which can readily be discerned by the prac'
ticed eye"
"What are the indications of short lite?''
"They are where the indications of lone
life are wanting. If, for instance. you find
a person with a head narrow through from
side to side-nOt exceeding i've and hall
inches-you may be certain that his fathers
ancestry, with rare exceptions have not
reached the age of 50 or 80 years, and that
he has not inherited the exceptional long
age. If you find person who from the
bridge of the nose to the orihce OF the cal
measures not more than four or four and q
| half inches you may be sure he has not il.
|
side. If a person is narrow through the
head from side to side, and the distance is
small from the bridge of the nose to the orr
flee Of the ear, you may rest assured Of his
brevity of life, which
NO PRECAUTIONS CAN PREVENT.
''The advantage OF understanding such in
dications is where long and short life g. in,
herited in the same person. For example
if a person has inherited say two-thrds Of
his being from long-lived ancestor, and
one-third from a short-lived ancestor, the
time must come for the death of the short
lived part OF the lung before the long-lived
part, and in the wrestle for life the short
lived part may prove the victor if the man
has not taken care of himself, when, il
proper care had been taken at that time, ht
would get rid of the shOrt-lived part of the
lung and the long-lived parts would live on
as ii ne had never been troubled with any
short-lived parts. So with other organs. In
fact, there may be series OF short life parI,
in the same organ. so that mar might havs
freoaent attacks of disease Oi that organ anC
yet live 10 a very great sGe."
Are not lOug-iived men equally liable. u
die from accident ms any one else
'No. beeau the same characteristic.
which produce longevity will make a mar
discreet aud cautious. Naturally. long
lived persons are seldom Incorporate. They
may drink some, but are rarely found TO bt
intoxicated. If they cross street they look
both ways to see whether the crossing il
clear A naturally long-lived man look!
neither way. If a man has a potentiallty o
ninety years he will live to nearly that age
though he may do many things which tC
short-lived men would be suicidal
Has diet any effect on longevity?''
mot particularly, so long as it be reason
ably good. If unwholesome it would, o.
course, tend to shorten life. Diet rather
affects the vitality of man-his doing OF
performing any kind of work. If a man.
vocation calls for great activity of the brain
he should choose that kind OF food adapted
to renew the brain, such as oatmeal, eggs
fish and tripe; if physical exertion is re
quired he should have
MUsCLE-MAKINe FOOD.
"a man may be paralyzed in a part OF hi
body affecting. his vitality, and yet, on &C
count of his longevity, live TO an age that Il
persons generally appears to be very incon
sistent with the small amount of vitality h,
exhibits. have known man TO live twenty
years after he was entirely Incapable o
thought"
Can you indicate some prominent fami
lies which are lOng-lived?'
Yes; Cyrus w. Fields family are all long
lived Ninety and 100 years are not un
known to them, and his longevity viii
doubtless enable him to reach that age. TIL,
family OF Morse, of telegraph celebrity, ar
long-lived. The Vanderbilt. family are nat
urally long-lived. All these have the same
characteristic. The central lower parts of th'
brain are large. The reason that these part