The Portland daily press., 1888-11-24

Light complectIoned New England
ers Long Lived.
Popular science MonthlY.l


l have alluded to the fact that In the sub
instances Is light While this may be due to
the northern origin Of the majority Of New
England people. and have no special bearing
upon the subject Of longevity. 1t may posi-
bly, be very important as showing the effect
OF temperament upon the length Of life.
That the. sanguine temperament predomi-
mates IN these people Is undoubtedly fact.
and II appears that the sanguine-nervOus
Judged from the complexion, color OF the
eyes and general build Is most common. In
theory, certainly this temperament Is that
which would most conduce to longevity.
other facts, OF the nature Of these gathered
In New England, from some other locality,
might Offset these and disprove the theory:
but. until these other facts are gathered,
think the theory that people with nervous
sanguine temperament, and the two nicely
blended. are liable to live longer than those
who possess nervous bilious or bilious
Emphatic temperament, with either FREEDOM
mating, Is strong enough to work with (; and,
while 1t does not directly teach us how to
live longer, 1t points to something In the
future that means great deal to the human
race.
The fact that the majority OF men are bony
and muscular, and the women plump, Is
easily explained, / think, by the occupations.
In the work Of the men their muscles have
DCCl DtOukut iuto play 80 WucDt Anu nave
used such large proportion Of the nourish-
ment taken into the system, that fat could
not accumulate. With the women the re-
verse has been true, especially after they
reached the age Of 30, when grown up daugh-
tiers took the hardest Of the work from the
mothers shoulders.
In regard to food, the evidence Is so uni
f0rmly one way that those who advise a
simple diet, and those who cry out against
meat, must either hold their theories 70 be
ahnv0 n viv IL
certainly nothing simple" about the diet Of
a New England farmer. IL consists Of salt
and fresh pork and beef and all sorts Of
common fish and vegetables, almost always
most IndIssstSs sorts. rh ssAi food ID 'Hs Is
plain" truly. and gives the digestive
organs an abundance Of work to do, but II Is
not such food as a theorist would recommend
TO one Who desired to live near up TO the CEN
tury mark. Tea and coffee have certaialy
proved that they do not tend to shorten life,
even IL they do not prove they help to pro-
long 1t. The generally accepted theory In
relation to stimulants, receives strong sup
port Tobacco appears TO prove itself harm
people. Whether 1t be help TO live long
requires other evidence.
While the farmers Of New England and
their wives are cleanly people, they are
may not heye prolonged their existence or
made them more healthy, but 1t Is to be pre-
sumed that 1t has not cut off many years or
caused much disease. Neither are the men,
bers Of these households well informed In
relation to sanitary matters. They know
little Of the unseen dampness TO which the
human system Is so constantly exposed, and.
knowing little, care little. May not this be
an influence In favor OF a prolonged exist
ence, paradoxical as the superstition may
seem? In bingham, Mass, with only 1000
inhabitants, there are so people over 80 years
Of age, and out Of these IS are Of light COM
plexion. In no other town in New. English.
so far as could be learner Is there such
proportion Of old people. This town Is on
the sea coast. lies very low. Is without sewers
and has only recently put in system Of
water works. From sanitary point OF
view the conditions here are about as unfay-
orable TO long life as could be conceived out
side the crowded portions Of the large cities.
And in Boston, where the sanitary c0ndi-
End and South Boston districts-the greatest
number of very old people are found,