The Irish standard., 1889-02-16


I inland. Climate and temperature were thus
/ eliminated as factors for making length Of
| life.
AS might be expected, the married people
Of New England live longer than those sell
fish or unfortunate ones who affect q life of
single blessedness; that is the fate or good
i fortune OF married people everywhere. But
! the proportion OF the one class to the other
Of the New Englanders who attain the four
score goal upsets all ordinary reckonings,
| for the married ones number no fewer than
! ninety-five in every hundred of those on the
list If that fact be not sufficient to give q
rousing impetus to the worship Of Hy1nen,
then must it be concluded that the men and
=: women Of modern days are no longer in love
with length of years.
+ Another popularity revealed by Mr.. Ham
!; mouds canvass, and it is a popularity, is
! the fact that dark "complectedn people are
not in the race for longevity with the light
| ''conplected;" for five out Of every six OF
| the New England old folks under review are
blonde, with blue or gray eyes and abundant
brown hair.
! As to the habits of life Of these old folks,
the answers furnished to Mr.. Hammond's
+; inquiries all point to the fact that longevity,
save when it is accompanied with regulari-
ty of habits, is rare:
"These old people, men and women
alike, are put down as early risers and
retirers almost without exception, and fully
nineteen out Of every twenty have observed
this custom throughout life. except, per-
haps, at some short period in youth. Meals
have been eaten regularly, three each day,
with dinner at noon, the exception being so
rare as to indicate nothing. Exercise in
most cases has been hard work up to sixty
five or seventy, and after that period has
consisted tgheu the regular occupation
has been given up> of walking, gardening
Or both. Except in cases OF sickness these
old people are as active and as fond Of con-
slant occupation of some sort to-day fas
most men and women are at thirty-hve."
The nature of the occupation they have
followed is significant. Out of 1000 men,
through life 46l have been farmers; 90 have
been carpenters; 70 merchants; 81 mari
ners; 49l aborers; AZ shoe makers; II manu-
facturers; % clergyn1en, % rnasons; Is
blacks1niths; Is bankers; II each, IRON
workers, mill hands, physicians and law
yers; and the rest are divided between
nearly all the other trades and professions.
Their food is strong, plentiful and plain
~ dressed; they are gwen to the inhibition
Of tea and coffee in considerable quantities,
Al WHISKY Ill 1uOAEIho--t Iuu w L.11 UoC VI
tobacco somewhat copiously.
Mr.. Hammond says:
"While the farmers of New En- land and
their wives are clearly people, they ere
not much given to bathing This neglect
may not have prolonged their existence or
made them more bealthy, but it is to be pre-
sumed that it has not cut of many years
nor caused much disease. Neither are the
members of these households well informed
in relation TO sanitary matters. They know
little of The unseen dampness to which the
human system is constantly exposed, and,
knowing little, care little. May not this be
an influence III favor Of Il prolonged exist
ence, paradoxical as the supposi,lon may
seems In bingham, Mass, with only four
thousand Inhabitants, there are eighty peo-
pie over eighty years of age, and out of
these seventy five are of light complexion.
In no other town in New England, SO far as
could be learned, is there such q proportion
of old people. This town is on the sea coast,
lies very low, is without sewers, and has
only recently put in a system of water
works. From a sanitary point Of view the
conditions here are about as unfavorable to
long life as could be conceived outside the
crowded portions Of the large cities. Aud
in Boston, where the sanitary conditions
appear TO be the vorst-in the north end
and South Boston districts-the greatest
number Of very old people are found"
rhe moral of Mr.. Hammond's very inter-
esting article is, therefore-get married, DO
farmer, or at least live and energize in the
open air; don't change your occupation, eat
and drink plentifully. take your whisky and
your tobacco when you have a mind, but,
more essential still. get into d position of
Sr1n yf7a,so
never have to fret yourself about your dail1
viatica ard finally and above all things
cultivate a light complexion,