The Dickinson press., 1889-01-19
HOW TO pROLONG LIFE.
AN INVESTIGATION OF LONGEVITY
BY CAREFUL INQUIRY.

AN INVESTIGATION OF LONGEVITY
BY CAREFUL INQUIRY.
Habits of Persons Who Have Lived tn
Four Score Morc-Tcstimony That
Conflicts with Popular Ideas-The I'M
portancc of Complexion.
Clement NJ Hammond is an associate editor
of The Boston Globe, and he has taken an
ingenious, if homely, method of ascertaininr
the facts and conditions that usually accom-
panv longevity Briefly. ho sent out blanks
to the representatives of the paper in every
county of tho New England states, asking
for tho following information in relation to
men and women individually over tho ago
of so:
Name, residence, age, nationality whether
married or single; general description, i'll
clu'iins size, weight, complexion, etc; chill
drcn, how many, ages, state of health, ETC.;
habits hours of rising, retiring, meals, cxer-
clse, etc occupations, past and present; food
and drunk, quantity, kinds, etc; attacks "
Sickness If any, and ut what ages, nature of
disease, etc; condition of teeth, hair, beard
SKIN, etc, ut time when seen by corrcspon-
dent, age at which father and mother died
and of grandfather and grandmother, when.
ever possible"
In reply to these queries, which, by tho
way, were to he based on accuracy rather
than "cnterpr.sc," Mr.. Hammond received
full and detailed descriptions of no fewer
$500 cases of bona tide octogcnarianiSrn, and
the eases were confined to lo particular kind
OF locality, but came in indiscrminatcy
from hill and valley, sea coast and inland
{ innate aud temperature wcrc thus e.irl-
mated as factors making for length of life
HABITS OF LONG LINERS
AS might br expected, the married people
of New England live longer than those selfish
or unfortunate ones who affect IL life of single
hessc,ineSs. that is the fate or good fortune
married people everywhere. But the pro.
portion of the one elias to the other of tho
New En,!andcrS who atlain the four score
goal II sets all ordinary rcckomings, for tho
married "n,s number Ev fewer than ninety
five Ill every hundred of those on the list. If
that fact he not sufficient to give; rnusiny
inin|;'iS to the worship of llyncn. then must
II lc concluded that the men and women of
modern days are no longer in love with length
of wears.
Another popularity revealed hy Mr. Ham.
fac, that dark "ronplccicd" people are not
III tHerlcn for longevity with the light Com
l!"rtrl,' for five out of every six of the Now
ln:,lanu old folks Under review are blonde.
with blue OF gray eyes, and abundant brown
hair.
As IL the habits of life of these old folks
the answers furnished to MIR Hammond : i'll.
quirlcs all point To the fact that longevity,
save when it is accompanied with regularity
OF habit, is r;trc.
"lhcsc old people. men and women alke
/ are put down us early riScrs and rctirc.s, al
most without exception, and fully ninctccn
+ ont of every twenty have observed this GU
tom throughout life, except, perhaps, at somo
short period in youth. Meals have been
eaten regularly, three each day, with dinner
at noon, the exception hcnlg SO rare as to in
'lirate nothing. Exercise in most cases has
been hard work up to G5 OF 20, ana after tla,
period has consisted twhcn the regular occ,l-
PATTON has lecn given up of walking, gar
d"nin., or both. Except in eases of sickncs,
ih"ac old people are ;.s active and as fond OF
constant occupation of some sort today us
most men and women az" ut %
The nature of the occupations they have
followed is sisniliant. Out of 900 mon,
through life lGl have been farmers, 81, have
been carpenters, 20, merchants. 81, mariners:
~ l;il,orcrs. II, shocmakcra, Al, nun,llnr-
tCicrs, 22;;' clcrgymcn, %, masons; lG, blatk.
smiths; l6, bankers, II each iron wurkcrs.
mill hands, physicians and lawyers; and ;he
rest are divided among nearly ull the other
trades and Professions
Their food is strong, plentiful and plainly
dressed: they are given to tho inhibition of
tea and coffee in considerable quantities, of
whisky in moderation, and to the use Of to-
Jacco somewhat copously.
THE MORAL IN IT.
Mr. Hammond says: "Whlc the farmers
of New England and their wives are /; cleanlv
people, they are not much given to bathing
This neglect may not have prolonged their
existence or made them more healthy, but it
is tn l,c presumed that it has not cut or many
years or caused much disease Neither are
the members of these households well in.
formed in relation to sanitary matters They
know ltto of tho unseen dalnpncs, to whicl,
tile human system is constantly exposed, and,
knowing little, care little. MAY not this be
an influence in favor of II prolonged existence,
pal'adoSical as tho supposltion may seem! In
llinshanl, Mass, with only 1850 inhabitants,
there are eighty people over 50 years of age,
and out of these seventy five arc of light com.
plcXion. In no other town in New
England. so far rs could be learned, is
thaic such proportion of old pco.
pie This town is on tho sea coast, lies
very lpw, is without sewers, and has only
@wntIY INT i'll System OF water works
From 81 aa .illary point of view the conditions
here are about unfavorat lie to long life as
could he conceived outside the crowded por.
iions OF the large cities. And in Boston,
where the sanitary condt. ons appear to he
the worst-ln The North End and South Bos-
ton districts the greatest number of very
olti people arc found"
The moral Of Mr. EIammonl's very inter
cstns article Is therefore get married. be Il
farmer, or mt least live and cncrgize in the
open air, don't change your occupation, eat
ami drink p!cntifuly, take your whisky and
your tobacco when you have a mind, but,
more essential still, get into Il position of
worldly Independence where you may never
havcto fret yourself about your daily viatica,
and finally and above all things, cultivate a
light complexion. Detroit FREQ Press.
The Father Feels, the Mother Suffers.
Women haze resources, they must have
them. They can spend hours alone and en-
joy themselves. | wonder how2 Do they
dream. Women never seem to lose their
,s..cy, and there seems no age at which they
cannot call their sentiment to their MD