The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-10-04
A Green Old Age.


encc brought death into the world
the children of Adam have eagerly
sought some means whereby they
might avoid that penalty of sin. Men
who were wise in everything else held
tenaciously to the belief in the exist
ence of an elixir, the possession Of
which would give them immunity
from death while others spent the
best years Of their lives in quest of
the wonderful fountain whose waters
would secure to them the imaginary
blessings of eternal youth. In all the
arrogance of our nineteenth century
knowledge we smile in pity as We read
of these foolish seekers for the unat-
tainable; but, at the same time, our
scientists are engaged in an equally
silly attempt to discover how life may
be prolonged beyond the three score
and ten years allotted man in the
Scriptures.
A writer in the North American Re-
riew for June claims that means have
been found to protract the life for two
hundred years. He does not say why
that exact number Of years is espe-
cially desirable. 1t is to be presumed
that human nature would rebel as
strongly against going the way of all
flesh at two hundred years as ever it
did at eighty, and the small difference
Of one hundred and twenty years is
hardly worth the trouble one must
take to secure it. Now if the brilliant
intellects which made this great dis
covery would assure us Of living for
ever one might think Of following
their prescription. The theory is as
follows.
Anatomical investigation shows
the chief characteristics Of old age to
be the deposits of earthly matter in the
human system. Carbonate and phos-
phate of lime, mixed with other salts
Of calcareous nature, have been
found to furnish the greater part Of
these earthly deposits. Of course
these earthly deposits, which affect
the physical organs, naturally inter
fere with their functions. Partial os-
siication of the heart produces the
imperfect circulation of the blood
which affects the aged. When the
arteries are clogged with calcareous
matter there is interference with the
circulation upon which nutrition de-
pends. Without nutrition there is no
repair Of the body.
Having discovered wherein the
trouble lay, learned chemist applied
himself to the task of analyzing the
various articles of food, with the view
of deciding which contain the largest
proportions of earthly salts, and should
therefore be avoided by every one de-
sirous Of living to a green old age:
| After patient investigation he found
that beef and cid mutton are usually
| overcharged with these fatal salts, and
are therefore to be especially avoided
by all men desiring length Of days.
The learned professor does not give
the reason for this fact, but it can
doubtless be explained by the pecu-
liarity of those animals feeding too
near the ground. This trouble might
be obviated if some lover of roast beef
and boiled mutton would turn his
mind to the invention Of an arrange
ment in the form of muzzle which
would prevent cattle and sheep in
tended for the market from grazing
within six or eight inches Of the roots
of herbs and grass. A very serious
flaw in this statement is the total
omission from the list of goat meat
and pork. Now the most casual OBJ
server must have noticed the par
tiality of goats for calcerous food, and
the consequent indurate quality of
their flesh. As for swine, they have
always been considered, beyond all
animals, Of the earth earthly, and as to
salts-is not all ham and bacon pun
gent with salt ? 1t may also be a
question if the great age to which the
Hebrew patriarchs and their immedi-
ate descendants lived may not in a
measure be owing to their total rejec-
tion Of this article Of food.
Our informer does not, however,
confne himself to telling us what sort
of diet we are to avoid, but kindly
furnishes us with a tempting menu OF
such things as we should partake OF
in order to retain our youth. Fruits,
lamb, veal, fish and poultry are the
articles most to be recommended.
This entirely comedies with our own
views on the subject, SO we can all the
more heartily endorse his opinion.
No one could suspect luscious Della
ware peach or tempting Augusta
watermelon of being either earthly OF
calcareous. In fact we have always
fancied the latter to have been the
ambrosia Of the gods, and now the fact
of their Immortality comes to support
that theory. As the lamb and calf
are chiefly nourishcd by milk up to
the time when they make their debut
in society in the butcher stalls, they
have not acquired the Objectionable
habits of their parents, who seem
always trying to get at the root OF
things. Then what would have less
of earth in it's composition than a
speckled trout or delicate cavalho ?
It may be noted that mud-loving cells
are not specified, nor any of those bi.
valves which adhere to rocks and
sometimes absorb q portion { their
stony nature. But why did the de-
luded man mention poultry (? Where
is that blessed country where young
poultry is to be found I? So far as our
experience goes, it is nowhere this
side of China. Everywhere else SO
soon as the downy head of turkey,
duck, guinea or chicken emerges from
the shell it's flesh begins to tougher,
and by the time it is old enough to
come tc the table "no knife can cut
it's joints in two," if we may be per.
nitted to paraphrasc love song OF
our early manhood. We believe that
in the Flowcry Kingdom the Celes-
tials obviate this difficulty. by not
waiting for the fcathered 'bipeds to
get out of the shell, and so circum,
vent this cunning device of the crea'
lures to escape from all-devouring
man.
The next remark of the Professor
fills us with vague alarm. He says
1Evcnssiye action of atmOspheric OXv.