Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-10

Starting out with The announcement that
very few people really desire old age, Mr.. VIM.
Kinnear has written very entertainingly in the
North American Review of the art Of living
200 years. Calling attention to the probable
truth that men and women harassed by trouble,
or overpowered by sorrow, surrounded by dis
grace or tortured by pain may long for death,
but not for q hundred or two hundred years OF
human life, Mr.. Kinnear clxssifes old age and
declares 1t to be of two kinds-one, the calm
passing of many years; the other, brought
about by physical or mental excuses; and
with the latter the sssayist has moth
ing to do, and he nightly argues
by sobriety and temperance in all things, long
life would be an intolerable tedium. He adj
mits that to many the possibility of living
two hundred years in average good health may
have the appearance of wild scientific dream,
but he makes q breastwork Of steam navigation.
Of the electric telegraph and Of other startling
products Of human ingenuity, and from behind
those defenses fires his longevity recipe at the
public, The STAR is inclined to agree with
Mr.. Kinnear in his opinions as to the general I'M
desirability of extreme antiquity, but it is con-
WINGED that there are. nevertheless, several
thousand subscribers who would not tako UNI
bragg at any suggestions that had for their
object the addition of few days or months or
years to q form of existence that is far from
undesirable; people who are satisfied to let well
enough alone and who do not care to expert
ment with possibilities responsibilities until the
pale horse and his rider round them up. That
is why the recipe 10 being reprinted. Mr.. Kin
~, IL, A,,Sl l..
is satisfied that vitality may be built up by GER
tain varieties Of food. Anatomical expert
ment and investigation show that the chief
characteristics of old age are deposits of earthly
matter of a gelatinous and fibrinous character
IN the human system. Carbonate and phos-
phate Of lime, mixed with other salts of cal
careous nature, have been found to furnish the
greater part Of these earthly deposits. When
the arteries are clogged with calcsreous matter
there is interference with the circulation, upon.
which nutrition dependA Without nutrition
there is no repair Of the body, and that is the
reasoning which led Lewes to say in his
physiology Of Common Life" that IF the re-
pair we're always identical with the
waste, life would only then be ter
minated by accident, never by old age" Oldage
n eiihp ply thctOioAV q iohufO W pEceSINo Tue
balance between waste and nutrition. '.Nutri-
ton in the earlier years of life is perfectly per-
formed" says Mr.. Kinnear. Repairs are at
once promptly attended to by the young blood
To repair the waste Of the body, so that the *
guisite equipoise called perfect health may be
maintained, and the decay and blockage which
advances with age may be kept at bay, is to
prolong our years. II this secret be known,
Why not hundreds Of years of life?' To attain
advanced age care must be taken to avoid
foods that deposit calcareous salts in the
blood, and as bread is heavily laden
with this obstructive matter it should
be let severely alone. and SO also should beef
and old mutton. Fruit is the ideal food, but
Ash, poultry, lamb and veal are also good.
Distilled water, which il powerful solvent and
is devoid of carbonate of lime, is. after middle
life. at least, the best beverage; it keeps soluble
those salts already in the blood and facilitates
their excretion, and when tinctured with diluted
phosphoric acid does much to ward off senility.
Summing up his warnings. Mr. Kinnear con-
cludes that the most rational modes of keeping
physical decay or deterioration at bay, and thus
retarding the approach of old age, are
avoiding all foods rich in the earth
salts, using much fruit, especially juicy,
uncooked apples, and by taking daily
two or three tumblerfuls Of distilled water with
about ten or fifteen drops of diluted phos-
phoric acid in each glassful Universal
adoption Of this advice is not looked for, nor
would such result be desirable There are
some people who will not die too soon anyhow.
Unfortunately for the welfare Of mankind.
though, those folks are most likely to test the
propositions and thus make very many Of their
fellows sorry that Mr.. Kinnear was such clever
scientist