Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-12-27
vENTENARIANS IN IRELAND.
BY Or. w. A. Evans.

tain the idea that the Irish are longea
lived than any other people.
When compared with the people o.
England. Scotland and Wales the peO-
pie of ireland are long lived. as the fig
nres already quoted indicate. In 1910
65 persons over 100 years of age died
in England and Wales. Compare this
with the 1913 deaths in a year OF cen.
tenerianS in the very much smaller
population of Ireland.
Or note this comparison: In England
and Wales. for each 900, 900 popula-
ton there We're. 4.5 centenarians, as
compared with 81 in Scotland and
llo.4 III Ireland, =.
\ closer analysis shows that, as
compared with the Scotch and English,
the Irish baby has a somewhat high
death rate. Between infancy and 30
Years of age the death rates are nearly
equal. 80 and 81 the Irish
man has Il very little advantage. IL
the lrishman can get by SIS. his chance
of reaching l05 is much better than
that of the Scotchman or t.nglishman
who is competing for the same goal.
| The conclusion is that the lrishman
is naturally longer liked than the ENG.
liShman, Scotchman or German, but
that he is not 50 long lived as the
Swede. Norwegian. Dane. Bulgarian, or
the Greek. However, the proportion OF
the people who reach 100 in even the
countries whore the. people are most
ioIS lINtQ Is ST. very Instli Us u iioNC
the matter of no importance :. X
The second opinion of my kindly
critic was better founded. All author.
tiles are agreed that simple food and
not too much of it makes for long life:
Metchnikoff says: lin Chemin's list /
have discovered % c-entenarians dis
tinguished by their frugal life. Most
of them did not drink wine. and many
of them limited themselves TO bread,
milk and vegetables" However, Metch-
.,.Ir I.I t4.l
named Drawn h liIed tn: the age OF
800. and WHO had an. Inscription. put on:
his tombstone that he was always
drunk and when in that condition was.
so terrible that even death had been
afraid OF him.
life is to be found in fresh air day and
night, daily. exercise, moderation in
eating and drinking. one hot bath
weekly and a cold one darby. comfor-'
table and not over heavy Clothes a dry.
spacious and sunny dwelling. crupu
lous cleanliness and regular work. =.
Moltlle said he maintained his health
in his old age by great moderation in
all things aNd by regular outdoor ex-
ercise in all weathcrs. Lord Strathcona
ate two meals a day, ate little meat,
attached great Importance to exercise.
He did not smoke. Sir Henry Weber
believed in moderation in all things and
abundant exercise. He took a daily
walk in all weather, once "A week a
walk of four hours. and once a year a
walking holiday.
The most of all centen-
arian instructors of his fellows was
Luigi Cornari, who lived to be 100 and
died without pain or agony like one
who falls asleep. At 81 he wrote a
book on How to LtNe a Hundred
Years" His last edition and revision
of this book was written when he was
95. The central note of his plan was
moderation in work, in fatigue. and.
above all. in eating.
Prof S. s. Sherman wrote his auto
biography in his 18th year. In his 99th
year he wrote, my autobiography con-
tinued from my 95th To my 9Sth year of
my age" He died at ~. He advocated
simple living.
think. however. that still another
factor enters into the considerable
longevity of the Irish people and that
is inheritance Longevity runs in fam
lilies. Pflueer said that the chief con-
dition of longevity is something in
trinsic in the constitution. something
that must he set down to inheritance"
Metchnikoff says. The influence OF
heredity ON longevity must be admits
ted