PHASES IN THE LIFE OF THE INDIVIDUAL 681 



more than an assumption. There can be little doubt that the 

 great age assigned by some of the older writers to elephants 

 is mythical, and probably 150 years is almost the maximum 

 ever attained. Horses in rare cases have reached forty years, 

 cattle somewhat over thirty, and sheep over twenty years. A 

 dog is said to have lived for thirty-four years, but twenty is 

 usually regarded as a great age for this animal. Cats have been 



FIG. 154. Lonk sheep, aged eighteen years, with her last lamb. This sheep, 

 which belonged to Mr. William Peel of Knowlemere Manor, Clitheroe, 

 lived to be twenty-one years. It had thirty-five lambs, nine of which 

 were triplets. 1 



known to live to be twenty-one and even twenty-three, but no 

 greater ages appear to have been recorded. 



Many instances are on record of extraordinary longevity 

 among men and women, but perhaps the most trustworthy is 

 the famous case of Thomas Parr, described by Harvey in the 

 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 2 His death is 



1 I am indebted to my friend Mr. W. Ralph Peel, of Trinity College, 

 Cambridge, for this photograph (taken by his sister, Miss Peel), and for the 

 information which accompanied it. 



2 Harvey, "Anatomical Account of Thomas Parr," Phil. Trans., vol. iii., 

 1700. A portrait of Parr painted by van Dyck may be seen in the Royal 

 Gallery at Dresden. 



