DIET IN RELATION TO AGE AND ACTIVITY. 509 

 DIET IN RELATION TO AGE AND ACTIVITY. 



Br Sib HENKY THOMPSON. 



[Concluded.] 



ANOTHER agent in the combination to maintain for the man of 

 advancing age his career of flesh-eater is the dentist. Nothing 

 is more common at this period of life than to hear complaints of indi- 

 gestion experienced, so it is affirmed, because mastication is imper- 

 fectly performed for want of teeth. The dentist deftly repairs the 

 defective implements, and the important function of chewing the 

 food can be henceforth performed w 7 ith comfort. But, without any 

 intention to justify a doctrine of final causes, I would point out the 

 significant fact that the disappearance of the masticating powers is 

 mostly coincident with the period of life when that species of food 

 which most requires their action viz., solid animal fiber is little, 

 if at all, required by the individual. It is during the latter third of 

 his career that the softer and lighter foods, such as well-cooked 

 cereals, some light mixed animal and vegetable soups, and also fish, 

 for which teeth are barely necessary, are particularly valuable and 

 appropriate. And the man with imperfect teeth who conforms to 

 Nature's demand for a mild, non-stimulating dietary in advanced years 

 will mostly be blessed with a better digestion and sounder health 

 than the man who, thanks to his artificial machinery, can eat and does 

 eat as much flesh in quantity and variety as he did in the days of 

 his youth. Far be it from me to undervalue the truly artistic achieve- 

 ments of a clever and experienced dental surgeon, or the comfort 

 which he affords. By all means let us have recourse to his aid when 

 our natural teeth fail, for the purpose of vocal articulation, to say 

 nothing of their relation to personal appearance : on such grounds 

 the artificial substitutes rank among the necessaries of life in a civil- 

 ized community. Only let it be understood that the chief end of 

 teeth, so far as mastication is concerned, has in advancing age been to 

 a great extent accomplished, and that they are now mainly useful 

 for the purposes just named. But I can not help adding that there are 

 some grounds for the belief that those who have throughout life from 

 their earliest years consumed little or no flesh, but have lived on a 

 diet chiefly or wholly vegetarian, will be found to have preserved 

 their teeth longer than those who have always made flesh a prominent 

 part of their daily food. 



Then there is that occasional visit to the tailor, who, tape in hand, 

 announces in commercial monotone to the listening clerk the various 

 measurements of our girth, and congratulates us on the gradual in- 

 crease thereof. He never in his life saw you looking so well, and 

 " fancy, sir, you are another inch below your armpits " a good deal 



