THE PROLONGATION OF HUMAN LIFE. 95 



Occupations. — One of the most significant facts gathered in 

 this canvass is that regarding occupations. Out of 1,000 men, 

 throughout life 461 have been farmers ; 92 have been carpenters ; 

 70, merchants; 61, mariners; 49, laborers; 42, shoemakers; 41, 

 manufacturers ; 23, clergymen ; 23, masons ; 16, blacksmiths ; 16, 

 bankers ; 12 each, iron-workers, mill-hands, physicians, and law- 

 yers ; and the rest are divided among nearly all the other trades 

 and professions. The list includes only one each of the following : 

 Hermit, hunter, chemist, professor, soldier, broker, auctioneer, 

 jockey, contractor. Nearly all, however, began life upon the farm. 



Eight hundred out of twelve hundred women have been farm- 

 ers' wives, and all but about fifty of the remainder have been 

 housewives. Four women only, all unmarried, have supported 

 themselves through life by inherited wealth, and are now aged 

 respectively eighty -two, eighty - three, eighty -six, and ninety. 

 Three other unmarried women have been milliners, and six, one 

 unmarried, have been dress-makers. Seven, two unmarried, have 

 been nurses. Six, two unmarried, have been school-teachers. 



Among the hundreds of remarkable instances which illustrate 

 constancy of occupation cited by the correspondents are a few that 

 I can not refrain from giving, because I believe that they point 

 to a very important fact, and at the same time make most inter- 

 esting reading : 



Elijah Tolman, of Brockton, Mass., is eighty -five, and was a 

 stage-driver for thirty years. For the past seven years he has 

 worked in charge of a coal-office, and has been but one day from 

 his duties in that time. 



Andrew Stetson, of Duxbury, Mass., is ninety-five, and was 

 constantly employed all his life making shoes until one year ago. 



Aaron Farnham, of Cambridge, Mass., aged eighty-seven, sold 

 Bibles in Vermont for seventy years. 



Daniel Bigelow, of Athol, Mass., now eighty-seven, has worked 

 as a farmer for seventy-seven years, and mowed grass with a 

 scythe for seven tons of hay the past summer. 



William E. Cook, of Portsmouth, R. I., is eighty-nine, a black- 

 smith, and still works in his shop six days each week. 



Ira Chamberlain, of Bangor, Me., aged ninety-five, worked at 

 the tailor's trade until his last birthday. 



Thaddeus Rising, of Hatfield, Mass., is eighty, and works daily, 

 as he has for the past sixty years, at his trade of whip-maker. 



Mrs. Jane Huntress, of Augusta, Me., ninety-two years of age, 

 still does her own cooking, washing, ironing, and garden-work. 

 Since she was fifty-five she has earned the money for and built a 

 fine house, going herself to the mill and selecting the lumber, and 

 superintending the building operations. She is one of twelve 

 children, all born without the aid of a physician. 



