1/2 APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY 



if he did not drink while doing hard work. Mowers each 

 took a drink from a common jug at each round of the field. 

 One man remarked, " I could mow without rum as well as 

 any one if it were not for the looks of the thing." Rum 

 was used freely at every church raising. Now all this has 

 changed. Fashion no longer requires men to drink. On 

 the other hand there is a growing knowledge of its harm, 

 and an increasing custom of letting drink alone. 



341. Tobacco and strength. Formerly men thought 

 that tobacco helped men to work hard and to endure fa- 

 tigue. Now men know better, but because its effects are 

 not so great as those of alcohol, men are slower in giving 

 up its use. Still its effects are so great that men who 

 train for races will not use it any more than they would 

 strong drink. 



It is everywhere admitted that the use of tobacco by the 

 young hinders the growth of the body. Careful measure- 

 ments of young men in schools and colleges show that 

 smokers do not grow so fast nor so large as those who 

 do not smoke. Cigarettes are especially harmful to the 

 young, and yet boys and young men are almost the only 

 persons who buy them. 



342. Life insurance and drinking. The most convinc- 

 ing proof of the evil effects of strong drink is the records 

 of life insurance companies. When a person asks to be 

 insured the company makes a careful inquiry and an ex- 

 amination to find out the state of the candidate's health and 

 his habits in regard to drinking. If he is accepted he pays 

 a certain sum each year. Then, after a certain number of 

 years, or at his death, a sum of money is paid to him or to 

 his family. A person at any given age may be expected 

 to live and to pay premiums for a certain number of years. 

 Some die sooner and some live longer; but the amount 



