274 PHARMACEUTICAL BACTERIOLOGY 



weakness and further develop the weakness, which in turn predisposes to 

 certain diseases and render the individual less resistant to the ravages of 

 disease. A good ancestry and inheritance, good wholesome food, comfort- 

 able clothing, the right sort of exercise for body and mind, the simple life 

 rather than the strenuous life, avoiding bad habits of all kinds, abundant 

 fresh air, etc., all tend toward longevity. To argue that we should go un- 

 clothed is as absurd and unreasonable as to teach that sheep should be 

 shaved. To adhere to a wholly vegetable diet is irrational simply because 

 we are organically adapted to a mixed diet. An excessive meat diet is also 

 very pernicious. 



Occupation is a potent factor in predisposing to disease, and in lon- 

 gevity. The following table adapted from a report by Ogle will serve to 

 make this clear. The high mortality rate among street-hawkers is due to 

 several causes chief of which are low-living, exposure to inclement weather, 

 and the greater exposure, in the squalid districts of large cities, to the 

 primary causes of disease. The low mortality rate among clergymen is 

 due to a comparatively simple though comfortable mode of living; while in 

 the case of the farmer and gardener, the out-of-door life is the favorable 

 influence. The list represents ages ranging from twenty-five to sixty 

 years, therefore adults. 



Occupation Comparative 



Mortality 



Clergymen, priests and ministers 100 



Gardeners 108 



Farmers 114 



Carpenters 147 



Lawyers 152 



Coal miners 160 



Bakers 172 



Builders, masons, bricklayers 174 



Blacksmiths 175 



Commercial clerks 179 



Tailors !g 9 



Cotton manufacturers 196 



Medical men 202 



Stone, slate quarries 202 



Book-binders 210 



Butchers 211 



Glass workers 214 



Plumbers, painters, glaziers 216 



Cutler, scissors makers 229 



Brewers 245 



Innkeeper, liquor dealers 274 



File makers 300 



Earthenware workers 314 



Street hawkers 333 



Inn, hotel service 396 



