14 



the various occupations mentioned, the average age at death was 

 50.81 years. The table is this : 



This table shows that the farmer has actually lived 14.38 years 

 longer|than the average of aU the other occupations, or in other 

 words has a chance of 8 per cent, more of life than the other oc- 

 cupations. Well, then, may poets sing about, philosophers praise 

 and everybody envy this feature of the farmer's life. 



A fearful phase of modern life, and probably an increasing one, 

 is the prevalence of nervous and the so-called mental maladies. 

 According to the last report of the Mass. Board of Charities, there 

 were, on September 30, 1874, in the different insane hospitals in 

 the State, 2,217 patients, or one in every 523 of the inhabitants. 

 Now what proportion of these patients (and these only men, for 

 in these hospitals women are not classified by occupations), were 

 farmers ? 



or 10.39 per cent, of all these patients were farmers by occupa- 

 tion, and some women beside. So that while 13.12 per cent, of 

 the whole population of the State are farmers, 10.39 per cent, of 

 the inmates of our insane hospitals are from the same class of 

 people. And almost always under the head of occupation in in- 

 sane hospitals, in this country and Europe, we find the farmer 

 and laborer always rank among the first in numbers. 



You naturally ask "Why state of things ? Why is the occupation 

 by 8 per cent, the healtliiest of all the occupations and trades, 



