98 



sciujsrcu. 



[Vol. IX., No. 208 



though rare, are occasionally found of from nine 

 to thirteen carats in weight and without flaw. 

 The revenue from these mines, which has been a 

 royal monopoly, amounted in 1856 to about fifteen 

 thousand pounds sterling annually. 



As to the benefits to accrue to the new owners, 

 the Times correspondent is sceptical. He says 

 that to sanguine minds the prospect may appear 

 tempting, and it may be thought that with proper 

 mining appliances, and under British manage- 

 ment, these mines might be made to yield a rich 

 return. It may prove to be so, but "experience 

 in India and Ceylon under more favorable cir- 

 cumstances of position does not justify that con- 

 clusion." 



BRITISH CENTENARIANS. 



The British medical association assigned to one 

 of its committees the task of inquiring into the 

 medical history of the very aged. In answer to 

 their widely distributed circulars, they have re- 

 ceived a large number of records ; and, of these, 

 fifty-two cases refer to persons claiming the age 

 of one hundred years or over. The detailed tables 

 with regard to these fifty-two centenariasis are 

 published by Professor Humphrey, F.R.S., in a 

 supplement to the British medical journal (Dec. 

 11 and 25, 1886). It is not meant to be implied 

 that all these cases are beyond question : in only 

 eleven cases (two males and nine females) was the 

 age confirmed by baptismal or other records ; and 

 in the rest of the cases one can safely say that 

 they were very, very old. It is satisfactory to find 

 that in these tables the well-known pride of lon- 

 gevity and love of exaggeration have not induced 

 any one to claim so high an age as 110 : 108 and 

 106 are the highest ages recorded. 



Thirty-six of these fifty-two are women : this ex- 

 cess undoubtedly indicates that females are more 

 apt to reach these extreme ages than men ; but it 

 also indicates that females are more apt to lay claim 

 to extreme longevity, and the ratio of 36 to 16 must 

 be discounted accordingly. The average age of 

 females, as well as of males, is slightly over 102 

 years ; 11 were single (of these, 10 were females), 

 5 were married, and 36 widowed. The average 

 age of marriage for the men was 31 years ; 

 for the women, 25 years. The average dura- 

 tion of married life for the former was over 54 

 years ; for the latter, over 33 years. The aver- 

 age number of children was about six : only one 

 male and one female had no children. The cente- 

 narian has a tendency to be among the first-born 

 children : in thirty-eight returns his average posi- 

 tion is about the second or third child, and in 

 twelve cases is he the first (and in two of these the 

 only) child. Only 3 of 49 spent their lives in aflBlu- 



ence ; 28 were in comfortable circumstances, and 

 18 were poor. The returns of their past condition 

 show a remarkable unanimity as regards their 

 health : they are a robust race, and spare as op- 

 posed to stout. They are not subject to ailments, 

 as a rule, and show some remarkable cases of re- 

 covery in old age. One had epilepsy from 17 to 

 70 years ; another an abscess connected with the 

 spine, a stiff knee from injury at 50, and other 

 troubles ; a third had acute bronchitis at 95 ; and 

 a fourth, paralysis at 90. 



The qualities most frequently mentioned in 

 these life-histories are a good family history ; a 

 well-made frame of average stature ; an equable 

 development of all the organs, including espe- 

 cially a good digestion, ready sleep, keen but not 

 lai'ge appetite ; retention of the hair and teeth ; 

 and little use of stimulants. Their habits, on the 

 whole, show them to be, as a class, early risers, 

 great out-door exercisers, and moderate in all in- 

 dulgences. 



The average height of the males is 5 feet 8J 

 inches, and their weight 138 pounds ; of the 

 females, 5 feet 3 inches, and their weight 129 

 pounds. Twenty-two report good hearing, and 

 34 good sight. Of 35, 38 use glasses, and 4 of the 

 other 7 probably could not read. Fourteen de- 

 scribe themselves as placid in disposition, 8 as 

 irritable, 11 as energetic, 8 as placid and energetic, 

 and 5 as irritable and energetic. Of 46, 29 are 

 reported as possessing average intelligence, 5 have 

 low and 11 high intellects. The memory for re- 

 cent events is good in 26, bad in 6, and moderate 

 in 7. Similar figures for the memory for past 

 events are 39, 4, and 4, showing the greater 

 tenacity of early associations. One " remem- 

 bers and will quote a great deal of the Bible ; " 

 another could " repeat about one hundred Psalms 

 correctly." Of 45, 7 smoked much, of which 4 

 were women. The average time of going to 

 bed was 9 o'clock, and of rising 8 o'clock. 

 The average chest girth in inspiration was 36J 

 inches in the men, nearly 31 inches for the 

 women ; in expiration, 36J^ inches and 30 inches. 

 The slight differences indicate a weakening of the 

 respiratory activity. The average pulse is 75, and 

 the respiration 24, per minute. Of 42, 24 had no 

 teeth ; among 37 cases, there were 144 teeth, of 

 which 63 were in the upper jaw (19 incisors, 8 

 canines^ and 86 molars), and 81 in the lower jaw 

 (23 incisors, 13 canines, and 45 molars). Evidences 

 of debility are, of course, not rare : they occur in 

 half the cases, and are connected with the heart 

 in two cases, with the heart and lungs in 3, heart 

 and urinary organs in 3, with the lungs in 2, with 

 the brain in 3, brain and urinary organs in 1, 

 urinary in 4. 



