THE DANCERS OF DIFFERENT TRADES

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXVI, Issue 8292, 30 November 1901, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE DANCERS OF DIFFERENT TRADES

Most of us know t.iij more conspicuous dangers that attend precarious callings. We kn >v,- that- the arenn.iut- makes his every ascent at the risk of his life; we are aware t.:ia: the engine-dnivir's profession is a daiigerous one; we are conscious of the fact that the lion-tamer holds bis life in his hands; but few of us know about the dangers tnat. attend tiis most commonplace callings. In choosing a trade it is well to weigh among other things the chances of your haying health and long life if you are to follow such-and-such a calling. We all of us want- to live as long as we can—that is the same of all of us —and, unless the pay is all the more attractive, it is a great pity to tie oneself down for life to an unhealthy oc- ; cupation. The painter's trade is one of the most unhealthy. The smell of the paint and tie; handling of it tend to promote blood- ! poisoning and canceT. And you will notice' that pointers are very rarely big, robust miem.; The tobacconist is not, as a rale, very ' r.ng-lived. In fact, there are but three more short-lived professions than his. The: reason for this is rather difficult to find. There is nothing in the smell of tobacco- to; cause" disease, and we are surprised that' tobacconists should enjoy a shorter span of; life than other shop-people who are equally confined. The cause is probably due to the faot that the tobacconists are almost all. very heavy smokers, and not a few drink; as well. This is sure to destroy their ner-' voas svs-tem and digestive organs, and, seeing that they have practically no xercise, it is not difficult to understand the; iiigh mortality. Cab-drivers and omnibus-drivers are only a little locker lived than tobacconists. In. tne cabby's case, we must remember thathe is exposed to all kinds of weather, that ae often has hard work at home when he should be in.bed, thait his exercise is practically nil, and that, owing to the nature of; his profession, he is' very apt to be drunken. Add to all this the fact that there is a high percentage of deaths to cabmen by accident,and you wonder how cabby manages to survive at all.

The coalheaver's trade is not a particularly healthful one. The fine dust that' rises" irom the coal he has to work amongst in-' jures his lungs and eyes, and by drying; the throat creates a craving for drink—■ usually strong. The chimney-sweep is not famed for his temperance eitheT, and, as in the former case, the profession is to blame. The mortality among sweeps Ss fifty psx cent, greater than that pertaining among men generally! He is particularly liable tocontract cancer, rather more than one-fifth of sweeps' deaths being due to this disease. Sweeps are often troubled with skin eruptions, and their eyes soon become bleary. The soot often finds its way under the upper skin, and refuses to be removed by washing. Tbs printer is particularly liable to phthisis, as one could readily imagine who has oftsn b9en in a printing office. The engraver's health is in no special danger from his trade, but it will certainly spoil his .good looks. You may havs noticed that engravers look as if they were very much in need of a wash; their dirty appearance is caused by panfcicles of silver working under the skin and remaining there.

16 is generally considered that tie butcher's trade is exceptionally healthy—and so it is for those with bad lungs; but it tries the health in. many ways. To begin with, the butcher does not as a rule have much exercise. When he has to visit a farm for trade purposes he generally does so in a vehicle, so it is not surprising that he is usually a victim to rheumatism, more or less acute. Then his shop is generally very draughty fn order that the meat may be "kept cool", and the draughts are anything but healthful. And lastly, he has a nabib of eating scraps of raw flesh, and that .s exceedingly injurious. The draper is not, as a rule, over healthy. Not so the fruittTSr. His trade is one of the most healthful shop-trades there are. i-iie fishmonger when buying his goods is exposed to bad weather, and his hands are continually in contact with ice and cold water, and men in this trade have nearly all rheumatism in -their hands and arms, even if ihey are lucky enough to escape it in a gene-ral form. _ . School-teaching is not the most healthful thing in the world. There is a constant mental strain in teaching and disciplining the young, and a great lack of physical exercise. Then there is anxiety also as to whether the pupils will be successful in examinations, for on such success does the pay of the teacher frequently depend. But, on the whole, the death-rate is not very high. iiead-smeliting and brass-making are very unhealthy trades, and number their victims by hundreds annually. Keeping a publichouse is even woTse; in fact it is considered by many excellent authorities to be the most deadly occupation of all. This is due to the fact that licensed victuallers nearly all drink of their wares, and then they have nard work to do inside, and in a stuffy atmosphere. The knife-grinder's trade used to be very unhealthful. This was due to the fine dust, consisting of particles of stone and steel, =ntering the worker's lungs, and there causing inflammation. Much has been, done, however, to improve this state of things, and -what was once a deadly trade *as now become practically a harmless one. In the great Sheffield factories what are called "extraction tubes" are fixed near the grindstone of each worker; these tubes have fans at the outer end which suck away the dust that formerly caused so much disease. One is raither surprised to learn that there is no desease attached to granite working. One would expect that the dust would cause inflammation, but it happens that the particles of which the dust is composed are too heavy to do any harm. The plumber has t-o look well after his health, for he will find his trade verv trying, much ill-health arising from the inhalation of the fumes coming from melted solder and lead. __ Hairdressing is not very good. The tiny particles of hair are apt to enter the lungs, and there is no acid in the body which can dissolve 'hair; so it forms into tinv lumps, and frequently starts inflammation. An examination, of statistics will show that blacksmiths and •engineers die old. Farm laborers live fairiy long, though there are many little things that tend t-o shorten their days; and countrv emplovment generally is considered healthful. You will be surprised to know that the makers of coal gas are usually strong and robust. If you have ever been near a gaswork. you must have wondered how people could stay inside for an hour, much less ■H ork there for a day; and yet- the workers I soon get accustomed to the terrible smell, and their -health is little affected by it. The dyer's health is much menaced by his occupation, that part of dyeing known as "Turkev-red" dying being particularly injurious' Glass-making is a trade in which the workers are exposed to great- heat, and 3ea-rt disease, dropsy, and liver complaints are vsrv common amona them. Bal-ers are on the whole, by no means healthv. The heat they are exposed to, and the smells arising from the materials riiey use, run down their vitality t-o a rer"upSrers, silk manufacturers ropemakers, box-makers, cnarcoal burners, quarrymen, sawyers, hatters. ra ff -and-bone men all have their special diseases. So we see that, after all, we cannot-_ ,o thmush life without running some ris -, especially if we have to work for our inings, as most of us must. But wei can piotecb ourselves to a certain extent bv choo=•ncr a3 a- trade or -profession one that wi-i injure us least, and will let us live out our natural time on this mortal coil,