THE AVERAGE AMERICAN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 272, 18 November 1901, Page 2

THE AVERAGE AMERICAN.

The average American is a statistical abstraction created from the census reports of his native land. He is an Cictorooh by descent, seven parts white, and one p'art negro. The white blood | is of various sttainS, and cbifies from Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Canada, but chiefly from England and Scb'laad. His height. IB sft 8in.,l nearly one inch more than that of his English cousiL, and considerably over that of tho average European. In ! weight both English and Germans 1 exceed him. His family oonsists cf a wife and three children, a fourth child having died in infanoy. His age is thirty-seven, and his j chances of life reach sixty seven years, | ooe year lets than his wife's, but a year 1 or two longer than the average span of j any other prople. The two elder {children attend public schools. His i house contains seven rooms, aod he has

i a farm, from which he produces twice i aa much aa a farmer in aDy other part of the world doe< from his land. Besides his farm he has 750 dollars in I railway stock and bonds, and 150 dol-1 lars in the Savings Bank. His entire estate is set down at SQOO dollars -His household is managed on what would bo considered a very lavish scale by tha average European, especially in the matter of his diet. One of his small vices is his partiality for tobacco, of which he consumes one ounce a day, while his' family annually. consume seven and a

half gallons of spirits and wine, land seventy-five gallons of beer—of| .which he certainly takes the largest share himself. The family expendiI ture in clothing is about £2O a year, which seems a very moderate sum. His i wife does her own housework. He sel- . dom attends chuicb, but is set down as i belonging to some Protestant denominaI tion, His wife go to church, and sends • the children to Sunday school. They ' subscribe to a daily and weekly news- '' paper and a monthly magazine. They ' are very moderate in the matter of ' telegrams, sending only five a year, but , they have a large correspondence of I j 220 letters, forty postcards, and sixty ! packages. He is the great'.st traveller I I on earth, and every year he or one of his | family travels by rail not less than 1000 miles.—Press.