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The influence of occupation upon health may be studied by means of mortality statistics, especially those of occupational mortality and morbidity. It is generally recognized that there is a higher death-rate among laboring classes than among the well-to-do, but a careful search among statistics collected by American bureaus of labor and for the Federal census shows that we have no vital statistics that are a safe guide in considering occupational mortality. This results from the fact that a person frequently changes his occupation before death. Thus, if we were to take the average age of students at death, it would be very low; but this would not prove that it was unhealthful to be a student, but only that nearly all students are comparatively young -- those that die included. The average age at death of judges must manifestly be greater than that of lawyers, irrespective of the healthfulness of the two occupations. The average age at death of almshouse paupers would be very high. In the case of female operatives the low average is no doubt partly due to the fact that many women leave the mills after the cares of a family come to them, and if they die in extreme old age as the mothers of families, their early service in the mills is forgotten; whereas, if they had died young, while in the mills, their cases would have helped to keep down the average age at death of female operatives.

English statisticians have been giving much attention to this subject for a generation. Dr. Farr gives the data for the following table as to the number surviving at certain age-periods in certain occupations.

According to this calculation, which is based upon very wide inductions, the most unhealthful business is that of an innkeeper, or, as we would say, saloon-keeper. This illustrates again the interaction of personal and occupational causes of degeneration. Next to this comes the business of the butcher, and so on up, the most healthful occupation being that of a farmer.

TABLE XXIII. (105)
Number living at stated ages out of 1000 living at age 25.

Another table (see p. 127) based on English experience gives a much wider range of occupations, taking the rate of clergymen as 100 for a basis of comparison.

TABLE XXIV.
COMPARATIVE MORTALITY IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS. (106)

It will be seen that the mortality in different industries varies widely: if the mortality of clergymen, for instance, be taken as one hundred, that of men engaged in earthen-ware manufacture is three times as great and of inn and hotel servants almost four times as great. Dr. Ogle grouped the causes of high mortality under the following general heads: --

1. Working in a cramped or constrained attitude, as silk-weavers. 2. Exposure to the action of poisonous or irritating substances, such as phosphorus, mercury, lead, or infected hair or wool, as dippers of lucifer matches, hatters, file-makers. 3. Excessive work, mental or physical, especially such as involves sudden strains, as among fishermen. 4. Working in confined or foul air, as tailors, printers. 5. The effect of alcoholic drinks, as innkeepers, spirit dealers. 6. Liability of fatal accidents, as miners. 7. Inhalation of dust, increasing the mortality from phthisis and diseases of the lungs, the effect varying greatly, according to amount and character of dust, most injurious is metallic dust, as in cutlery, and dust of stone, as in pottery-making.