DO WE INHERIT SHAPELY BODIES?
most cases he inherits them. The father's walk and physical characteristics appear in the son; often so plainly that the former's calling might be told from a look at the latter.
A large majority of Americans are the sons of farmers, merchants, mechanics or laborers. The work of each class soon leaves its mark. No one of the four classes has ordinarily had any training at all aimed to make him strong all over. Varied as is the farmer's work, most of it tends to make him inerect. No man stands up straight and mows. When he shovels, he bends more yet and every ounce of spade or load pulls him over; till, after much of this sort of work, it is not easy to stand upright. Ploughing is better for the upper body; but it does not last long. While it keeps one walking over uneven ground, it soon brings on an awkward, clumsy gait, raising the foot too high. Chopping is good for the upper man but does little for his legs. In hand-raking and hoeing you may remain erect; but in pitching and building the load; in nearly every sort of lifting; and especially in the heavier sorts, as in handling heavy stone or timber, your back is always bent over. It is so much easier to slouch over when on horse-rake, mower, or harvester, that most persons do it. Moreover, the labor-saving machine, for everything done on a farm, saves labor. But it also saves the muscles that did the labor and saved muscles get weak.
No work on a farm makes one quick of foot. All the long day, while some of the muscles work, and so are developed; the rest are untaxed, and stay weak. Few farmers are good walkers; usually hitching up if they have an errand to go, though it be to scarce a mile away; and rarely can a farmer run. He is a hearty, well-fed
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