THE JEWS: RACE AND ENVIRONMENT 37 



907 survived the first year, while among the christians in that city 

 only 861 survived; in Eussia the figures stand, Jews 849, christians 

 726; and in Cracow, Jews 845 and christians 829. This has a great 

 bearing on the expectation of life of the Jews. According to the cal- 

 culations presented in Census Bulletin No. 19, 1890, the expectation 

 of life of the Jews is much more favorable than that of the christian 

 population of the United States. Assuming 100,000 Jewish indi- 

 viduals to have been born on the same day (among which there would 

 probably be 50,684 males and 49,316 females), 45,680 males and 44,995 

 females will survive the first year; 41,731 males and 42,326 females 

 will survive the fifth year, etc. At the end of about 71 years one half 

 of them will be dead. Taking the data for Massachusetts for 1878-82, 

 of 100,000 American infants born (among which there would probably 

 be 51,253 males and 48,747 females) only 41,986 males and 41,310 

 females would survive the first year; 36,727 males and 36,361 females 

 would survive the fifth year; and half of them would be dead at the 

 end of about 47 years. 



While these figures are open to criticism because, as has been 

 pointed out by Hoffman, the method adopted for the calculation of the 

 life-tables is not stated in detail, still it may be stated without any 

 hesitation that the longevity of the Jews in the United States and 

 Europe is superior to that of the non-Jewish population. There is 

 also no doubt that this superiority is mainly due to the lower mortality 

 during infancy and childhood. It is doubtful whether there are any 

 differences in mortality rates during adolescence and middle life be- 

 tween Jews and christians. Among persons of advanced age, over fifty, 

 the rates are higher among the Jews, simply because a larger number 

 reach that age. 



The lower mortality of Jewish infants is not due to any special 

 inherent vitality, but finds its explanation in certain social causes: 

 Jewesses in eastern Europe almost invariably nurse their infants at 

 the breast, and it is rare to find among them an infant brought up on 

 artificial feeding. The mortality of breast-fed children is much below 

 that of hand-fed. Jewish mothers only rarely go to work after mar- 

 riage, and can therefore bestow all possible care on their infants, which 

 can not be said to be invariably true among the poorer classes of popu- 

 lation in eastern Europe and America. In western Europe the Jews 

 are economically on a higher plane than the general population, and 

 when infant mortality is discussed it must be recalled that it is much 

 smaller among the well-to-do than among the poor. The Jews should 

 be compared with the wealthier classes of western Europe and not with 

 the general population. To these social factors there must also be 

 added the fact that the birth rates of the Jews are lower than those 

 among the christians. A high mortality can not be expected when 

 fewer children are born. In fact, in Eussia, where the birth rate of 



vol. xxx. — 3. 



