

302 THE PRINCIPLES OF Part II. 



excess of male over female births is less when they are 

 illegitimate than when legitimate. 35 



In various parts of Europe, according to Prof. Faye 

 and other authors, "a still greater preponderance of 



males would be met with, if death struck both sexes 



in equal proportion in the womb and during birth. 

 " But the fact is, that for every 100 still-born females, 

 " Ave have in several countries from 134*6 to 144*9 

 " still-born males." Moreover during the first four or 

 five years of life more male children die than females ; 

 " for example in England, during the first year, 126 

 " boys die for every 100 girls, — a proportion w r hich in 

 " France is still more unfavourable." 36 As a consequence 

 of this excess in the death-rate of male children, and of 

 the exposure of men when adult to various dangers, and of 

 their tendency to emigrate, the females in all old-settled 

 countries, where statistical records have been kept, 37 are 

 found to preponderate considerably over the males. 



It has often been supposed that the relative ages 

 of the parents determine the sex of the offspring ; 

 and Prof. Leuckart 38 has advanced what he considers 



35 Babbage, • Edinburgh Journal of Science,' 1829, vol. i. p. 88 ; also 

 p. 90, on still-born children. On illegitimate children in England, 

 see ' Keport of Kegistrar-General for 1866,' p. xv. 



36 'British and Foreign Medico-Chirurg. Keview,' April, 1867, p. 

 343. Dr. Stark also remarks (' Tenth Annual Keport of Births, Deaths, 

 &c, in Scotland,' 1867, p. xxviii) that "'lhese examples may suffice 

 " to shew that, at almost every stage of life, the males in Scotland 

 " have a greater liability to death and a higher death-rate than the 

 " females. The fact, however, of this peculiarity being most strongly 

 " developed at that infantile period of life when the dress, food, and 

 " general treatment of both sexes are alike, seems to prove that the 

 " higher male death-rate is an impressed, natural, and constitutional 

 " peculiarity due to sex alone." 



37 "With the savage Guaranys of Paraguay, according to the accurate 

 Azara ('Voyages dans l'Ame'rique me'rid.' torn. ii. 1809, p. 60, 179), 

 the women in proportion to the men are as 14 to 13. 



38 Leuckart (in Wagner, ' Handworterbuch der Phys.' B. iv. 1853, 

 s. 774. 



