88 Mr Babbage on the proportionate number of the 



From this table it appears, that in one year the excess of 

 male births was greater amongst the illegitimate ; but, in the 

 other four, the preponderance was on the side of the legitimate. 

 Where the numbers are small, greater deviations from the 

 mean are to be expected, but the average deduced from above 

 50,000 illegitimate births, shows that the same fact exists in the 

 kingdom of Naples. 



In Prussia an accurate knowledge of the state of the popu- 

 lation is considered an object of importance, and a particular 

 department of the government is charged with the superintend- 

 ence of this subject. The president of the board of statistics 

 is M. Hoffman, a gentleman to whose obliging attention I am 

 indebted for several of the very valuable tables which are sub- 

 joined to this letter. He will perceive, that in the few remarks 

 I have offered on those tables, I have done little more than 

 avail myself of some of the observations which he suggested 

 to me. 



Germany is now beginning to adopt the system of assur- 

 ance on life, which has been found so advantageous in our own 

 country ; and I am confident she would gladly express her gra- 

 titude for the knowledge she has borrowed by affording us any 

 information she possesses, which might be adapted to the more 

 advanced state of our institutions. I mention this, with the 

 hope of inducing the distinguished gentleman to whom I have 

 referred, to direct a portion of his attention to the number of 

 children resulting from marriages of the various classes which 

 are given in these tables, and also with the hope that the re- 

 flections he has made on the immense variety and number of 

 facts which come before him may be rendered more valuable 

 to his country, as well as to my own, by being embodied 

 either in the transactions of some society, or in some separate 

 work. 



The following table shows the proportion of births amongst 

 the legitimate and illegitimate population of Prussia during a 

 period of eight years : — 



