528 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



A noticeable feature of this table is tbat the death-rate and sick- 

 rate bear a close relationship in the several localities. To make it 

 more apparent, we place them in parallel columns : 



In order to obtain, however, the average for the general popula- 

 tion, we turn to the older branches, with the following results : For 

 1881, there were 655 branches over thirty-five years old, reporting 

 83,121 members, with 79,902 weeks' sickness — being an average of '961 

 of a week. We find that the Eastern section, with G0,783 members, 

 reports 03,295 weeks' sickness, or an average of 1*041 ; and the Central 

 reports 15,839 members and 13,211 weeks — an average of '834. The 

 returns from the Northern and Southern States are insufficient for a 

 fair comparison ; but the fact that one State alone, Maryland, with a 

 membership of 10,785, reports 21,259 weeks' sickness, is an evident 

 indication that there is the same proportionate advance in the rate in 

 every locality. 



Judging from the experience of this society, it is a reasonable con- 

 clusion that the average sickness of the better class of the adult male 

 population of the United States and Canada is one week and a half 

 each year. 



But a more important calculation, which can be made from the 

 statistics of benefit societies, is the expectation of sickness for each 

 year of a person's life. This has been computed in England by sev-' 

 eral actuaries. While they have not agreed entirely in details, for the 

 simple reason that they have taken the experience of different classes 

 of people, yet they have agreed on the general principle that there is 

 a regular increase in the average of yearly sickness with each year of 

 a person's life. The statistics of the Society of Odd-Fellows in Amer- 

 ica have also been tabulated at different periods during the last thirty 

 years. The first calculations were made in 1854, and were based on 

 the experience of 66,000 persons. The plan adopted for securing the 

 necessary data was to require each subordinate branch to send to the 

 central authorities a return of the number of members at each year of 

 age, of the number sick at each year of age, and of the number of 

 weeks' sickness for each age. This process has been repeated at dif- 

 ferent periods and in different States. In some States it is done every 

 year. 



From the data thus obtained has been compiled a table of the ex- 

 pectation of sickness, which has been published by the authorities of 



