PROPORTION OF THE SEXES. 289 



We have then from the three families nine sons and three 

 daughters with which^ to continue the breed. But while 

 the males belong to families in which the tendency to pro- 

 duce sons is great the females are of those of a converse 

 inclination. Thus the bias strengthens with each genera- 

 tion until, as we find, families grow to have habitually 

 more sons than daughters."' 



That this result would follow from the above form of 

 infanticide seems almost certain; that is if w^e assume that 

 a sex-producing tendency is inherited. But as the above 

 numbers are so extremely scanty I have searched for addi- 

 tional evidence, but cannot decide whether what I have 

 found is trustworthy; nevertheless the facts are, perhaps, 

 w^orth giving. The Maories of Xew Zealand have long 

 practiced infanticide ; and Mr. Fenton* states that he 

 " has met with instances of women who have destroyed 

 four, six and even seven children, mostly females. How- 

 ever, the universal testimony of those best qualified to 

 judge is conclusive that this custom has for many years 

 been almost extinct. Probably the year 1835 may be 

 named as the period of its ceasing to exist.'' Now 

 among the Xew Zealanders, as with the Todas, male births 

 are considerably in excess. Mr. Fenton remarks (p. 30): 

 ^' One fact is certain, although the exact period of the 

 commencement of this singular condition of the dispropor- 

 tion of the sexes cannot be demonstratively fixed, it is quite 

 clear that this course of decrease was in full operation 

 during the years of 1830 to 18M, when the non-adult pop- 

 ulation of 1844 was being produced, and has continued 

 with great energy up to the present time." The following 

 statements are taken from 5lr. Fenton (p. 26), but as the 

 numbers are not large, and as the census was not accu- 

 rate, uniform results cannot be expected. It should be 

 borne in mind in this and the following cases, that the 

 normal state of every population is an excess of women, at 

 least in all civilized countries, chiefly owing to the greater 

 mortality of the male sex during youth, and parti}' to acci- 

 dents of all kinds later in life. In 1858, the native popula- 

 tion of Xew Zealand was estimated as consisting of 31,667 

 males and 24, 303 females of all ages, that is, in the ratio 



* " Aboriginal Inhabitants of New Zealand: Government Report," 

 lb59, p. 36. 



