VITAL STATISTICS. 401 



character ; unfortunately this circumstance in no wise diminishes the fa- 

 cility witli which such opinions are formed, their prevalence, or the tena- 

 city with which they are entertained. 



The United States Census returns for 1850, '60, 70 make the average 

 annual death rate 1.25 per cent of the aggregate population. The same 

 returns make the death rate for South Carolina 1.21 per cent. There 

 being no reason to suppose that these returns were more defective in the 

 one case than in the other, it may be assumed that the ratio of these per- 

 centages to each other expresses with tolerable accuracy the comparative 

 mortality of the two populations. 



The following statement touching the same matter is derived from the 

 census returns of 1860. It shows the order in which South Carolina 

 stands among the other States of the Union in regard to the greatest 

 mortality resulting from certain principal classes of disease. 



Percentage of total deaths caused Position of South Carolfna among 

 by the following diseases: other States in the order of the 



greatest mortality from these 

 diseases : 

 24.7 Diseases of the respiratory organs. ..... 32d. 



11.3 Diseases of the nervous system 29th. 



5.9 Diseases of the digestive organs 13th. 



5.0 Violence 13th. 



4.3 Fevers 9th. 



It will be observed that this State, ranking then as 18th in population^ 

 ranked as 32d in the number of deaths from those diseases which destroy 

 about one-fourth of mankind ; and 29th for diseases destroying more than 

 one-tenth. For the less fatal diseases, where the variations are necessarily 

 less between different communities, her position was higher. 



The comparison may perhaps be more accurately made by another 

 method. If a people were perfectly healthy, and free from all the acci- 

 dents of life, death would only result from old age, and the population 

 would form an unbroken column from the cradle to the grave, except 

 that if it were increasing, the base of the column, representing those 

 under one year of age, would be larger than the other diameters, and if 

 it were diminishing the base would be smaller. Of course no such con- 

 dition of perfect healthfulness is ever found, and the numbers of the liv- 

 ing at different ages so far from being represented by a parallelogram 

 actually assume the form of a pyramid, with a very broad base for the 

 early periods of life, rapidly diminishing, as years advance, and terminat- 

 ing towards old age in a very slender and attenuated apex. Neverthe- 

 less, that population would be most healthful which showed the greatest 



