126 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS 



what shall we attribute this difference, if not to a differ- 

 ence of natural fertility due to a difference of environment ? 



The theory implies that in the fluctuations of the 

 fortunes of a race, periods of depression will show an 

 increasing birthrate and periods of prosperity a decline. 

 Nitti remarks of the French that this race, which has now 

 become so sterile, " was able in less than three-quarters 

 of a century, from 1715 to 1789, to increase from eighteen 

 to twenty-six millions." * This was the period in French 

 history of great wars, of profligate extravagance and of 

 abominable oppression, which culminated in the French 

 Revolution. 



Nitti further says : " Generally speaking, countries 

 which have a great mortality have also a great birthrate, 

 and vice versa ; we might almost say that death calls 

 for life, and that there is something unconscious and 

 fatal in the vicissitudes of things. 



" Wars, famines, and epidemics are generally succeeded 

 by years of a very high birthrate. In France in the two 

 years preceding 1870 the birthrate was only 20' 5 per 

 1,000, but after the very high deathrate produced by 

 war and small-pox in 1870 1871, the birthrate rose in 

 1872, and for some years following remained at 26*7. 

 In Prussia, while for two years preceding 1870 the birth- 

 rate was 39, it increased and remained at 41'5 for the 

 three succeeding years. 



" In 1868 Finland suffered from a terrible scarcity, 

 which increased the deathrate, but a remarkable fecundity 

 during many years filled up the gaps." 2 Wars, famines, 

 and epidemics produce periods of hard times which show 

 their effects in the increased birthrate. The jump in the 

 birthrate which usually follows a war, however, seems 

 to be largely due to the fact that the war has taken a 



1 Population and the Social System, Nitti. Ibid. 



