206 THE CONTROL OF LIFE 



versa. In illustiation of this Dr. C. Killiok Millard, 

 in his effective address on " Population and Birth Con- 

 trol " (1917), contrasts Hampstead, a typical middle- 

 and upper-class residential district, with Shoreditch, a 

 poor working-class district. In 1881, the birth-iates 

 of these two districts were approximately equal, viz.^ 

 30 and 31 respectively. " In 1914, Hampstead's birth- 

 rate had fallen to 14-8, whilst that of Shoreditch re- 

 mained at the old figure. The same tendency exists in 

 almost every town." 



The decrease is much more marked in the upper 

 and middle classes than among the poor, much more 

 marked among skilled workmen than among unskilled. 

 In a table of comparative fertihty for England, which 

 refers only to women of child-bearing age, the four 

 occupations at the top end are coal-miners (126*4), 

 agricultural labourers (113*4), boilermakers (110*1), 

 farmers (100*5). The numbers show proportions to 

 a general population fertility taken as 100. The four 

 at the lower end of the hst are nonconformist minis- 

 ters (79*8), Church of England clergymen (72), teachers 

 (70*3), and doctors (64*7). 



The smaller the number of rooms the larger is the 

 family, and the death-rate among infants is always 

 highest where the birth-rate is highest. Making some 

 notable exceptions, e.g. for coal-miners, who are physi- 

 cally a fine set of men — Dr. Millard writes : "It ap- 

 pears undeniable that poverty, degradation, ineffi- 

 ciency, ignorance, over-crowding, almost everything, 

 in fact, that in human judgment tends to disqualify 



