PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURAL RAGES 189 



century, was struck by the small average fertility ; ' women are 

 by nature unprolific ' in Sumatra, was his opinion. ^ Two or three 

 is the average in Nias ; ^ ' the average number of persons in one 

 family in Java, where it is perhaps as large, if not larger than 

 elsewhere, is estimated at only four or four and a half '.^ Kreutz 

 has compiled some figures for Celebes. He makes two and a half 

 children to be the average per married woman among the Tolage 

 and four among the Topebatos.* The Ainus ' are not at all 

 prolific ' ; ^ while according to another author, ' not many 

 children are born, usually three or four '.^ 



31 . Abortion and infanticide are common, and there are many 

 places where both practices are employed. Abortion is often 

 spoken of among the Maoris ; it would appear to be fairly common.'^ 

 In the Murray Islands of the Torres Straits ' abortion was very 

 common ' ; ^ and in the Western Islands it is very frequent 

 according to Haddon,^ and similar facts are recorded of the 

 Eastern Islands. i° Abortion was known in Hawaii ; ^^ in the 

 Kingsmill or Gilbert Islands it was extremely prevalent, ^^ and 

 also in Samoa. ^^ It was practised at times in Rotuma^* and in 

 Savage Island. ^^ Abortion seems to be fairly common in Fiji.^^ It 

 is said to be ' fairly frequent ' in the New Hebrides ; ^^ according 

 to Jamieson, ' a certain proportion of women die in endeavouring 

 to procure abortion '.^^ There is very similar evidence from New 

 Caledonia ^^ and the Solomon Islands ; it was probably more 

 prevalent in the latter than in the former, especially among the 

 south-eastern islands of the group.^" In the Bismarck Archipelago 

 it is reported to be frequently practised,^^ and so also in the Aru 



1 Marsden, History of Smnatra, p. 219. ^ Modigliani, Viaggio, p. 554. 



^ Bickman, Travels, p. 278. * Kreutz, loc. cit., p. 40. ^ Batchelor, 



Ainu, p. 19. * Hitchcock, loc. cit., p. 465. ' Dieffenbach, loc. cit., 



vol. ii, p. 12; Goldie, Trans, and Proc. N.Z. Inst., vol. xxxvii, p. 110; Tuke, 

 loc. cit., p. 735. « Hunt, J. A. I., vol. xxviii, p. 9. ' Haddon, J. A. I., 



vol. xix, p. 359. *' Cambridge Anthropological Expedition, vol. vi, p. 197. 



" Dumas, loc. cit., p. 18. '^ Jenkins, loc. cit., p. 404 ; Kramer, loc. cit., 



p. 335 : Thomson, Fijiatii, p. 211. " Kramer, loc. cit., vol. ii, p. 53 ; Turner, 



Samoa, p. 79. " Gardiner, J. A. I., vol. xxvii, p. 480. '' Thomson, 



Savage Island, p. 141. 



'* Pritchard, Polynesian Reminiscences, p. 423 ; Waterhouse, King and People of 

 Fiji, p. 327 ; Thomson (Fijians, p. 180) thinks that it has been introduced lately. 

 On the other hand Blyth says that it was formerly more prevalent than it is now 

 (loc. cit., p. 181). 



" Hagen and Pineau, Rev. d'Eth., vol. vii, p. 332. " Jamieson, Aust. 



Med. Journ., new series, vol. vii, p. 53. " Bernard, Nouvelle-Caledonie, 



p. 288 ; Rochas, Nouvelle-Caledonie, p. 200. ^' Codrington, Melanesians, 



p. 229 ; Ribbe, loc. cit., p. 144 ; Parkinson, Int. Arch. Eth., vol. xiii, p. 8 ; Elton, 

 J. A. I., vol. xvii, p. 93. ^^ Brown, Melanesians, p. 33; Danks, J. A. I., 



vol. xviii, p. 291 ; Pfeil, loc, cit,, p. 313 ; Stephan and Graebner, loc. cit., p. 18. 



