STATISTICS. 



809 



a certain proportion to the number of the from the mean of thousands of observations ; 

 influences which are brought to bear on each and there is always a balance of probability 



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unit of each collection of facts. 



It must not, however, be forgotten that the 

 figures in these several tables represent only 

 possible errors. It may happen that the 



in favour of the average even of a small num- 

 ber of facts approximating more closely to 

 the true average than to the extremes. That 

 this is the case will be evident on the most 



25 observations brought together may yield cursory inspection of the following tables, 

 an average differing by less than a single unit of which the first is founded upon the facts 



