EURAL DEPLETION 39 



Grenville stand as our single and sufficient illustration. 

 In 1901 the average number of persons per family in 

 city and country throughout Canada was 5.16. In 

 Grenville it was then 4.42. By 1911 the average for 

 Canada in city and country had fallen to 4.84. But in 

 Grenville it had fallen to 4.07. Family life that aver- 

 ages only four persons to a household throughout a com- 

 munity of over seventeen thousand persons can suffer 

 little further diminution and continue. 



The third line of social strain is seen in the relative 

 numbers of the sexes in rural Canada. One of the most 

 startling surprises given by the recent census was found 

 in the lessened proportion of women in our country 

 homes. The girls are even more dissatisfied with farm 

 life than are the boys, and are leaving in larger num- 

 bers. 



The general rule of population the world over is that 

 females outnumber males. The usual proportion is 

 about 105 to 100 at birth, and about 107 to 100 in adult 

 life. This rule holds good of our urban population. In 

 only 45 i i?50 cities, towns and villages of older 



=; exceed females. But in our rural 

 lation this universal nile of human life is reversed, 

 and the reversal is so general as to be astounding. In 

 only -tO of tLe r.:>0 tovai ships and other rural divisions 

 exclusive of Indian reserves enumerated by the census 

 in all Ontario do females outnumber males. 



Let us take the county of Middlesex as an illustration. 

 In the Xorth Riding there are six townships. In every 

 case males exceed females, and the total excess is 473. 

 The riding contains also one town, Parkhill, and two 

 villages, Ailsa Craig and Lucan. In all, women surpass 

 men in number, the whole surplus being 188. East 



