408 



NEW E N G L .A N D FARMER 



JUNE ae, 1830. 



MISCtLLANEOUS 



[From ihe Edinburgh Philosophical Journal.] 



ON THE PROBABLK DURATION OF HU- 

 MAN LIFE. 

 Dr Caspar, of Berlin, in his valuable work enti- 

 tled " Der walirscheinliclie Lcbensdaur des Mens- 

 chen," &c., ]8f55, after having examined the current 

 opinions aa to the averaije duration of human life, 

 and as to the most satisfactory method of ascertain- 

 ing such a result, announces his own doctrine in 

 the following proposition: Ike prnportion of hiitlis 



m the last century, probably life has increased by j 7. In reference to the influence of professions or 

 '"'^"'yy^"^- . . , I occupations on life, it seems that ecclesiastics are, 



At Geneva againin the IGth century one-half I on the whole, the longest, and medical men are the 



of the infants born there died, we are told, before 

 their fifth year ; whereas, in the present day, it 

 would appear tbnt this half reaches nearly 43 years 

 of age. A similar remark may be made as to the 

 increased length of life at Berlin. 



Dr Caspar treats pretty fully on the influence of 

 pursuits and occujjations on the duration of human 

 life; and from his inquiries it appears that clergy- 

 men are on the whole, the longest, and medical I greater than among the wealthier" cfa-Ies 



to the population in am, plare expresses almost exact """ h '* '^' '^'T"' "''"'■ T*"* '''^'''''"' "'"'''' ^^^ '^^' '""^''^"'^ '" " P°P"lation appears to be 

 , . T^'!"- " ''' V 'fr'^'/^.f'l'^-'t '^"''- may be arranged, m respect to longevity, as follows : always proportionate to its fecundity,-as the num- 



shortest livers ; military men are nearly between 

 the two extremes, but yet proportionally, they, 

 more frequently than others, reach very advanced 

 years. 



8. The mortality is very generally greater in 

 manufacturing than in agricultural districts. 



II. Marriage is decidedly favorable to longevity. 



10. Tlie mortality among the poor is always 



ly the medium or average Hurution of life there. 



For example, suppose that this proportion is in 

 the ratio of ] to 28, then the average life of the in- 

 habitants of the place will be found to be 38 years. 

 If this rule b(^ correct, it must follow that the 

 duration of life increased and diminished in a pop- 

 ulation according as their fecimdity is greater or 

 less ; so that man, if not as an individual, at least 

 as a member of the mass, may be said to have it in 

 his power to lengthen or abridge his life. 



This, if true, is indeed a proposition of great im- 

 portance in political economy. 



To prove that the mortality is in a direct ratio 

 with the fecundity of any population, and conse- 

 quently, that government si.-eing that the force of 

 states consists not so much in the mere number as 

 on the strength, fecundity, and longevity of their 

 inhabitants, ought not to favor or encourage an over 

 abundant population, the author has collected to- 

 gether a vast number of facts, and for this purpose 

 has drawn up tables of the mortality, not only in 

 Prussia, but also in Britain, France, and Belgium, 

 From these researches he comes to the conclu- 

 sion that everywiiere the mortality is directly pro- 

 portional to the fecundity of the population. 



This doctrine, if contii-raed by future inquiries, 

 may, to a certain extent, reconcile the opinions of 

 Malthus and his opponents, as it shows us that na- 

 ture herself tends to remedy the evil of a redun- 

 dant population. 



Dr Caspar gives a valuable table of the raortali- 

 ty in Berlin for twelve years, from 1817 to 1829, 

 which comprises nearly 70,000 deaths in nearly 

 2,000,000 inhabitants. 



The following are a few interesting data which 

 are derivable from his researches. 



The longevity of the female, is greater than that 

 of the male sex. 



The age of puberty carries off 8 per cent, mor? 

 of the female than of the male sex. 



The proportion of deaths of women in labor is 1 

 in 108. 



It has been an erroneous, although hitherto a 

 very prevalent notion, that the climacteric age of a 

 woman has a marked influence in increasing tlt-o 

 mortality of the female sex. 



This opinion has been shown to be incorrect by 

 several statistical writers, and the researches of 

 Dr Caspar confirm the accuracy of their statements. 

 On the whole, therelore, we may assert that the 

 longevity of the female is greater than that of the 

 male sex. 



It is also worthy of notice that of stillborn in- 

 fants, there are more of the male than of the female 

 sex. 



Dr Caspar proceeds to show tliat the medium or 

 average duration of life has increased considerably 

 in most European cities of late years. In London 

 this increase is great, for it would seera that, with- 



Clergymon 

 Merchants 

 Clerks 

 Farmers 

 Military men 

 Lawyers 

 Artists 

 Medical men 



Another important agent or influence on the prob- 

 able duration of life, is marriage. It is proved bv 

 the researches of cur author that the marriage state 

 is favorable to longevity, and especially in refer- 

 ence to the male sex. 



The influence of poverty and destitution in short- 

 ening the medium duration of life is well known. 

 Dr Caspar gives some tables of mortality which 

 prove the sad contrast in tliis respect between the 

 poor and the affluent. From these it would seem 

 that the medium age of the nobility in Germany 

 may be stated at about 50 years, whereas that of 

 the paupers is as low as 32 years. 



The last chapter of the work treats of the influ- 

 ence ofthe fecundity of a population upon its mor- 

 tality. Dr Caspar shows by a vast number of doc- 

 uments, that "the mortality in any population is 

 always in exact ratio to its fecundity," or in otlier 

 words, " the more prolific the people is, the greater, 

 usually, is the mortality among them." 



He alludes to the difl^erence, in this respect, in 

 the diflierent districts in England ; and maintains 

 that wherever the number of births is highest, there 

 the mortality is greatest at the same time. 



The same result is derivable from statistical in- 

 vestigations in Belgium, France, and other coun- 

 tries. 



Dr Caspar concludes his work by embodying the 

 general principles of his researches in the follow- 

 ing conclusions : 



1. The proportion of births to the actual station- 

 ary population of any place expresses, or is relative 

 to, the medium duration of life in that population. 



2. The female sex enjoys, at every period of life, 

 except at puberty,. at which epoch the mortalitv is 

 rather greater among young females, a greater lon- 

 gevity than the male sex. 



3. Pregnancy and labor occasion indeed a con- 

 siderable loss of life; but this loss disappears or is 

 lost in the general mass. 



4. The so-called climacteric periods of life do 

 not seem to have any influence on the longevity of 

 either se.x. 



5. The medium duration of life at the present 

 time, is in Russia aboHt'21 years, in Prussia 29, in 

 Switzerland 34, in France 36, in Belgium 36, and 

 in England 38 years. 



6. The medium duration of life has in recent 

 times, increased very greatly in most cities in Eu- 

 rope. 



ber of births increase so does the number of deaths 

 at the same time. 



Better days coming. — The Worcester jEgis says 

 that some ofthe newspapers scold badly about the 

 want of accommodation for passengers, under cer- 

 tain circumstances, on the Providence Railroad, 

 and adds, that whenever the Norwich railroad shall 

 be opened, all these inconveniences will undoubt- 

 edly cease. The competition between the differ- 

 ent routes to New York, will secure to the public 

 the most easy and expeditious communication, and 

 probably no man will have reason to complain of 

 delay or want of civility when the diflerent ways 

 are open for his choice. 



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