Ch. v. in Switzerland. 339 



proportion of their children, had furnished the 

 requisite population with a smaller number of 

 births. Of course, the proportion of annual 

 births to the whole population, in the latter pe- 

 riod, would be less than in the former. 



From accurate calculations of M. Muret, it ap- 

 pears, that during the last period the mortality- 

 was extraordinarily small, and the proportion of 

 children reared from infancy to puberty extra- 

 ordinarily great.* In the former periods this 

 could not have been the case in the same degree. 

 M. Muret himself observes, that " the ancient 

 " depopulation of the country was to be attributed 

 " to the frequent plagues which, in former times, 

 " desolated it;" and adds, " if it could support 

 " itself, notwithstanding the frequency of so 

 " dreadful an evil, it is a proof of the goodness 

 " of the climate, and of the certain resources 

 " which the country could furnish, for a prompt 

 " recovery of its population. -f He neglects to 

 apply this observation as he ought, and forgets 

 that such a prompt repeopling could not take 

 place without an unusual increase of births, and 

 that, to enable a country to support itself against 

 such a source of destruction, a greater proportion 

 of births to the whole population would be ne- 

 cessary than at other times. 



In one of his tables he gives a list of all the 

 plagues that have prevailed in Switzerland since 



* Memoires, &c. par la Societe Economique de Berne, table 

 xiii. p. 120. Annee 1766. 

 t Ed. p. 22. 



z2 



