386 Of the Checks to Population Bk. ii. 



afford the most accurate returns. And these 

 returns for the year VIII., IX., and X., gave a 

 proportion of births as 1 in 28.35; of deaths, as 

 1 in 30.09; and of marriages, as 1 in 132.078. 



It is observed by M. Peuchet that the propor- 

 tion of population to the births is here much 

 greater than had been formerly assumed, but he 

 thinks that, as this calculation had been made 

 from actual enumerations, it should be adopted 

 in preference. 



The returns published by the government in 

 1813 make the population of ancient France 

 28,786,911, which, compared with 28,000,000, 

 the estimated population of the year IX., shew 

 an increase of about 800,000 in the 1 1 years, from 

 1802 to 1813. 



No returns of marriages are given, and the re- 

 turns of births and deaths are given only for fifty 

 departments. 



In these fifty departments, during the ten 

 years beginning with 1802 and ending with 1811, 

 the whole number of births amounted to 5,478,669, 

 and of deaths to 4,696,857, which, on a population 

 of 16,710,719, indicates a proportion of births, as 

 1 in 30i, and of deaths as 1 in 35^. 



It is natural to suppose that these fifty depart- 

 ments were chosen on account of their shewing 

 the greatest increase. They contain indeed 

 nearly the whole increase that had taken place in 

 all the departments from the time of the enumera- 

 tion in the year IX. ; and consequently the popula- 

 tion of the other departments must have been almost 



