Ch. x. in Scotland and Ireland. 459 



merely by taking away a part of its people. Take 

 but away its industry, and the sources of its sub- 

 sistence, and it is done at once. 



It may be observed that in this parish the aver- 

 age number of children to a marriage is said to 

 be seven, though from the proportion of annual 

 births to annual marriages it would appear to be 

 only 4-f. This difference occurs in many other 

 parishes, from which we may conclude that the 

 writers of these accounts very judiciously adopted 

 some other mode of calculation, than the mere 

 uncorrected proportion of annual births to mar- 

 riages ; and probably founded the results they 

 give, either on personal inquiries, or researches 

 into their registers, to find the number of children, 

 which had been born to each mother in the course 

 of her marriage. 



The women of Scotland appear to be prolific. 

 The average of 6 children to a marriage is fre- 

 quent; and of 7, and even 7-f, not very uncommon, 

 One instance is very curious, as it appears as if 

 this number was actually living to each marriage, 

 which would of course imply, that a much greater 

 number had been and would be born. In the 

 parish of Nigg,* in the county of Kincardine, the 

 account says, that there are 57 land families, and 

 405 children, which gives nearly 1\- each ; 42 

 fisher families, and 314 children, nearly 74 each. 

 Of the land families which have had no children 

 there were 7 ; of the fishers, none. If this state- 



* Vol.vii. p. 194. 



