Ch. xii. Births, Deaths, and Marriages* 509 



periods of 5 years it was as high as 171 and 167 

 to 100. In others as low as 118 and 128 to 100. 

 For 5 years ending with 1726, the yearly average 

 of births was 7012 ; for 5 years ending with 1746, 

 it was 6927, from which, judging by the births, 

 we might infer that the population had decreased 

 in this interval of 20 years ; but it appears from 

 the average proportion of births and deaths during 

 this period, that it must have considerably in- 

 creased, notwithstanding the intervention of some 

 epidemic years. The proportion of births to the 

 whole population must therefore have decidedly 

 changed. Another interval of 20 years in the 

 same tables gives a similar result, both with 

 regard to the births and marriages. The extremes 

 of the proportion of births to marriages are 34 to 

 10, and 42 to 10, the mean about 38 to 10. The 

 3 years beginning with 1757, were, as in the other 

 tables, very fatal years. 



In the dukedom of Magdeburgh, * during 64 

 years ending with 1756, the average proportion 

 of births to deaths was 123 to 100; in the first 

 28 years of the period 142 to 100, and in the last 

 34 years only 112 to 100; during one period of 

 5 years it was as high as 170 to 100; and in two 

 periods the deaths exceeded the births. Slight 

 epidemics appear to be interspersed rather thickly 

 throughout the table. In the two instances, where 

 three or four occur in successive years and dimi- 

 nish the population, they are followed by an 



* Sussmilch, vol. i. tables, p. 103. 





