28 



less so during the continuance of the reproductive period, and 

 as soon as the grand climacteric is passed suddenly falls to a 

 comparatively low figure and one that remains very uniform 

 through many years. This greater liability during the child- 

 hearing age becomes even more evident when we group the 

 cases. Thus, during the first 15 years of life 52 died, during 

 the reproductive period from 15 to 45, 346 ; and during the 

 next 30 years, 52. So that nearly three- and a half times as 

 many females died during the reproductive period of 30 years, 

 as during all the rest of life put together. The reproductive 

 age is fairly definitely limited both at its beginning and its 

 ending in women ; whereas in men the bounds are not nearly 

 so defined. Therefore, if phthisis is specially connected with 

 the reproductive period, we ought to find that the deaths from 

 phthisis are in the same manner, and in the same degree more 

 sharply confined among women to a certain age than among 

 men. We observe now that among the males 45 die up to the 

 15th year, 342 between 15 and 45 years, and 130 after the 45th 

 year, or 342 from 15 to 45, and 175 during all the rest of life ; 

 a ratio of 1"96 to 1 ; but among women the ratio is 3 - 3 to 1. 

 Therefore, phthisis is more limited among women than among 

 men to this age to the extent of 75 per cent. And it will be 

 noticed, further — and this gives additional support to the 

 theory — that the difference between the ratios does not arise 

 during the first fifteen years of life, but is rather lessened. 

 So it ought ^to be, inasmuch as reproductive powers are not 

 commonly possessed by either sex below that age ; but females 

 are more likely to possess them, more often possess them, than 

 males. On the other hand, we perceive that the difference 

 between the ratios does arise during the years after 45, owing 

 to a greater number of deaths among the men than among the 

 women ; whereas among women, in whom this power so sud- 

 denly ceases, the fall is sudden after 45 years. Among men it 

 does not suddenly fall, but continues much more gradually to 

 decline down to 60 or 70 years of age, until which period this 

 function is known still to persist. So that from the table of 

 absolute deaths we may say that phthisis is very markedly 

 & disease of the reproductive period of life. Moreover, we 

 must modify somewhat our first proposition, viz., that it is 

 especially a disease of maturity, inasmuch as the reproductive 

 function rather than maturity seems to govern the fatality. 

 We may much more accurately affirm that the reproductive 

 function is that which especially rules our statistics of con- 

 sumption. When this begins to be possessed, then phthisis 

 begins to be much more prevalent. Since it is established 

 earlier among women, consumption occurs at an earlier age 

 among them ; since it is suddenly lost by females, consumption 



