of population in Europe and America. 151 
While districts more thinly populated gave, in 1841-45, 1 to 
29; 1846-50, 1 to 27.* 
In Belgium, during a similar period, the ratio was much the 
same. It was, in 1841-438, in towns 1 to 16:1, in country 1 to 
29°4.+ 
The apparent discrepancy between city and country, noticed 
as equally obtaining in Belgium and France, is probably owing 
in great measure to greater negligence of the country officials 
1n registering the still births. 2 
Again, the total number of births at the full time in New 
York in 1856 was 17,755; of these, 16,199 were living;t prov- 
ing that of children at the full time alone, setting aside the 
great number of viable children born prematurely, and the in- 
age earlier abortions not recorded, 1 in every 114 is born 
ea 
From foreign statistics on a large scale, embodied in the table 
we have already given, it is found that the proportion of still 
births does not in those countries drop below 1 in 15, and this 
in France; ranging from that number up to 1 in 80 or 40 of the 
whole number of births reported. 
In Geneva, out of 10,925 births occurring from 1824-88, 1,221 
of them ilegit’mate and therefore to be supposed liable to a air 
the proportion of still births at the full time to the whole” num- 
ber is enormous and steadily increasing, so is the number of 
known abortions and premature births. 
The frequency of these occurrences reported from the practice 
of physicians, and thus to a certain extent but not entirely, 
likely to be of natural and accidental origin, is as follows: in 
41,699 cases registered by Collins, Beatty, LaChapelle, Churchill 
and others, there were 530 abortions and miscarriages. Here 
| the abortions were known; their proportion was 1 to 78°5. 
In New York, from 1854-57, there were 48,323 births reported 
as at the full time and 1,196 premature. Here all the abortions 
were not known, probably but a very small fraction of them; 
the proportion was 1 to 40-4. ee 
> De Jonnés, loc. cit., p. 229. + Quetelet, loc. cit., p. 152. 
+ City Inspector’s Report for 1856. § Compiled from Quetelet, p. 152. 
