44 THE DESCENT OF MAN. 



this conclusion that animals suddenly supplied with an excess of 

 food, or when grown very fat; and that most plants on sudden 

 removal from very poor to very rich soil, are rendered more or 

 less sterile. We might, therefore, expect that civilized men, 

 who in one sense are highly domesticated, would be more prolific 

 than wild men. It is also probable that the increased fertility 

 of civilized nations would become, as with our domestic animals, 

 an inherited character: it is at least known that with mankind 

 a tendency to produce twins runs in families.™ 



Notwithstanding that savages appear to be less prolific than 

 civilized people, they would no doubt rapidly increase if their 

 numbers were not by some means rigidly kept down. The San- 

 tali, or hill-tribes of India, have recently afforded a good illustra- 

 tion of this fact; for, as shown by Mr. Hunter,™ they have in- 

 creased at an extraordinary rate since vaccination has been intro- 

 duced, other pestilences mitigated, and war sternly suppressed. 

 This Increase, however, would not have been possible had not 

 these rude people spread into the adjoining districts, and worked 

 for hire. Savages almost always marry; yet there is some pru- 

 dential restraint, for they do not commonly marry at the earliest 

 possible age. The young men are often required to show that 

 they can support a wife; and they generally have first to earn 

 the price of which to purchase her from her parents. With sav- 

 ages the difficulty of obtaining subsistence occasionally limits 

 their number in a much more direct manner than with civilized 

 people, for all tribes periodically suffer frorn severe famines. At 

 such times savages are forced to devour much bad food, and 

 their health can hardly fail to be injured. Many accounts have 

 been published of their protruding stomachs and emaciated limbs 

 after and during famines. They are then, also, compelled to 

 wander much, and, as I was assured in Australia, their infants 

 perish in large numbers. As famines are periodical, depending 

 chiefly on extreme seasons, all tribes must fluctuate in number. 

 They cannot steadily and regularly increase, as there is no arti- 

 ficial increase in the supply of food. Savages, when hard pressed, 

 encroach on each other's territories, and war is the result; but 

 they are indeed almost always at war with their neighbors. They 

 are liable to many accidents on land and water in their search for 

 food; and in some countries they suffer much from the larger 

 beasts of prey. Even in India, districts have been depopulated by 

 the ravages of tigers. 



Malthus has discussed these several checks, but he does not lay 

 stress enough on what is probably the most important of all. 



^1 Mr. Sedgwick, 'British and Foreign Medico-Chirurg. Review Julv 

 1863, p. 170. ■ '. 



«« 'The Annals of Rural Bengal,' by W. W. Hunter, 1868, p. 259. 



