146 THE TREND OF THE RACE 
22 to 24 years, and 25 to 34 years, the percentage married, wid- 
owed or divorced was greater in 1910 than in 1900 and in the case 
of the first two groups it was also greater in 1900 than in 1890.” 
A larger proportion of the population are marrying in the earlier 
ages than was the case ten or twenty years ago. The falling off 
in the natural rate of increase of population in this country would 
not seem to be due therefore to the postponement of marriage. 
In England and Wales the marriage rate has remained fairly 
constant for nearly a century, although exhibiting, as Ogle has 
shown, a considerable fluctuation due to war and especially to 
changes in economic conditions, the curve rising and falling 
concomitantly with the rising and falling of the curve representing 
the value of exports. The decline in the birth rate has progressed 
quite steadily without much apparent relation to fluctuations in 
the rate of marriage. The relatively small changes in the mar- 
riage rate in England and Wales are shown in the following table: 
Marriage Rates in England and Wales 
Year Rate per 10,000 Year Rate per 10,000 
19205:  Sawsadnn 81.5 TS80..cenn ees eee ee 75 
TS3O ss gussicgees teens 78 TOON si aks Hagia Weeeet ons 80 
TSAO. 4.0 deg Hoea a 78 TOOG hs owe WevaMige oa 77 
TOG Osos cach pue eee Se 86 LOLOss. Fake Gutiweieds 75 
1860 hi os ee ved aes 85.5 TONG tha a ade a ere 78 
TST Ossie. ee eee 81 TOI4s bees seas sh 79.5 
In Germany the marriage rate has remained fairly constant, 
rising in some provinces and falling in others. In the cities of 
Prussia the marriage rates were 1880: 84.5; 1890, 93.5; 1900, 
96.5; while for these three dates in the country they were 73, 
75.5, and 78.5. Since the marriage rate has risen during the 
period in which the birth rate has fallen, we cannot attribute 
much of the fall in the birth rate to variations in the frequency 
of marriage. 
