THE CAUSES OF THE DECLINING BIRTH RATE 161 
In Italy in 1908 and 1911 the birth rate of cities with over 
100,000 inhabitants was as follows: 
Birth Rates in Italian Cities 
City Birth Rate City Birth Rate 
1908 | IgIr 1908 IQII 
Rome........ 24.3 26.5 ||Messinal... | 29.5 37.2 
Venice........} 29.4 26.0 ||Naples....... 29.4 25.5 
Turin........ 20.0 17.7. ||\Palermo... .| 30.5 30.7 
Livorno...... 24.8 24.5 |/Catania.......] 33.8 28.5 
Genoa........ 22.7 21.9 ||Bologna...... 19.8 22.2 
Florence... ... 21.0 21.5 
Milan........ 23.9 23.8 |Italyasawhole| 33.4 31.5 
1On account of the earthquake there were 5,021 births in 1908, but the number 
increased to 16,210 births in rgrr. 
In Great Britain and Ireland the crude birth rate in many cities 
is higher than in the countries in which they are located. Rela- 
tions of city and country in Great Britain are anomalous for 
several reasons; nevertheless the country districts, so far as our 
information goes, have a somewhat higher fecundity when this is 
estimated by the proportion of children to 1,000 married women of 
child-bearing age. As stated in the report of the National Birth 
Rate Commission on the Declining Birth Rate, “In 1911 the 
legitimate birth rates in terms of 1,000 married women, aged 
15-45, were for County Boroughs 195, for London 199, Urban 
Districts 192 and Rural Districts 204.” 
In her report on the decline in the birth rate in the north of 
England Miss Elderton states that in order of decrease in the 
birth rate come ‘‘(1) textile and woolen towns, (2) engineering 
and metal working towns, (3) mining districts, and lastly (4) 
purely rural districts.” 
In France in 1913 the crude birth rate in cities of 10,000 or over 
averaged 18.67. The birth rate for the rest of the population was 
19.45 and for France as a whole 18.8. The rate for the rural 
districts was exceeded only by that of the towns between 5,000 
