SEXUAL SELECTION, ASSORTATIVE MATING, ETC. 233 
That the marriage rate and the average age of marriage vary 
considerably according to the social and economic status is a 
fact the racial influence of which naturally depends upon what 
degree of correlation exists between the social and economic 
position of different classes and their heritable qualities. Those 
who believe that there is no such correlation or that it is insignif- 
icant in amount will consider that it makes little difference so far 
as the innate qualities of the race are concerned how marriage 
rates or birth rates are distributed among the different classes of 
the population. There is much reason to believe, as I have al- 
ready contended, that the inherited endowments of human beings 
constitute, in the long run, a potent factor in determining the 
place they occupy in our social organization, and if this is true, 
the marriage rates of different classes becomes a matter of much 
interest in regard to our biological development. Bertillon has 
furnished some data on the relation between the marriage rate 
and economic status in Paris, Berlin and Vienna. These are 
presented in the following table which gives the number of mar- 
riages per 1,000 of unmarried men of over 20 and of women of 
over 15 years of age: 
Urban Marriage Rates According to Economic Status 
Vienna 
he Paris Berlin 1891-97 
Character of District 1886-95 1886-95 
Men | Women 
Very POOre 2.4 arte avises 29.1 44.0 90.1 67.0 
POOL! eesexisweme res 27.9 44.4 80.6 52.7 
Wellton Meaieiaceke 24.7 36.3 84.0 48.9 
Very well off.......... 24.5 26.5 71.6 40.7 
RiChivcccussmecre ees 21.0 26.0 56.6 28.7 
Mery nich tes esgeiaes 21.1 20.5 43-4 19.1 
For several reasons this table constitutes only a rough approxi- 
mation to the true relation between marriage and economic 
