216 



History of the New York Census. 



The ages of husbands and wives at time of marriage, 

 the mean duration of marriages, the number of marriages 

 opposed by friends, the number between relatives, the 

 number by which children have been legitimized, the 

 fecundity or sterility of marriages, and other inquiries 

 into the conjugal relation, have engaged the attention of 

 French statisticians, and formed the subject of tabular 

 reports. They may mostly be regarded as inexpedient 

 with us, not from any want of interest that these facts 

 would present, but from the strong probability that they 

 could not be obtained, without diverting attention from 

 other and more important inquiries. 



I wish to now invite your attention to certain points in 

 which I think the schedule of the census can be improved 

 without overloading it, and with manifest benefit in the 

 results, and in doing this, I will repeat the headings of 

 the columns used in 1855, with a few words upon each. 



1st. Dwellings numbered in the order of visitation. 



2d. Material of dwellings. 



3d. Value of dwellings. 



The first of these was adopted from the census of 1850, 

 and is indispensable. The other two were first used in 

 1855, and with a result so satisfactory, that they should 

 be repeated for purposes of comparison. 



These entries should be made also for uninhabited 

 houses, the remainder of the line being left blank. 



4th. Families numbered in order of visitation. 



5th. Name of each person, beginning with the head. 



These are essential features and serve as a guaranty of 

 the fidelity of the return. With scarcely an exception, a 

 uniform rule was observed in 1855, of arranging first the 

 husband and wife, and then the children in the order of 

 ages. Then followed other inmates and servants of the 

 family. From this alone, the number of children at 

 home, the number of servants, the relative ages of the 



