History of the New York Census. 119 



the state, and if in foreign countries, the specific name of 

 that country. Thus in one column, we obtain the data 

 for an exhaustive classification, comparable with 1855, 

 and by condensation with every thing past. 



11th, 12th. Married and Widowed. The latter term in- 

 cludes both sexes, which are determined by referring back 

 to the sex in 7th column. If single, both are blank. 



I would here recommend next to these columns, another 

 for " number of times married," the entry to be blank, 1, 

 2, 3, &c, according to the number of times the person 

 had married. Entries in this column would be made 

 opposite both the married and widowed, and the result 

 costing but a slight trouble, may afford an interesting 

 view of our social condition. To this will be added 

 another column, giving the number of children to which 

 each adult female has been the parent, (including those 

 children absent from home and dead), we should have the 

 data from which an interesting field for statistical deduc- 

 tion will be afforded, and the whole question of fecundity 

 or sterility, the relative natural increase of our foreign and 

 American populations, and I apprehend, — most startling 

 disclosures of the tendency of our social customs and 

 fashions would be shown. 



Open the volumes of New England genealogies, and 

 learn from the long registers of children, often averaging 

 ten or a dozen to the family, the reason why New England 

 has been termed the "hive of the human race," and the 

 manner in which she has peopled the rich valleys and 

 broad plains of central and western New York, and the 

 recent empire of the west ! 



It has of late become fashionable to rear small families. 

 Yast numbers of marriages result in no increase to the 

 population. 



Yet this remark does not equally apply to all classes, 

 and already the statisticians of New England, observe that 



