RELATIVE POPULATION IN HOT AND COLD DISTRICTS. 45 



3d. In the period from 1st of January, 1837 to 30th of June, 

 1838, there were born in the said department, 21,941 

 Died in the said department, . . 12,871 



Increase of population, . . . . 9,070 



4th. In the department of Oajaca in 1834, it was calculated that 

 there were ...... 457,033 inhabitants. 



In December, 1838, . . . . 500,278 " 



Increase in four years, .... 43,245 



RESULTS. 



Maximum of annual increase of population in Oajaca, 15,000 

 Minimum " i< " 6,000 



Maximum " <• " Zacatecas 12,000 



Minimum " " " " 500 



Of not less importance are the investigations upon the excess 

 observed in one sex over the other. Before the appearance of 

 Humboldt's work it was the opinion that in the New World nature 

 did not follow the same law of equilibrium in the difference be- 

 tween the sexes as in Europe, and especially that in the tropical 

 regions, the number of females exceeded greatly that of the males. 

 Baron Humboldt combated this notion and demonstrated its error. 

 He presents in his political essay upon New Spain a table of the 

 population of eight Intendencies, in which it appears that out of 

 1,352,835 inhabitants there were 687,935 males and 664,900 fe- 

 males, which establishes a relative proportion of 100 to 95. In 

 the Tablas Geograftco politicas, already cited, it is expressly said 

 that in New Spain, in the Intendencies of the tierras frias, or cold 

 regions, as Well as in those of the tierras calientes, or hot regions, 

 the population inclines to a preponderance of males. Don Fernando 

 Navarro y Noriega gives in his tables of population 71,642 more 

 males than females ; and, in the account of the taxes made by order 

 of the government in 1781, it appears that the excess is still in 

 favor of males, though in a much less proportion than assigned by 

 Baron Humboldt. We present the following table, prepared in 

 Mexico for the purpose of throwing more light on the subject: 



