246 
Duration of Life and Number of Offspring 
Average duration of life after 45 years of age : 
Married Women 22'60 years. 
Single do. 18-98 ,, 
Average duration of life after 60 years of age : 
Married Women 13'91 years. 
Single do. 12-23 „ 
Average duration of life after 75 years of age : 
Married Women 7 "40 years. 
Single do. 7-24 „ 
At each period there is exhibited a sensible superiority of the married over 
the unmarried state, and this difference being undoubtedly real, the natural 
inference is that the exercise of the functions incidental to the married state is 
conducive to longevity — at all events after the reproductive period. It can hardly 
be urged that an unmarried woman who survives the age of 45 suffers generally 
from any constitutional infirmity which, from motives of prudence or otherwise, 
deterred her from contracting marriage or which physically incapacitated her. 
The greatest enemy of mankind — phthisis — has at that age practically exhausted 
itself. A life at that age may be regarded as a selected life, but more and more 
undoubtedly so at ages 60 and 75. For males the results were* : 
Average duration of life after 45 years of age : 
Married Men 2 15 9 years. 
Single do. 19-98 „ 
Average duration of life after 60 years of age : t 
Married Men 13-07 years. 
Single do. 11-68 „ 
Average duration of life after 75 years of age : ->. 
Married Men 7 49 years. 
Single do. 6-60 „ 
Again we find the differences consistently in favour of the married state — not 
so pronounced at the first two periods as amongst females, but somewhat more 
so at the latest. In view of the results obtained for both sexes, we are warranted 
in concluding that marriage, at all events so far as longevity is concerned, is not 
a failure. 
It may be remarked that the material we have been dealing with may be said 
to be homogeneous — the deaths are those of persons almost entirely of British stock 
or origin. Of the 11,396 deaths of females which occurred during the years 1898 
to 1902 aged 45 and upwards, 2572 or 22-5 per cent, were of Australasian birth; 
8406 or 73-8 per cent, were born in the United Kingdom, whilst only 418 or 3 7 
* It will be noticed that the averages determined by the adoption of central ages of a quinquennial 
group differ but slightly from those determined by the adoption of single years. 
