Mortality of Male Children. ^SJ 
greater precifion the more obvious differences between the male 
and female fex in infancy, I began in the month of July laft 
by weighing forty children,- twenty of each fex, and by taking 
the dimenfions of their heads.' In the months of Auguff and 
September I repeated the fame experiment twice, taking fuch 
children as appeared to have arrived at the full period of gefta— 
tion promifcuoufiy as they happened to be born. < 
I weighed them all a few hours after birth, before they had 
taken food,, and before purgative medicines had time to operate* 
For this purpofe, I made ufe of a frnall Ipring or pocket fteelyard, 
which weighs any thing (not heavier than a few pounds) appended 
to it with fufficient accuracy* To this was attached a flannel 
bag, into which the children were put, at firft, naked; but 
this I foot! found very troublefome. The nurfes often wanted 
time fufficient to affift me, and timid mothers were afraid of 
their infants catching cold ; I was therefore obliged to weigh 
them with their cloaths on, and to fubtraft a certain quantity 
from the grofs weight of each child, according as it was full, 
middling, or light cloathed. Whatever inaccuracy this may 
have introduced, as to the real weight of the children, it can 
but little influence their comparative weights, or the differences^ 
between the two fexes, which it was my object to afcertain. 
For meafuring their heads, I made ufe of a piece of painted^ 
or varniffied linen tape, divided into inches, halves, and quar- 
ters. The varniffi has the good effeft of preventing the length 
of fuch a meafure being readily affe&ed by variations in the 
humidity of the atmofphere, &c. ; and it has little or noelafti- - 
city. In this part of the experiment then I can pretend to • 
confiderable accuracy. I took firft the greateft circumference 
of the head from the moft prominent part of the occiput 
around over the frontal fmules j and, fecondly, the tranfverfe 
dimenfioiv- 
