205 
of Edinburgh, Session 1878 - 79 . 
of a marriage "being fruitful is less as the age of the husband 
increases, and the same conclusion appears more plainly when we 
group the ages quinquennially, as is done in the following table. 
Ages at 
which the 
Marriages 
are 
contracted. 
Bachelors. 
Widowers. 
Bachelors and 
Widowers. 
No. of Marriages. 
Of which were 
No. of Marriages. 
Of which were 
No. of Marriages. 
Of which were 
Fruitful. 
Unfruitful, j 
Fruitful. 
Unfruitful. 
Fruitful. 
Unfruitful. 
40-44 
75 
55 
20 
52 
36 
16 
127 
91 
36 
45-49 
34 
24 
10 
35 
25 
10 
69 
49 
20 
50-54 
13 
7 
6 
36 
26 
10 
49 
33 
16 
55-59 
7 
2 
5 
36 
15 
21 
43 
17 
26 
60-64 
3 
1 
2 
24 
7 
17 
27 
8 
19 
65-69 
13 
3 
10 
13 
3 
10 
70-74 
8 
1 
7 
8 
1 
7 
75-79 
3 
3 
3 
3 
Total 
132 
89 
43 
207 
113 
94 
339 
202 
137 
If we calculate now the percentage of the marriages which are 
unfruitful in each quinquennium, we get the following results : — 
Ages. 
Bachelors. 
Widowers. 
Bachelors and 
Widowers. 
40-44 
26-67 
30-77 
28-50 
45-49 
29-41 
28-57 
28-99 
50-54 
46T5 
27-77 
32-65 
55-59 
71-43 
58-33 
60-47 
60-64 
66"67 
70-83 
70-37 
65-69 
76-92 
76-92 
70-74 
87-50 
87-50 
75-79 
100-00 
100-00 
Total 
32-57 
45-41 
41-41 
Here we see that, on the whole, both among bachelors and 
widowers, the probability of a marriage being unfruitful increases 
with the age of the husband. The progression among the bachelors 
is less regular than among the widowers ; but this is no doubt to be 
explained by the smaller numbers that are under observation. 
When we take the bachelors and widowers together, the progression 
