f <88 ) 
die middle Term will not exa&Jy give A’s Chances, but 
his Chances will take in fome of the Terms next the 
middle one, and will lean to one fide or the other. 
But it is very improbable (if mere Chance govern’d) that 
they would never reach as far as the Extremities : But 
this Event is wifely prevented by the wife Oeconomy of 
Nature * and to judge of the wifdomof the Contrivance, 
we muft obferve that the external Accidents to which 
are Males fubjcft (who muftfeek their Food with danger) 
do make a great havock of them,and that this lofs exceeds 
far that of the other Sex, occafioned by Difeafes inci- 
dent to it, as Experience convinces us. To repair that 
Lofs, provident Nature, by the Difpofal of its wife Cre- 
ator, brings forth more Males than Females * and that * 
in almoft a conftant proportion. This appears from the 
annexed Tables, which contain Obfervations for 82 
Years of the Births in London . Now, to reduce the 
Whole to a Calculation, I propofe this. 
Problem. A lays againft B, that every Year there (hall < 
be born more Males than Females To find A’s Lot, or 
the Value of his Expectation. 
It is evident from what has been faid, that A’s Lot ' 
for each Year is lefs than £* (but that the Argument 
may be ftronger) let his Lot be equal to i for one Year, . 
If he undertakes to do the fame thing 82 times running, 
his Lot will be which will be found eafily by the 
Table of Logarithms to be L_ . 
But if A wager with B, not only that the Number of 
Males (hall exceed that of Females, every Year, but that 
this Excefs (ball happen in a conftant Proportion, and 
the Difference lye within fix’d limits* and this not only 
for 82 Years, but for Ages of Ages, and not only at 
London, but all over the World * (which ’tis highly 
probable is Fat>, anddefigned that every Male may have 
a Female ofthe fame Country and fuitable Age) then A’s 
Chance will be near an infinitely foiall Quantify, at leaft 
left 
