302 THE PRINCIPLES OF Part I 1 ' 
excess of male over female births is less when they » re 
illegitimate than when legitimate. 35 
In various parts of Europe, according to Prof. F;iV e 
and other authors, “a still greater preponderance 
“ males would be met with, if death struck both sex<- s 
“ in equal proportion in the womb and during birth- 
“ But the fact is, that for every 100 still-born females* 
“ we have in several countries from 134-6 to 144'9 
“ still-born males.” Moreover during the first four or 
five years of life more male children die than females; 
“ for example in England, during the first year, 12$ 
“ boys die for every 100 girls, — a proportion which i» 
“ France is still more unfavourable.” 36 As a consequent 
of this excess in the death-rate of male children, and ot 
the exposure of men when adult to various dangers, and of 
their tendency to emigrate, the females in all old-settle^ 
countries, where statistical records have been kept, 37 ai‘® 
found to preponderate considerably over the males. 
It has often been supposed that the relative ag e ® 
of the parents determine the sex of the offspring; 
and Prof. Leuckart 38 has advanced what he considers 
35 Babbage, 1 Edinburgh Journal of Science,’ 1S29, voL i. p. 88; als® 
p. 90, ou still-lmrn children. On illegitimate children in England 
see ‘ Report of Registrar-General for 1866,’ p. xv. 
36 ‘British and Foreign Medico-Chi rurg. Review,’ April, 1867, P' 
343. Dr. Stark also remarks (‘ Tenth Annual Report of Births, Death 3 - 
&c., iu Scotland,’ 1867, p. xxviii) that “ These examples may suffi e8 
“ to shew that, at almost every stage of life, the males iu Scotia" 1 * 
“ have a greater liability to death and a higher death-rate than tla- 
“ females. The fact, however, of this peculiarity being most strong') 
“ developed at that infantile period of life when the dress, food, » D ‘* 
“ general treatment of both sexes are alike, seems to prove that t' 1 *’ 
“ higher male death-rate is an impressed, natural, and constitution! 11 
“ peculiarity due to sex alone.” 
37 With the savage Guaranys of Paraguay, according to the accui**® 
Azara (‘Voyages dans l’Ame'rique merid.’ tom. ii. 1809, p. 60, 179)' 
the women in proportion to the men are as 14 to 13. 
3S Leuckart (in Wagner, ‘ Handwdrterhuch der Phys.’ B. iv. 
s. 774. 
