I have already noted [1] that in Europe there are rather more boys born than girls. It has been observed that in Japan [2] there were rather more girls born than boys : everything else being equal, there will be more fertile women, and consequently more people, in Japan than in Europe.

There are relations which say that in Bantam there are ten girls for one boy [3] : such disproportion, which would make the number of families there, compared to those in other climates, as one is to five and a half, would be excessive. The families could be larger, to be sure ; but there are few people well enough off to support such a large family.