Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 19.djvu/648

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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.

length of life is merely an expression of the sum total of social influences upon the organism. A community may be divided into ever so many groups, each of which will have its peculiarity, and the summary of all these units will give as resultant the average of life. Every graduated mortality table may, therefore, be considered only an approximate expression of the death-rate under the conditions and at the time of observation.

We may now follow "English Life Table No. 3" more in detail. It gives a separate record of both male and female life, and we may examine the mortality of males first.

The notation adopted refers to the percentage of death in the current year; meaning from birth to end of first year, 1 from beginning to end of second year of life, and so on:

Age. Percentage
of deaths.
Age. Percentage
of deaths.
Age. Percentage
of deaths.
Age. Percentage
of deaths.
0 16·36 15 ·52 40 1·30 70 6·73
1 6·40 20 ·83 45 1·54 80 14·18
5 1·36 25 ·92 50 1·88 90 26·41
10 ·56 30 1·00 55 2·45 95 34·21
13 ·47 35 1·13 60 3·25 100 41·78
The table ends with age 107.
Taking birth as a starting- point, the mortality for the first  5 years of life is 27·64 per cent.
" " " " " " 10 " 31·02 "
" " " " " " 20 " 34·82 "
" " " " " " 4412 " 50·00 "
The rate of mortality of age 5 is again reached at about age 41
" " " 1 " " " " 70
" " " 0 " " " " 82
About 1 in 412 of all children born will reach age 70
" 1 " 10 " " " " " 78
" 1 " 100 " " " " " 90

Let us now compare male and female mortality. There are born 511,745 males to 488,255 females, being an excess of 23,490 males 4·81 per cent.

During age 0 , the deaths are 83,719 males to 65,774 females: leaving males
in excess 1·31 per cent.
At " 8 the excess of males living is 1·00 per cent.
" " 15 " " " 1·18 "
" " 37 " " " 2·08 "
" " 50 " " " ·93 "
" " 53 the sexes are about even in number.
" " 70 the excess females living is 8·00 "
" " 80 " " " 19·00 "
" " 90 " " " 41·00 "
End of table for male life is 107 years, for female life is 108 years
Equation of " " 4412 " of " " 4612 years
Of males living at age 20, about 1 in 3 will reach 70 years, of females 1 in 212
" " " " " " 1 " 8 " " 70 " " 1 " 634
" " " " " " 1 " 70 " " 90 " " 1 " 49