Page:The collected works of Theodore Parker volume 8.djvu/164

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160
THE MATERIAL CONDITION

year, and more females die ; still the women surpass the men. It is thought an excess of women migrates in, and an excess of men migrates out, and hence the perpetual superabundance of women and its unavoidable consequences.* These persons live in 228,845 families, and occupy 175,311 dwellings.

3. They are thus distributed in respect to age. Human life may be divided into three periods ; the Dependent age, from birth to 15 ; the Prodac*' -e age, from 15 to 60 ; the Retiring age, from 60 to the

Table III.—Age of the Population.
358,904 of the Dependent age. 31·69 per .cent, of whole population.
701,100  „ Productive age. 61·91  „  „    „
 70,024 „ Retiring age.  6·40  „  „    „
2341 of unascertained age.

In 1855 there were 132,944 under 5, and 19 over 100. In the various countries of Europe the average age of all the population varies from 26 to 33 ; we do not know the figures for Massachusetts ; the average of the dying wo shall give in a subsequent page. Out of 100 persons, 32 are under 15 ; 62 between 15 and 60; 6 are over three- score ; while only one out of 65,000 ever sees his hundredth birthday. We shall presently return to this matter of longevity.

4. The adult males are thus occupied in various trades On the first of Jime, 1855, there were 333,542 males in the State over 15 years of age, whose industrial business was reported in the census of that year, We give the result below:—

Table IV. — Occupations of the People.

Business. Number Per-centage.

. 36-63

Labourers ....

60,248 .

18-06

. 17-10

Traders . . . . •

29,039 .

8-71

Mariners and boatmen >

. 16,846

. 4-91

Factory operatives

S801 .

2-64

Professional men

8312

, 2-49

Mannfactnrers

5294 .

1-59

Miscellaneous work

, 26,220

. 7-87

Total . . . .

333,542 .

. 100-00

 * in Upper Canada there are 46,128 more Males than females, there are 16,528 widows, and only 8742 widowers.