AN ANALYSIS OF THE BIRTH-RATE.

[TO THE EDITOR OP TEl SPEcrrAmos.."] S1R,—The following analysis of births, as recorded in the Times, seems to be of interest as indicating a marked change in proportion of males to females begotten before and after the outbreak of war. I have not kept sufficient notes of 1914 to make the comparison complete. But a majority of wales over females of nearly twenty per cent. is surely not normal The fact that various dates in 1914 have been taken is due to the fact that only papers of those dates were available to me. It would be interesting to know if further inquiry shows that the apparent change has real existence. It may be that only the classes represented by those who are in the habit of advertising those events in newspapers are affected, and not the lower and presumably less imaginative classes. If there has been a real change, it would also be interesting to see from what date it showed itself. Would it giro a olue to the date of determination of sex P-

Datee. Males.

August 15th-31st and Sept. 1st, 2nd, 7th, 1914 ... 166 Dec. 5th, 31st, 1914 ... 187 Totals available to mo in 1914 353 1915—May ... ...

June ...

July ... ... August ... ... Sept. 1st, 21st ...

1,292 ... 1,091 ... + 18.4%

• Change in children begotten in August and Soptomber, 1914. If there is a real change, and it is confined to the upper and

011.

• 264 ... 279 ... 298 ... 288 • 193

Percentage of Melo Females. in Exoess at

Defeat.

153 + 8'4 199 — 6

352 ... 0 % ▪ 12-8%* + 30 %' + 21-3%

+ 94% +20 %

• •.

234 213 221 24-13 160

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•

••• • •• •••

middle classes, then of course the effect will be swamped and invisible in the totals of the Registrar-General's returns. But you may consider the matter to be worth further

investigation.--I am, Sir, Ste., F. Lucknow, India, October 141h.

[S'ils tombcnt its jennes hems, la terra ea produit de nouveau.—ED. Spectator.]