THE BIRTH RATE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2652, 24 December 1915, Page 14

THE BIRTH RATE

1 ■—* NO INCREASE IN MALES. ! Mr. Knibbs, Commonwealth Statistician, states that .there is 110 significance to bo attached to the cabled statement that a higher proportion of boys than girls are being born in Great Britain since tho war started. "For each 100 girls born in England and AVales 103.6 boys were born in 1905-8, and 104.1 in ,1906-9," said Mr. Knibbs. "In New South Wales in' 1906 no fewer than 1060 boys were bom for each 1000 girls'; in 1910 the figures were 1058 to 1000. In Victoria it was as high as 1064 to 1000 in 1905, and • 1069 to 1000 in 1908. ' "For tho Commonwealth the boy birthrate wa-s 1064 to 1000 girls in 1910, and 1060 to 1000 in 1906. It is an interesting' fact that although a larger ' number of boys than girls are born, .tho mortality of boys in- the first year is ' markedly greater than that of girls, ' and thus the numbers are brought nearer to an equality. "Tho allegation is made," Mr. Knibbs added, "that after war_ Nature puts 1 forth somo special provision to make up the loss of males. There is no statis- ' tical evidence of this. The experience of France' five years before and five years after the Franco-Prussian War gives no warrant whatever that war in any way increases the birthrate of boy 6. Roughly speaking, of the still-born children, there are from _ 15 to 35 per ' cent, more boys than girls." Mr. Knibbs considors that the suggestion that not only war, but severe epidemics are followed by an increase in tho masculine birth-rate is based on unreliable testimony.