The Longevity of Girls.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 380, 26 June 1889, Page 6

The Longevity of Girls.

You have a boy and a girl, twins, perhaps. Which will outlive the other? Nothing but death to both is certain, but in all probability, says the 'Philadelphia Times,' if both pass tho age of 35, your girl will live . the longer. In 1880 there were 50,000,000 people in the United States, and about 882,000 more males than females. That was only because more males were born ; the females live the longer. Of the centenarians 1,409 were men and 2,607 were women. The boys start out nearly a million ahead, and are in the majority until the 16th year, when the girls are a little more numerous. Sweet 16 is a numerous age any way. After that, first one and then the other is in the majority, the girls gradually gaining after 36 and leaving the men far behind after 75. There are some interesting facts about the old people. The native whites constitute about three-fourths of the entiio population, but have only oneseventh of the centenarians. The coloured is only one eighth of the whole population, but has three-fourths of the centenarians. There seems to be a providential provision to balance this longevity of the females. In almost every State a few more boys are born^-not many more, but almost always a few. It is astonishing to see where the census gives thousands and hundreds of thousands of boys and girls under one year old there are, with one or two exceptions, always a few hundred moi-e boys, and only a few hundred more. In only six of the 49 States and territories are more girls born, and in these States they are very slightly in excess — from 11 to 80. These exceptions are Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Montana, and North Carolina. The fact that the females are in the majority in all the original 13 States but Delaware and North Carolina, especially in Massachusetts and New England, has created the impression that there is something in the climate or in the people that produces more -women than men. This is a popular but egregious error. In Massachusetts there were in 1880 437 more boys than girls under one yeav of age. The' males are in the minority in almost all the Southern States, because many of the young men go West". All over the West there is an excess of men, and those who are not foreigners have been withdrawn from the States further east. In the new States and territories this is most noticeable. In Idaho, for instance, there are twice as many males as females, but the male infants are only a little in excess of the females. The West is drawing heavily on the manhood of the East. " From this all the old States have suffered. Massachusetts seems to have lost more chan any. There are parts of Northern Ohio which are portions of New England removed. Massachusetts shows the loss 'and Ohio shows the gain.