[Illustration: HISTORY OF 100 BABIES
FIG. 42.--The top of the diagram shows the children "starting
from scratch." By following down the vertical lines, one can see that
their longevity depends largely on the size of family from which they
come. Those who had 10 or a dozen brothers and sisters are most likely
to live to extreme age. Alexander Graham Bell's data, 2964 members of
the Hyde family in America.]
[Illustration: ADULT MORTALITY
FIG. 43--If child mortality is eliminated, and only those
individuals studied who live to the age of 20 or longer, the small
families are still found to be handicapped. In general it may be said
that the larger the family, the longer a member of it will live. Large
families (in a normal, healthy section of the population) indicate
vitality on the part of the parents. This does not, of course, hold good
in the slums, where mental and financial inefficiency are abundant.
Within certain classes, however, it may be said with confidence that the
weaklings in the population are most likely to be from small families.
Alexander Graham Bell's data.]
1. The supposed inferiority of first-born children has been debated at
some length during the last decade, but is not yet wholly settled.
Pages:
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547