YEAR. For the year 1859 the social condition of those marrying is stated as follows: 1,213 bachelors, 281 widowers, and 169 unknown. Of the widowers more than half married again before they reached 40 years, and 20 of them were married beyond the age of 65. Of the women, 1,340 were maids, 105 widows, and 168 unknown. One-third of the widows were married under 25 years, and 2 between the ages of 60 and 70. The number of marriages occurring during each month of the year, for two years, is given as follows: 1,689||129 102 98 110 88 81 83 113 104 151 190 290 150 1,613 130 124 100 99 106 63 81 81 122 137 171 308 91 3,302 259 226 198 209 194 144 164, 194 226 288 361 598 241 We have here a striking coincidence in the result of the two years. December both times furnishes the largest number of marriages, November stands second, October third, and January fourth, while we always find June lowest and July next. III.—BIRTHS.—The number of births, with distinction of race and sex, is given as follows: Total. . 23,278 12,096 11,182.73.09 108.17 69,078 35,221 33,837 33.43 104.08 Comparing the births and marriages during the period 1856-9, for which the record of each is given, it appears that while the average annual number of marriages was 5.71 to 1,000 of the population, the births stood 13.6 to the 1,000. These figures apply to the white population. The rate of increase among the negroes was much greater. The above table makes the average annual number of their births 29.9 per thousand. For both races the birth rate was 23 per 1,000. The number of births during each month for the four years 1856-9 is given with the distinction of sex as follows: This being the whole number of births of known dates, registered in South Carolina during this period. From the foregoing tables may be deduced the following one, showing the order of relative fecundity of each month. Returns of 1856...... Sept. Dec. Aug. Oct. C Returns of 1858...... Sept Dec. Nov. Oct. June July Nov. May Apr. March Jan. Feb. Returns of 1859..... Dec. Aug. Nov. June May Sept. July Apr. Oct. March Feb. Jan. It is remarkable that either January or February always gives the lowest number of births, while March uniformly comes next. The first quarter gives the least number of births, and the third quarter the greatest. If we examine the following table we find that in four years the births of known dates registered, stood thus: 1st quarter, 2d quarter, 3d quarter, 4th quarter, 17,747. If the year be separated into summer and winter months, the former embracing the 2d and 3d quarters, and the latter the 1st and 4th, it will be observed that there were 34,517 births in the warmer, and only 31,278 in the colder season. It was noticed in the returns of 1858 and 1859 that January, which gave the fewest births, gave much the largest male excess; while September, November and December, showing the most births, produced the smallest proportion of males. December, January and February appear to be the months most favorable to conception. PLURALITY BIRTHS.-In the returns of twin and triplet births the races are not given separately until the year 1859. In that year 428 children were born twins or triplets; which was 2.1 per cent. for all the children born. There being 212 cases of such births, they were over 1 per cent. of the total number of births. Among the whites there was 74 cases of plurality births, and 148 children, the cases being 1.3 per cent. of the births, and the children 2.6 per cent. of those born. Among the negroes the cases were 138, and the children 277, the former being 9 per cent. of the births, and the latter 1.9 per cent. of the children. The following table gives the number of plurality births in each month for four years: Plurality Births for Four Years. June is foremost in plurality births, and January stands lowest of all. Of 982, the total number, 512 were males, and 470 females, or 108.93 of the former to 100 of the latter. STILL-BIRTHS.-The races in these tables are given separately only for the year 1859. In this year there were 403 children registered as born dead. Of these 139 were whites, or one child was lost out of every 40.80 births; and of negroes there were 264, or one out of 54.46, whilst in the whole number of births in the total population, one was still-born in every 49.76. This would give 2.4 per cent. of the white births, and 1.8 of the negro births still-births: For a series of years, January gave almost uniformly the fewest stillborn as well as plurality and also total births. July, June, December and April produced each nearly the same number of still-births, and a good many more than the months next highest to them. There are more still-born negroes in December and fewer in March, while among the whites there were most in August and least in November. *There is a remarkable preponderance of males in the still-births. This preponderance is greater in the white than in the negro race. In the former the still-born were 162.33 males to 100 females. In the latter there were only 118.18 males to 100 females. For the two races during the whole 4 years the still-born were 121.54 males to 100 females. *NOTE. It is supposed the sex is determined by the preponderance of the sexual impulse in the sexes at genesis. If the female impulse is strongest for the male, males are produced; if the male impulse for the female is strongest, females are produced; and the number of males preponderating among the still-born is another among the many natural checks to a strong sexual impulse among females. YEAR. IV.-DEATHS.-The following table presents an abstract of all the deaths registered in South Carolina during six years, viz: Total.. 11,585 5,902 5,673 146.90 27.27 35,509 17,734 17,775 65.05 17.09 The annual average of registered deaths to the population was 11.7 per 1,000. Among the whites it was 7 deaths to the 1,000, and among the negroes 15.3, a disproportion not due altogether to the greater mortality of negroes, but owing to the fact that the return of deaths among this class of the population was more accurate, inasmuch as every case was reported by a master, who had sustained thereby a severe pecuniary loss, and was on this account less likely to overlook or forget the event. As regards the sexes, the proportion of deaths in both races together was 100.8 males to 100 females. Among the whites it was 104.03 males to 100 females; among the negroes it was 99.76 males, a difference due in part to the preponderance of males among the whites and females among the negroes. Deducting the deaths from the births, we have an average annual rate of increase for both races of 11.3 per 1,000. For the whites it is 6.6 per 1,000. For the negroes it is 14.6 per 1,000. |