bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effect of oestrous cycle number, at constant age, on gilt reproduction in a dynamic service system
Authors: Grigoriadis D. F. , Edwards S. A. , English P. R. , Davidson F.
Published: August 2016

Previous studies examining the effect of age on gilt reproduction have generally failed to discriminate between chronological (i.e. days) and physiological age (i.e. number of oestrous cycles experienced) and the importance of each factor remains unclear in the pig. The present investigation tested the hypothesis that the physiological age at which gilts are bred in a dynamic service system (DSS) affects their reproductive behaviour and performance. A hundred and ninety gilts were randomly allocated between two treatments. They were introduced into the service pens of a DSS to be bred at the same age (215 days) but either at second (2H; no. = 96) or third (3H;no. = 94) post-pubertal heat period. The sexual behaviour of half of them was continuously recorded over a 13-week period and reproductive data from all the gilts were collected. Gilts of 2H treatment were significantly heavier at entry into the service pens (123 v. 119 kg; P < 0·05) than 3H gilts, but there was no significant difference in their backfat thickness. Treatment failed to affect the quality and frequency of mating attempts (MAs) gilts received or oestrus duration. Conception rate to first oestrus in the DSS (82%) was not affected by treatment. Litter size and number of piglets born alive was similar for 3H and 2H gilts (12·0 v. 11·7, s.e.d. 0·40 and 11·5 v. 11·0, s.e.d. 0·4 respectively; all P > 0·05). It is concluded that the reproductive behaviour and performance of gilts that had experienced either two or three oestrous cycles prior to mating at a constant age does not differ significantly in a DSS. More studies are needed in order to clarify the possible interactive influence of repeated and frequent services, which are common in a DSS, on gilt reproduction.
Seasonal changes in reproductive and pelage status during the initial ‘quiescent’ and first ‘active’ breeding seasons of the peripubertal pony colt
Authors: Argo C. McG. , Collingsworth M.G. R. , Cox J. E.
Published: August 2016

Pony colts (~12 m) are generally infertile during the breeding season of mature stallions. The mechanism which ‘delays’ puberty beyond the first potential breeding opportunity has not been described. Four pre- and four post-pubertal colts were monitored from November for 13 (group 1, 6 to 19 months of age) and 9 months (group 2, 18 to 27 months of age). Fortnightly, 15 blood samples were collected at hourly intervals from each colt to determine concentrations of prolactin (PRL), LH, FSH and testosterone (T). Testicular biopsies were collected monthly to evaluate spermatogenic activity. Puberty occurred between 17 and 19 months, and at the onset of the 2-year-old breeding season, all colts were fertile. Seasonal changes in the concentrations of all four hormones were observed in both groups. Prolactin concentrations were correlated with changes in day length (r = 0·88) in both groups, but a biphasic profile was noted in group 1. Moulting of the winter coat was coincident with seasonally increased PRL concentrations (P < 0·001). Seasonal changes in FSH, LH and T concentrations were similarly timed between groups and levels were maximal in mid April, mid March and mid May, respectively. However, overall mean concentrations of LH and T in group 1 animals were only 0·33 and 0·22 of group 2 values (P < 0·001). Suppression of gonadal activity during the colts’ first ‘quiescent’ breeding season was associated with low concentrations of circulating LH. Appropriately timed changes in plasma PRL, FSH and T concentrations and pelage indicated that the photoperiodic mechanism was functional in the pre-pubertal colt but pituitary LH release may be blocked by immaturity or active suppression.
Observations on the pre- and post-weaning behaviour of piglets reared in commercial indoor and outdoor environments
Authors: Cox L. N. , Cooper J. J.
Published: August 2016

A number of behavioural problems are associated with weaning piglets including belly nosing, ear and tail biting, and low intake of solid food. These appear to be less pronounced in piglets reared on outdoor systems, which initially consume more solid food and show less belly nosing and aggression than comparable indoor-reared piglets. The objective of this study was to investigate how these differences in post-weaning behaviour relate to the piglets’ pre-weaning behaviour in the two rearing environments. The study was carried out at a commercial pig unit, where piglets of the same genotype are born into conventional indoor or outdoor farrowing systems. In the intensive system, sows were singly housed prior to farrowing in crates and their piglets received a solid ‘creep’ food prior to weaning. On the outdoor system, sows were allowed to build straw nests in arks for farrowing and both sow and piglets had access to pasture. Indoor and outdoor piglets were weaned at 24 (±3) days of age and mixed in straw-yard housing with access to a solid food. Prior to weaning, teat-directed activity was more common in indoor piglets than outdoor piglets. Outdoor piglets performed more rooting, standing and locomotion and were seen chewing the sows’ roll-nuts. Following weaning, outdoor-reared piglets performed more feeding and rooting, and less fighting than indoor-reared piglets. This study supports previous findings that undesirable activities such as fighting are less common in piglets weaned from outdoor systems, even when mixed with indoor piglets. In addition, outdoor-reared piglets were more likely to exploit solid food even though they did not have access to creep food prior to weaning.
The farmers’ influence on calves’ behaviour, health and production of a veal unit
Authors: Lensink B. J. , Veissier I. , Florand L.
Published: August 2016

Although veal production is a highly standardized system, there still remains considerable variability in productivity between units. This variability might be due to the farmers working on these units, through differences in stockmanship, work attitudes or behaviour, which in turn may affect animals’ fear responses, productivity and health. A survey was conducted on 50 commercial farms affiliated to the same veal company. All units had calves housed in individual crates, a similar number of crates, and the same diets and management advice. Data were collected on: building and general farm characteristics, farmers’ backgrounds and their attitudes towards their work and calves, farmers’ behaviour with the calves, calves’ reactivity to people, and disease level of the calves. Productivity results (growth rates, food efficiency and mortality) were used to classify veal units as ‘high producing’ (no. = 24) v. ‘moderate producing’ (no. = 26). Calves were less reactive to people in units where the farmer behaved sympathetically and where there were several stockpersons working. The disease level was lower in units where the farmer had a positive attitude towards the sensitivity of the calves to contact and towards the importance of cleaning. Productivity of the veal unit was associated with the health of the calves but not with their reactivity to people.

It is suggested that the farmer can have an influence on the success of the veal unit mainly through his/her ability to control the health of the calves and that a positive attitude towards animals and towards work (specifically cleaning actions) can improve the accuracy of surveillance and care of the animals. Moreover, through his/her behaviour with the calves and his/her ability to control their health, the farmer can play an important rôle in assuring calves’ welfare.
Growth and rumen digestion characteristics of steers grazing autumn grass supplemented with concentrates based on different carbohydrate sources
Authors: French P. , Moloney A. P. , O’Kiely P. , O’Riordan E. G. , Caffrey P. J.
Published: August 2016

The objective of this study was to determine the effects on animal performance and rumen digestion characteristics of supplementing cattle grazing autumn grass offered at two levels of allowance, with concentrates formulated from different carbohydrate sources. Seventy-two steers (494 (s.e. 38·4) kg) were assigned to one of six treatments which were arranged in a two grass allowances (5·5 or 11 kg grass dry matter (DM) per head per day) by three concentrate types (starch, starch + fibre or fibre-based diets) factorial design. The experiment commenced on 22 August and had a mean duration of 84 days. Concentrates were formulated to have similar metabolizable energy and crude protein and animals were offered 5 kg per head daily. Grass allowances were offered daily and concentrates were offered individually. Six rumen fistulated steers were used concurrently in a Latin square design to determine the effect of the diets on rumen digestion characteristics. Grass and concentrates degradabilities were measured using the nylon bag technique. The concentrate DM was degraded at 0·189, 0·102 and 0·094 per h for the starch, starch + fibre and fibre-based diets, respectively. Concentrate carbohydrate source and grass allowance did not affect (P> 0·05) degradation rate of grass DM or nitrogen in the rumen, rumen fluid pH, rumen fluid concentration of volatile fatty acids, total lactic acid or ammonia concentration or plasma concentration of glucose, urea or beta-hydroxybutyrate. Animals offered the low grass allowance had larger (P< 0·05) diurnal variation in the rumen fluid acetate: propionate ratio than those offered the high grass allowance. Increasing grass allowance increased (P< 0·01) carcass gain whereas concentrate type had no effect. There was no interaction between concentrate carbohydrate source and grass allowance on any of the production variables measured. It is concluded that the rumen environment in cattle grazing autumn grass buffered the effects of concentrate carbohydrate degradability such that similar productivity was achieved with each concentrate.
The relationships between leptin and insulin in blood plasma of growing lambs
Authors: Tokuda T. , Kimura D. , Fujihara T.
Published: August 2016

The present study was designed to examine the pattern of changes in plasma leptin concentration during the early stage of young ruminants. Five crossbred lambs weaned at 45 days were housed individually in pens. The lambs were offered timothy hay, rolled barley and soya-bean meal to meet a 200 g daily gain, and were given free access to water and mineral block. Blood samples were collected just before the morning feeding and at 30-min intervals for 6 h after the morning feeding beginning at 0·5 months after weaning and thereafter monthly for the next 6 months. Plasma leptin level increased dramatically from 0·5 to 3 months after weaning. Thereafter, it dropped to a similar level to that at 2 months after weaning and remained at that level. Moreover, plasma leptin level was not affected by feeding, and no variation throughout the day of sampling was observed. Plasma insulin levels showed similarity to changes in plasma leptin levels. Plasma insulin levels were positively correlated (r = 0·63) with plasma leptin levels. This study shows that plasma leptin level dramatically increases after weaning. Additionally, it suggests that insulin contributes to the increase of leptin with growth in lambs.
Selection for high or low backfat depth in Coopworth sheep: breeding-ewe traits
Authors: McEwan J. C. , Morris C. A. , Fennessy P. F. , Greer G. J. , Bain W. E. , Hickey S. M.
Published: August 2016

A breeding experiment in Coopworth sheep where selection was applied to backfat depth was evaluated after 14 years (1981-94). There were three self-replacing lines, two selected for increased or decreased subcutaneous fat depth, and an unselected control (average size = 51 ewes per line per year). Reproductive traits, ewe body weight and ewe fleece weight were monitored in each line as potential correlated responses. In the last 4 years studied, the fat (F), control (C) and lean (L) lines differed significantly in the proportion of ewes lambing (0·87, 0·93, 0·94 respectively), litter size at birth (1·64, 1·83 and 1·89), and lamb survival up to weaning, unadjusted for birth rank and sex (0·88, 0·81 and 0·74). The overall reproductive trait, lambs weaned per ewe joined (1·22, 1·33 and 1·26), did not differ significantly among lines. From pre-mating weights of ewes present in 1993 or 1994, means for mature ewes by line were 60·1, 62·4 and 63·3 kg, respectively (P < 0·01). Means for weight at scanning time (7 months of age) by line, as a proportion of mature weight were: 0·533, 0·561 and 0·559, respectively (P < 0·05). There were also significant line differences in ewe fleece weights, with the 1993 and 1994 data averaging 3·93, 4·05 and 4·27 kg respectively (P < 0·01). For weight of lamb weaned per ewe weaning at least one lamb, the L line had a 0·09 higher mean proportionally than the F line (P < 0·05), but for a composite trait which was a weighted combination of weight of lambs weaned and ewe fleece weight per ewe joined (with or without allowance for different ewe live weights), the L line was no longer significantly different from the F line. Repeatabilities and single-record heritabilities were also estimated for various ewe traits. The implications are that lean-lamb selection would be associated with only small changes in net reproduction, ewe fleece weight and live weight, but larger differences would be expected from selection in the opposite direction.
The nutritive value of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) when treated with CaO, NaOH or a microbial inoculant and offered to dairy heifers as big-bale silage
Authors: Chaudhry A. S. , Cowan R. T. , Granzin B. C. , Klieve A. V.
Published: August 2016

A series of laboratory and animal studies examined the use of chemical and biological agents to enhance the digestibility of Rhodes grass (grass) cut at 60 (young) and 100 (mature) days of regrowth and ensiled as big round bales. The treatments included an untreated control (C), a microbial inoculant (I), NaOH, CaO and NaOH plus inoculant (NaOH + I). Inoculant was grown anaerobically, using a starter culture of rumen fluid from cattle given Rhodes grass. Treatments C, I, NaOH, NaOH + I, were offered separately to twelve dairy heifers, in a 3✕4 randomized complete block design, repeated twice for each grass silage. C and I had substantial mould growth, compared with no visible mould in NaOH or NaOH + I. CaO treatment was effective in preventing mould growth, but had little effect on the chemical composition and in sacco digestibility of mature grass silage. NaOH reduced NDF content and increased in sacco digestibility (P< 0·05) but not the in vivo digestibility (P> 0·05) of both mature- and young-grass silage. The effects of other treatments on nutritive value were non-significant at both stages of maturity. NaOH increased the intake of mature-grass silage by 24-26% (P< 0·05), but had little effect on the intake of young-grass silage (P> 0·05). Treatment I consistently reduced grass silage intake (P< 0·05) for young-grass silage. The findings of these studies show that treating mature Rhodes grass with NaOH will improve its nutritive value and reduce mould growth in conserved herbage. However none of the treatments in this study had any consistently positive effects on the in vivo nutritive value or storage quality of young-grass silage.
Technical review of the energy and protein requirements of growing pigs: protein
Authors: Whittemore C.T. , Green D.M. , Knap P.W.
Published: August 2016

A review of work reported in the literature was used to present quantitative descriptions of protein use in the growing pig. These are detailed in the text, which also points to preferred values, and to anomalies and lacunae. The review was prepared with the objective of allowing from its content the inclusive and quantitative modelling of amino acid requirement. Requirement was approached as the sum of the component factors: maintenance and protein retention. Ileal true digestible protein and amino acid requirements are presented in a form consistent with that forwarded for energy. Thus both energy and protein elements can be conceptualized within a single coherent framework. Priority uses for absorbed amino acids were assumed to be (a) to support endogenous protein losses resultant from the passage of food and incomplete re-absorption prior to the terminal ileum, (b) to replace lost hair and skin, and (c) to cover the basic maintenance losses which will occur as a result of minimal protein turn-over even when protein retention is zero. The bulk of the protein requirement was directly linked to the daily rate of protein retention, for which the linear-plateau response was accepted. For determination of the maximum rate of protein retention the Gompertz function was proposed, although the use of a single value throughout the growth period was not dismissed. The balance of amino acids for protein retention is specified as different from that for maintenance. Central to the approach was the proposal that the inefficiency of use of ileal digested ideal protein, even when not supplied in excess, was an expression of protein losses occurring as a result of protein turn-over. The requirement for the satisfaction of the losses from protein turn-over occurring as a consequence of protein retention, and therefore additional to the requirements for maintenance, was identified. Quantification was attempted with sufficient success to warrant its inclusion into requirement estimation. It was concluded that this element addressed previously inadequately explained protein utilization inefficiencies. Algorithms are presented based upon protein turn-over which appear to be consistent with empirical findings.
Multi-trait selection indexes for sustainable UK hill sheep production
Authors: Conington J. , Bishop S.C. , Grundy B. , Waterhouse A. , Simm G.
Published: August 2016

Three selection indexes for the UK hill sheep sector are derived to suit the extremes of hill production systems. These are: (i) intensive, where all surplus lambs not required for breeding are finished for slaughter, (ii) extensive, where all surplus ‘store’ lambs are sold to other farmers for finishing, and (iii) semi-intensive, which is intermediate between the two extremes, i.e. farms finish some lambs for slaughter and sell others as store lambs. Parameters for 12 breeding goal and index traits were estimated using a total of 3962 lamb records and 5944 ewe lambing records from Scottish Blackface sheep on two Scottish Agricultural College experimental hill farms. The breeding goal comprised carcass, maternal and survival traits. The evaluation of these indexes showed that improvements in maternal traits are possible, along with more modest improvements in carcass quality traits. Responses to selection are expected to be lower for the extensive farm in general, compared with the intensive farm. Evaluations of alternative indexes show that an index using measurements of fat and muscle on ewes rather than on lambs may be more cost-effective to implement in practice, compared with the original index, although this change results in a higher (i.e. undesirable) gain in mature size. Sensitivity analyses showed that in general, the indexes are robust to changes in economic values and to changes in heritability estimates.
Effect of pasture crude protein and fermentable energy supplementation on blood metabolite and progesterone concentrations and on embryo survival in heifers
Authors: Kenny D.A. , Boland M.P. , Diskin M.G. , Sreenan J.M.
Published: August 2016

Seasonal milk production systems rely on heavy inputs of nitrogenous fertilizer, which typically generate pastures with a high crude protein (CP) and low fermentable energy concentration. High intake of CP, particularly in association with low rumen fermentable energy, increases systemic ammonia and urea and has been associated with reduced fertility in cattle. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between pasture protein intake and fermentable energy supplementation on a range of blood metabolites and on embryo survival and development in cattle.

Oestrous synchronized, nulliparous beef heifers (no. = 175) were randomly assigned to one of four pasture-based dietary treatments in a 2✕2 factorial study carried out over 2 years. Animals were randomly allocated to either high (85 kg nitrogen (N) per ha; HN) or low (0·0 kg N per ha; LN) N fertilized pastures and within pasture treatment were randomly allocated to receive either zero or three (+3P) kg dry matter (DM) of molassed sugar-beet pulp (MSBP) per head per day as follows: (1) HN (no. = 44), (2) HN + 3P, (no. = 43), (3) LN (no. = 44), (4) LN + 3P (no. = 44). Blood samples were collected to measure systemic concentrations of ammonia, urea, insulin, glucose and progesterone. Heifers were artificially inseminated (AI) and pregnancy diagnosis was carried out by ultrasonography 30 days after AI. Subgroups of pregnant animals across treatments were slaughtered 40 days after AI to estimate conceptus development.

The HN pasture had a higher CP (P< 0·001) and lower water-soluble carbohydrate (P< 0·01) concentration. Plasma concentrations of ammonia (P< 0·05) and urea (P< 0·001) were higher in the animals on the HN pastures and were reduced (P< 0·05) by MSBP supplementation, but only in animals on the HN pastures. Embryo survival rate across treatments was high overall (71%) and not related to pasture CP concentration, fermentable energy supplementation or systemic concentrations of ammonia, urea, glucose or insulin. There was no relationship between dietary treatment or systemic metabolites and any of the estimates of conceptus development. Systemic insulin was not affected by pasture N treatment or MSBP supplementation (P> 0·05). Systemic concentrations of glucose were not affected by pasture N treatment (P> 0·05) but were increased by MSBP supplementation (P< 0·05). Systemic progesterone was not affected by pasture CP or MSBP supplementation (P> 0·05) but at day 7 after AI was positively related (P< 0·05) to embryo survival. Intake of high CP herbage elevated systemic ammonia and urea but there was no association with embryo survival rate or embryo development in heifers.
Effect of fish-oil supplementation on levels of (n-3) poly-unsaturated fatty acids in the lipoprotein fractions of bovine plasma
Authors: Offer N.W. , Speake B.K. , Dixon J. , Marsden M.
Published: August 2016

Eight mid-lactation Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were used in an experiment to investigate whether poor transfer to milk of (n-3) long chain (≥C20) poly-unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA), from diets containing fish oil, is related to their mode of transport in plasma lipoproteins. The cows were split into two groups of four, each of which was housed with 24 other cows which did not provide blood data in this experiment. All cows received a basal diet ad libitum consisting of (kg/t dry matter) silage (539), grain distillers’ grains (148), rolled barley (248) and soya (65). All cows also received a mid-day meal of 2·76 kg per cow per day of molassed sugar-beet shreds. The control group (C) received no oil supplement but those in the treatment group (F) received 300 g per cow per day of fish oil absorbed onto the sugar-beet shreds. Fish oil inclusion progressively depressed milk fat concentration of the four cows from each group over the 3 weeks of the experiment so that levels were approximately 20 g/kg lower for cows in treatment F than for those in C (P < 0·05). Mean concentrations over all cows of the long-chain (≥C20, n-3) poly-unsaturated fatty acids in milk fat (g/100 g) were 0·12 and 0·54 for treatments C and F respectively, whilst corresponding output in milk (g/day) increased from 116 to 3·91, an average efficiency of transfer of 4·6%. The fatty acid compositions of the lipoproteins were measured in plasma samples from the four cows from each group after 3 weeks on the experimental diets The proportions (g/100 g fatty acids) of C20: 5 (n-3) in cholesteryl (CE) and phospholipid (PL) of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in the plasma were respectively increased from 0·97 to 4·39 (P < 0·05) and from 1·15 to 4·74 (P < 0·01) by the fish-oil supplementation. For C22: 6 (n-3), the proportions in CE and PL of HDL respectively increased (P < 0·001) from 0·02 to 0·23 and from 0·16 to 2·18 as a result of the supplementation. The mean proportions (g/100 g fatty acids) of C20: 5 (n-3) and C22: 6 (n-3) in the triglyceride fraction of very low-density lipoprotein were 1·05 and 2·3 respectively and were not significantly altered by fish-oil supplementation (P > 0·05). It is suggested that the low transfer efficiency of (n-3) LCPUFA to the milk is partly due to their transport in the plasma largely as components of HDL lipids which are unavailable to the mammary gland.
Effect of feeding supplements on the intake and live-weight gain of male red deer given silage during winter
Authors: Webster J.R. , Corson I.D. , Littlejohn R.P.
Published: August 2016

The live-weight gain (LWG) of young male red deer in New Zealand naturally slows during winter and feeding diets of mainly silage appears to exacerbate this effect. We aimed to quantify the effect of feeding silage on intake and LWG during winter and the ability to improve LWG by feeding supplements, mainly in the form of barley. Seven groups of eight deer were maintained outside in gravelled enclosures and offered silage ad libitum for 94 days during winter. Six groups were given supplements (950 g barley with 50 g rapeseed meal per kg to make all diets isonitrogenous) at rates of proportionately 0·2, 0·4, 0·5, 0·6, 0·7 and 0·9 of the metabolizable energy (ME) intake of the group given only silage (0). The study also examined the effect of the winter treatments on subsequent LWG to slaughter weight whilst grazing on pasture during spring and into summer (102 days).

Increasing supplement intake resulted in a decrease in silage dry matter (DM) and ME intake (P< 0·001) and an increase in total ME intake (P< 0·01). The substitution rate for silage DM was 0·84 (s.e. 0·079). LWG during silage feeding was positively related (P< 0·01) to supplement intake with an increase of 6·21 g/day per MJ per day. LWG on pasture was not related to either supplement feeding rate or LWG during winter. LWG over the entire experiment was related (P< 0·01) to supplement feeding rate, with a final difference in live weight of 6 kg between 0 and 0·9 groups.

This study has confirmed that the LWG of young male deer is low during winter when given only silage and that feeding supplements increases total ME intake and LWG. The reduced LWG due to silage feeding was not compensated for on pasture during spring and summer, thus delaying the time to reach slaughter weight by approximately 1 month. High proportions of silage in the diet appear unsuitable for young male deer if the aim is to achieve rapid LWG during winter.
Contributions to the History of Insurance, and of the Theory of Life Contingencies, with a Restoration of the Grand Pensionary De Wit’s Treatise on life Annuities
Authors: Hendriks Frederick
Published: August 2016

The origin and progress of the principles of insurance are subjects, which not only call for the endeavour to elicit and clear from seeming contradictions such records of the insurer’s calling as are blended with the remote history of mercantile customs and laws, but which likewise particularly suggest the necessity of some essay to connect those rude outlines with the more advanced stage of the theory, in its immediate alliance with the sciences of applied probabilities and political or social arithmetic.
On the Doctrine of Constructive Total Loss
Authors: Hopkins Manley
Published: August 2016

It would be very difficult to select a more simple idea, couched in more simple terms, than that conveyed by the expression ‘Total Loss.” It would not be easy to find an idea which has wandered farther from its radical, and has by development undergone greater transformations than that of ‘Total Loss,’ according to the doctrine as now expounded.
Concerning the Proper Stamps upon Assignments of Policies of Insurance
Authors: Bunyon C. J.
Published: August 2016

The new Stamp Act does not, as perhaps might have been expected, set at rest the much disputed question, whether the assignment of a chose in action requires an ad valorem stamp. The clauses in the schedule to the new act, upon which the question will depend, and which immediately follow the words “conveyance and mortgage,” are word for word the same as those in the schedule to the 55 Geo. III., C. 184, and hence it will remain abstractedly in the same position as before. A strong opinion has been expressed that in every case of such an assignment, whether by way of mortgage or upon a sale, the ad valorem stamp is necessary, and assuming that the points depend upon the construction of the word property in the statute, it is argued that “whatever is dealt with as property, and is the subject of sale or mortgage, is property within the meaning of the act, and that the instrument by which the transfer is effected is chargeable with the ad valorem duty, unless expressly exempted.”—(Tilsley, Stamp Laws, 248).
On the Progress of Fire Insurance in Great Britain, as compared with other Countries (Concluded from p. 349, vol. vii)
Authors: Brown Samuel
Published: August 2016

The returns of the various Insurance Companies are published in some of the United States, so that if all the facts were fully stated as required, a fair estimate could be formed of the extension of the business of the Companies from year to year, with their premiums, capital, reserve, &c. Those of the commonwealth of Massachusetts are given agreeably to the requirements of Acts passed in 1837 and 1842. In 1850, the requirement of returns from the mutual Fire Insurance Companies was repealed by an Act of May 3rd in that year.
On the Rates of Interest for the use of Money in Ancient and Modern Times. Part III.
Authors: Hodge William Barwick
Published: August 2016

The steady and gradual diminution in the rate of interest that took place from towards the end of the sixteenth to the middle of the eighteenth century, was generally attributed, during the period, to the great additions made, after the discovery of America, to the amount of gold and silver circulating in Europe.
On a Formula giving the Expectation of Life approximatively
Authors: Willich Charles Arnold M.
Published: August 2016

Dr. Farr. in the 12th Report of the Registrar-General, has given the value of annuities and the expectation of life, as deduced from the male English Life Table.

Observing a very uniform difference between the results thus obtained and those from the Carlisle Table of Mortality, it appeared to me probable that a simple hypothesis might be constructed which would produce a close approximation to the expectation of life between certain ages, but somewhat less favourable than the hypothesis. I proposed in 1857 for the expectation of life according to the Carlisle Table of Mortality.
John De Witt; or, Twenty Years' Interregnum in the Stadtholdership of the Seventeenth Century
Authors: de Parieu M. Esquirou
Published: August 2016

The history of the United Provinces, and of Holland especially, from the close of the Spanish rule down to the establishment of the modern monarchy of the Netherlands, is distinguished for its manifestation of a permanent struggle between different opposite principles. Liberty and authority, municipal principle and state principle, republic and monarchy, the spirit of federal isolation and that of centralization, appear to give battle to each other upon a territory itself with difficulty defended from the waves of the ocean by the watchful industry of its inhabitants.
On the Clearing of the London Bankers
Authors: Lubbock John W.
Published: August 2016

The operation of the clearing has the effect of enabling all the payments from one bank to another to be performed without the passing of bank-notes; and the result is, that if any bank has to receive from the clearing, say, £50,000, the account of that bank at the Bank of England is better by £50,000 at 9 o'clock the next morning; and if a bank has to pay into the clearing £50,000, the amount of that bank is worse by £50,000.
On some Considerations suggested by the Annual Reports of the Registrar-General, being an Inquiry into the Question as to how far the Inordinate Mortality in this Country, exhibited by those Reports is controllable by Human Agency (Part II. Concluded from page 112)
Authors: Porter H. W.
Published: August 2016

As regards the hereditary transmission of phthisis, another investigation of the statistics of the Hospital for Consumption at Brompton showed, that where one parent only was affected with pulmonary disease, the fathers being so affected transmitted the disease to their sons in 63 out of 106 cases, being 59·4 per cent. of the whole number observed; and to their daughters in 47 cases only out of 108, being 43½ per cent.: while the mothers being phthisical transmitted the disease to their sons in 43 cases, being 40·6 per cent.; and to their daughters in 61 cases, being 56½ per cent. of the cases under observation. Judging, therefore, from these figures, it would probably appear, if a large number of cases were registered, that the power of transmission of disease by phthisical fathers to their sons, and by phthisical mothers to their daughters, is about the same.
On the Composition for Leave to an Assured to reside Abroad
Authors: Campbell Robert
Published: August 2016

It is not an uncommon occurrence with certain classes of professional men who have settled themselves in this country, and perhaps assured their lives, without any intention of leaving it, to be called to a position which takes them to a residence permanently, or at least for a lengthened period, abroad. The principle on which an Office should increase their payments for assurance forms both a speculative and practical problem of some interest.
On the Discovery of the Law of Human Mortality, and on the antecedent partial Discoveries of Dr. Price and Mr. Gompertz
Authors: Edmonds T. R.
Published: August 2016

In the year 1832 there was published, in my name, an extensive collection of Life Tables, founded upon the discovery of the law which, in my belief, governs the mortality, according to age, of all nations and classes of men, from the earliest infancy to extreme old age. In these tables the numbers living or surviving at successive ages have been deduced from a simple formula expressing the proportion of survivors at any age in terms of the mortality. They are the first Tables of this kind ever published, and they have been used daily in the practice of life assurance, and in the valuation of life contingencies, for a period of thirty-two years, including four years before publication.
On the Rate of Mortality Prevailing amongst the Families of the Peerage during the 19th Century
Authors: Bailey Arthur Hutcheson , Day Archibald
Published: August 2016

In a note in the introduction to Milne's Treatise on Annuities, the author remarks—“There can, I think, be no doubt but that the mortality is greater among the higher than the middle classes of society. They form too small a proportion of the population to have any sensible effect here; but it would be of importance to the Life Offices to determine the law of mortality among them.” Since the publication of this work, forty-six years ago, some attempts have been made to test the accuracy of this assertion, and to supply the desideratum; but none with which we are acquainted are by any means conclusive.
On the various methods pursued in the Distribution of Surplus among the Assured in a Life Assurance Company, with a comparison of the relative merits of such methods
Authors: Pattison Wm. Pollard
Published: August 2016

There is, probably, no department of an actuary's pursuits where there is such diversity of practice as that of which this paper treats. After the calculation of the premiums and the periodical valuations, the distribution of surplus is infinitely the most important duty that an actuary has to perform. The premium income of the various Life Offices now exceeds £8,000,000 a year, and probably not less than £l,000,000 is annually divided as surplus. Within the last 14 years, one Office alone has divided upwards of £1,200,000; and another, for many years past, has annually distributed as surplus more than £100,000. This will be sufficient to show the magnitude of the interests concerned; and yet, as will be seen in the sequel, these distributions are, in some cases, made in a most arbitrary manner—without reference to principles of justice and equity, and without the basis of accurate reasoning. After what has been written on this subject by Mr. Jellicoe and Professor De Morgan, it is not to be supposed that any actuary would defend the schemes here referred to as equitable; those who do follow them, content themselves with stating their advantages.
On the Rule for finding the Value of an Annuity on Three Lives
Authors: De Morgan Augustus
Published: August 2016

The rule which was given by Thomas Simpson for finding the value of an annuity on three lives is as follows:—let A, B, and C be the three lives, and let K be a single life, the annuity on which is equal to an annuity on the joint lives of B and C; then the value of an annuity on the joint lives of A and K is the required annuity on the joint lives of A, B, and C. The life A should be the youngest of the three.
On the Tendency of some Systems of Distribution of Surplus to defeat the Object of Life Assurance
Authors: Terry James
Published: August 2016

The system pursued by each Office in the distribution of surplus may be divided into three parts, namely—

1. The class of members amongst which surplus is distributed;

2. The actual distribution of it amongst that class; and

3. The interval which elapses between successive distributions.

It is impossible to obtain a comprehensive view of the subject without considering separately these three distinct parts; and, since it forms no part of the present purpose to estimate the relative advantages of different Offices, no attempt will be made to follow the numerous combinations or systems of distribution produced by differences in practice under each of the above heads.
On the proper Mode of estimating the Liabilities of Life Assurance Companies
Authors: Tucker Robert
Published: August 2016

The object of this paper is to endeavour to show that the true method of estimating the liabilities of an Insurance Company should be based upon the principle of re-insurance by its own rates of premium, interest being reckoned at 3 per cent.

In submitting the following observations, I feel it necessary, in the first place, to apologise for recurring to a subject which has been so frequently and ably treated by the President of the Institute of Actuaries. But as my method of dealing with this important branch of our business differs in some respects from the plan laid down by that learned writer, I trust I may be allowed to record the present attempt to demonstrate what in my opinion are the true principles which should guide us in determining the liabilities of Life Insurance Companies.
On Weights and Measures
Authors: Levi Leoni
Published: August 2016

Public attention has for some time past been earnestly directed to the introduction of the decimal system in our weights, measures, and coins. The nation is generally convinced, that the adoption of such a system would prove of immense benefit—that it would afford great facilities for calculations of all kinds, that it would shorten the work of education, that it would economise labour, and that it would diminish the chances of error. The Society of Arts, and other scientific societies, have investigated the subject in all its phases and bearings, and we have been expecting the speedy adoption of some practical plan which would be certain to confer so great a boon. Unfortunately, the Russian war, the Indian mutiny, and other political events, have rendered it necessary to put aside the consideration of many social reforms, and this, among the rest, shared the same fate. We have bestowed, also, far too much attention to the pound and mil scheme, as if upon it rested the entire question of decimalisation, and thus years have passed without a single step of a definite character being taken.
A Budget of Paradoxes (Continued from page 284, vol. xi)
Authors: De Morgan A.
Published: August 2016

An essay to ascertain the value of leases and annuities for years and lives. By W[eyman] L[ee]. London, 1737, 8vo.

A valuation of Annuities and Leases certain, for a single life. By Weyman Lee, Esq., of the Inner Temple. London, 1751, 8vo. Third edition, 1773.

Every branch of exact science has its paradoxer. The world at large cannot tell with certainty who is right in such questions as squaring the circle, &c. Mr. Weyman Lee was the assailant of what all who had studied called demonstration in the question of annuities; and he can be exposed to the world: for his error arose out of his not being able to see that the whole is the sum of all its parts.
A Budget of Paradoxes (Continued from p. 48)
Authors: De Morgan A.
Published: August 2016

The Mythological Astronomy of the ancients; part the second: or the key of Urania, the wards of which will unlock all the mysteries of antiquity. Norwich, 1823, 12mo.

A Companion to the Mythological Astronomy, &c., containing remarks on recent publications. … Norwich, 1824, 12mo.

A new Theory of the Earth and of planetary motion; in which it is demonstrated that the Sun is vicegerent of his own system. Norwich, 1825, 12mo.

The analyzation of the writings of the Jews, so far as they are found to have any connexion with the sublime science of astronomy. [This is pp. 97–180 of some other work, being all I have seen.]
A Budget of Paradoxes (Continued from p. 108)
Authors: De Morgan A.
Published: August 2016

The celebrated interminable fraction 3·14159…, which the mathematician calls π, is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter. But it is thousands of things besides. It is constantly turning up in mathematics: and if arithmetic and algebra had been studied without geometry, π must have come in somehow, though at what stage or under what name must have depended upon the casualties of algebraical invention. As it is, our trigonometry being founded on the circle, π first appears as the ratio stated. If, for instance, a deep study of probable fluctuation from the average had preceded geometry, π might have emerged as a number perfectly indispensable in such problems as—What is the chance of the number of aces lying between a million +x and a million −x, when six million of throws are made with a die? I have not gone into any detail of all those cases in which the paradoxer finds out, by his unassisted acumen, that results of mathematical investigation cannot be: in fact, this discovery is only an accompaniment, though a necessary one, of his paradoxical statement of that which must be. Logicians are beginning to see that the notion of horse is inseparably connected with that of non-horse: that the first without the second would be no notion at all. And it is clear that the positive affirmation of that which contradicts mathematical demonstration cannot but be accompanied by a declaration, mostly overtly made, that demonstration is false. If the mathematicians were interested in punishing this indiscretion, he could make his denier ridiculous by inventing asserted results which would completely take him in.
On the Rates of Mortality and Marriage amongst Europeans in India
Authors: Brown Samuel
Published: August 2016

In a paper which I had the honour of reading before the Institute of Actuaries in December, 1862, an inquiry was made into the rates of mortality and marriage amongst Europeans in India, but was principally confined to the experience amongst military officers, as recorded in the books of the Madras Military Fund, and compared with the records of similar funds in the other Presidencies. The data—which I was favoured with an opportunity of collecting during an elaborate investigation into the position and prospects of the fund—extended over the long period of fifty years, from 1808 to 1857, and related to more than 5,000 officers who had entered the fund in that period, and had either died, or withdrawn, or were living at the close of the observations, on the 1st January, 1858. The subdivision of the facts into two periods, of those who entered from 1808 to 1822, and from 1822 to 1857, showed a very marked diminution at every quinquennial period of age in the rate of mortality up to the age of 50, after which, in the latter period, the numbers were not sufficient fairly to carry on the comparison. On the average of all ages the rate in the former period was 3·92 per cent., and in the latter 2·69 per cent., though allowance must be made for the fact that some of the latter had not attained such advanced ages.
On the Principles to be observed in the Construction of Mortality Tables
Authors: Makeham William Matthew
Published: August 2016

The remarks which I have to offer for the consideration of this meeting have reference not to the deduction of the probabilities of living and dying from the facts observed, but to the mode of dealing with those probabilities, in their rough state, with the view of rendering them fit for the purpose for which they may ultimately be required.
On the Influence of the Ages of the Parents at the time of Marriage on the Sex of Children, and on the Prolificness of Marriages
Authors: Brown Samuel
Published: August 2016

In the course of the inquiries which led to the paper, read before the Institute of Actuaries, and published in the last number of the Assurance Magazine, on “the Uniform Action of the Human Will,” which was principally illustrated by the regularity in the proportion of marriages between different classes and at different ages, I was very much struck by the law which appears to regulate the relative proportion of the sexes at birth. It has long been observed that, in all countries in which the law of population is not unusually disturbed, more males are born than females. This is the result, not of a few isolated observations, but of more than seventy millions of facts, collected from authentic sources in different kingdoms, and for many succeeding years. The proportion varies from nearly 109 males to 100 females in Russia, down to 104·62 males to 100 females in Sweden; Great Britain occupying the last place but one, about 104·75 to 100. The average births for all Europe may be taken as 106 males to 100 females.
On the valuation of life contingencies by means of tables of single and joint lives
Authors: Hargreave Charles James
Published: August 2016

Let a1, a2 . . an be the reciprocals of the roots of the expression 1 − s1x+s2x2 − . . ±sn−1xn−1∓snxn, which call ϕx. We have then ϕx = (1 −a1x) (1 −a2x) . . . (1 −anx), from which the following series of values may be readily deduced, the Σ implying the sum of all the instances of the form placed under it, so that each expression is a symmetrical function of a1, a2 . . an.

The sign is positive when p is even, and negative when p is odd. A single term of the pth expression contains p factors of the form a, and n–p factors of the form 1 – a; and the expression itself is the sum of every term which can be so constructed.
On a Method of finding the Product of two Factors by means of the Addition and Subtraction of Natural Numbers
Authors: Laundy Samuel Linn
Published: August 2016

The paper which I have the honour to submit is so elementary in its details that I have to claim the indulgence of the meeting; but, as the practical application of the simple formulæ to which I shall have occasion to refer may be interesting, I trust I may not unworthily occupy a short portion of your time.

A few months ago it occurred to me that tables to facilitate the process of multiplication, based upon the identity

would be of extensive use in actuarial and other calculations, and would effect a considerable saving of labour—to an extent even greater than that acquired by the use of logarithms. This led me to give attention to the subject; and after a trial on a small scale, I deemed it of sufficient importance to construct for my own use a series of tables of the fourth parts of the squares of all integer numbers up to 100,000.