Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-03-29
QUEER THINGS ABOUT SEX.
WHY MORE BOYS ARE BORN-wHY
DO THE CITIES PRODUCE
MORE GIRLS Z

DO THE CITIES PRODUCE
MORE GIRLS
You have a boy and girl, twins,
perhaps. Which will Outlive the
other =!
Nothing but death to both IS
certain, but In all probability II
both pass the age OF thirty'hvs
your girl will live the longest.
In 1880 there weres6fty millions
of people in this country, and
about $4,000 more males than
females. That was only because
more males were born; the female
lives the longest. OF the centen'
arians, I,4O9 were men and 2,6OI
we're women.
The boys start out nearly a mil
hon ahead and are in the majority
until the sixteenth year, when the
girls are a little more numerous.
Sweet sixteen is numerous age,
anyhow.
After that, 1rst one and then the
other is in the majority, the girls
gradually gaming after thlrty'slx
aud leaving the men far behind
after seventy-fve.
There are some interesting iacts
about the old people. The native
whites constitute three-fOurths OF
the entire population, bat have only
one seventh of the centenarians.
The colored is only One.elghth Of
the whole population, but has
three.fourths of the centenarians.
There seems to be prOvidential
provision to balance this longevity
of the females. In almost every
state few more boys are born /;
not many more, but almost always
few. 1t liz astonishing to see
where the census gives thousands
and thousands of boys and girls
under one year old, there are, with
one or two exceptions, always a
few hundred more boys, and only a
few hundred more.
In only six of the forty-nine
states and territories are more
girls born, and in these states they
are very slightly in excess-from
eleven to eighty. These excep-
tons ore Arizona, Delaware, Flor
ida, Louisiana, Montana and North
Carolina.
The fact that the females are in
the majority in all the original
thirteen states but Delaware aud
North Carolina, especially in Mas
sachusetts and New England, has
created the impression that there
is som ething in the climate or IN
the people that produces more
women than men. This is a pOpu-
lar but egregious error. In Massa'
chusetts there were in 1880 437
more boys than girls under one
year of age. The males are all in
the minority in almost all the east
ern states because many OF the
Young uen 90 west. All over the
west there is an excess of men,
and those who are not foreigners
have been withdrawn FROM the
states farther east. In the new
states and territories this is mOsl
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 than any. There are parts
of northern Ohio which are por'
tons of New England removed
Massachusetts shows the loss and
Ohio the gain.
Another curious tact is that
while all over the country more
boys than girls are born, in cities
and towns there more girls.
Between the ages of hve and sew
enteen, incluslye, there are 1850
more girls than boys in New YORK
county, LOS more in Kings coun
ty, 1925 more in the city of Baltl
more, 1913 more in Suffolk county
Mass, BOSTON,, 2,OO9 more In Cook
county Chicago, ILL.,, 2'l3l more
in the city of st. Louis, 1871 more
in Philadelphia county and 2,63t
more in the parish of Orleans. AL
these cities except New Orleans are
in states where more boys thar
girls are born.
Coming nearer home, take
Georgia. There are 1877 counties
and in all but 26 of them there are
mora boys than glrl'. These z
counties iDclnde the i large town!