Nicolaas Struyck of Amsterdam, who, in his In troduction to General Geography, published there in 1740, had inserted (Gisstngen over den staat van 1 Menschelyk Geslagt ) Conjectures on the State of the Human Species; published at the same place in 1753, a quarto volume, the first half of which is as tronomical, the other (216 pages) is entitled ( Nader Ontdekkingen noopens den stoat van het Menschelyk ), Further Discoveries concerning the State of Species. It contains statements of ac tual enumerations of the people in many Dutch vil lages, principally in North Holland, wherein the sexes are distinguished, and the numbers in child hood, celibacy, marriage, and widowhood ; but with respect to their ages, it is only stated for each sex, how many were under ten years, and how many of the unmarried were above that age ; except in two instances, wherein the 'lumber of each sex is given in each interval of five years of age, from birth to the extremity of life : they amount altogether to 2728, of whom not one was above the age of 85, and only four above 80.
He generally gives, for each place, the names and professions or occupations of the persons who made the enumeration, and the precise day on which it was made ; or if it occupied the parties more days than one, those on which it was commenced and completed are given; a practice which shows a laud able solicitude about particulars, and a title to our confidence, the want of which we have great cause to lament in too many other writers.
Extracts from many parish registers are also given ; in these, too, the ages are seldom noticed ; but in a few cases they are given very minutely, especially in that of Westzaandam, for which, the numbers who died in each interval of five years of age, from birth to the extremity of life, are given ; also the number in each year of age under fifteen, the number in each month of the first year of age, even the num ber that died in the first hour from birth, in the first twenty-four hours, and in each day of the first week df their age. During a term of nineteen years, the whole number of deaths thus registered was 3348 ; bat the sexes were not distinguished under fifteen years of age, which Struyck himself lamented. The work also contains much information respecting the population and parish registers of Amsterdam, Haar,.
&c. with some accounts of other countries, and of other works on the subject.
This is a valuable compilation, and has been gene. rally attributed to Dr Birch, the Secretary and His.
i torian of the Royal Society ; the preface s very ju. dicious, and contains a good deal of information. For the following history of this publication, the author of the present article is indebted to the kindness of Dr Heberden : " The bills were collected into a volume by his hither, the late Dr Heberden. He procured like. wise, observations from several of his friends, rectors of some large parishes, or others likely to give him information ; particularly from Bishop Moss, Bishop Green, Bishop Squire, and Dr Birch. These, to outlier with some of iris own remarks, were thrown Into the form of a preface ; and the whole was com mitted to the care of Dr Birch. To make the cal culations which appear at the end of the book, Dr Heberden employed James Postletbwayt, Esq. a very distinguished arithmetician." In the year 1766, this branch of knowledge was enriched with new materials, of more value than all that had previously been laid before the public. These were contained in three publications, of which we shall first notice the Reckercker mu. la Populatios des generalises di Auvergne de Lyon, de Rouen, et de rt ggrim Provinces at Fill;s du Royaurne. Par M. Manistee, Receveur des Toiler Is I 'Eketion Is Saint Etienne.
Most of the political writers in France, for some years previous to the date of this publication, had asserted confidently that the kingdom was depopu. laced, but without producing any proofs. The ob• ject of M. Messance was, to enable his readers to judge of the merit of such assertions, and to pro. nounce less vaguely on a subject in itself so interest ing, the knowledge of which can only be obtained by a great number of facts and actual observations. The work, accordingly, is filled with tables, exhibit ing the results of actual enumerations of the people, and of extracts from the parish registers. They show, for each sex, how many were under 16, or in celibacy above that age ; those in the states of marriage and of widowhood ; and the number of do mestic servants. The numbers of families are also stated ; and the enumerations of the ecclesiastics, properly classed, are given separately ; but no ether intbrmation respecting the ages of the living is given than that mentioned above. A great many state ments are also inserted of the numbers that died in different parishes, and more extensive districts, trader 5 years of age, between 5 and 10, and in each in terval of 10 years, from thence to the age of 100; during different periods of from 10 to 40 years, or more, generally ending about the year 1760; but in these the sexes are not distinguished.