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THE NATURALIST.
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DURATION OF LIFE.
It appears from well authenticated documents, that the mean term of Roman
life, among the citizens, was 30 years--that is to say, taking 1,000
persons, adding the years together they each attained, and dividing the
total by the number of persons, the result is 30. In England, at the
present time, the expectation of life, for persons similarly situated,
is at least 50 years, giving a superiority of 20 years above the Roman
citizen. The mean term of life among the _easy_ classes at Paris is
at present 42. At Florence, to the _whole_ population, it is still
not more than 30.
We have gleaned these interesting facts from a review of Dr. Hawkins's
_Elements of Medical Statistics;_ and as the subject is like human
life itself, of exhaustless interest, we shall proceed with a few more:
Counties of England and Wales.
In 1780, the annual mortality of England and Wales was 1 in 40.
By the last census (of 1821,) the yearly mortality had fallen to
1 in 58, nearly one-third. The rate of mortality is of course not
equal throughout the country. According to Dr.
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