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12
-23.9 to + 2.7 (males) and - 17.9 to + 8.9 (females); in 1896 from -21.8 to -2.4 (males) and
-28.9 to- 1.9 (females); and in 1897 from -26.3 to -3.5 (males) and -28.2 to -0.7 (females).
It will also be seen that the period 1891-4 occupies a somewhat unique position, whether compared
with the period 1881-90 or succeeding years, in respect of the high death rates obtaining at the later
age-periods shown in the table; thus, among males, at the age-periods 35-, 45-, 55-, 65- and 75-, the
increases per cent. over the death rates of 1881-90 range from 0.1 to 4.4, while among females at
ages 45-, 55-, 65- and 75-, the increases per cent. range from 1.7 to 5.4. In connection with the subject
under consideration, the effect of the high death rates at these ages in 1891-4 has been to largely
reduce the number of lives gained at "all ages." The amount of "life capital" gained, however, has
not been reduced in similar proportion owing to the fact that the expectation of life at these ages (see
Table I., p. 10) is relatively short.
The following table (F.) showing the number of lives and the amount of "life capital" gained or
lost at each age-period in 1891-4,* 1895, 1896, and 1897, compared with 1881-90, shows more clearly
the exceptional character of the period 1891-4 in this respect. The columns of the table showing the
number of lives gained or lost in each period have been obtained in the following manner:-The
death rates of the period 1881-90 have been applied to the populations living at each age-period in
1891-4, 1895, 1896 and 1897, in order to obtain the estimated number of deaths which would have
occurred in each of the four periods had the death rates of 1881-90 been maintained. The estimated
number of deaths thus obtained have been subtracted from the number of deaths actually occurring
and the resulting differences shown in the table (cols. 1-4) represent the estimated gain or loss of
lives at each age-group in each of the four periods compared with the decennium 1881-90.
The figures shown in cols. 5-8 have been obtained by applying the mean expectation of life at
each age-group (see Table I.) to the number of lives gained or lost.

It will thus be seen that, compared with the period 1881-90, the number of lives and the amount
of "life capital" gained at "all ages" in 1891-4, 1895, 1896 and 1897 have progressively increased,
although the increase in "life capital" does not bear any constant proportion to the increase in the
number of lives gained ; the explanation of this fact is more apparent when the number of lives and
* It should be pointed out that all figures relating to the period 1891-4 are mean annual,