children could be expected:
| Native-born women | 27 |
|---|---|
| Negro-born women | 31 |
| English-born women | 34 |
| Russian-born women | 54 |
| French Canada-born women | 56 |
| Polish-born women | 62 |
The women of the old American stock are on the whole more sterile or, if not sterile, less fecund, than other women in the United States. Why?
In answer, various physiological causes are often alleged. It is said that the dissemination of venereal diseases has caused an increase of sterility; that luxurious living lowers fecundity, and so on. It is impossible to take the time to analyze the many explanations of this sort which have been offered, and which are familiar to the reader; we must content ourselves with saying that evidence of a great many kinds, largely statistical and, in our opinion, reliable, indicates that physiological causes play a minor part in the decrease of the birth-rate.8
Or, plainly, women no longer bear as many children, because they don't want to.
This accords with Dr. Cattel's inquiry of 461 American men