Verhulst constructed the simplest mathematical model of a continously growing population with an upper limit to its size.

In his second paper on population growth Verhulst introduced the term, logistic. He modified his equation so its early part is exponential and becomes logistic only after a definite length of time. Verhulst published a second paper on this subject: Deuxième mémoire sur la loi d’accroissement de la population. Mem. Acad. Roy. Belg., 1847, 20, 1-32.