630

however, many complicated factors involved in a calculationof this kind, such, for instance, as the number of persons ofsusceptible ages present in the house after disinfection, andas to how many were exposed with impunity before disinfec-tion took place. Certainly only a small proportion of

persons-presumably susceptible -do in actual practicebecome attacked when exposed to infection, and perhaps weshould not be far wrong in assuming that many personspresent in a house after disinfection had already had oppor-tunities of becoming infected before that process took place.Dr. Kenwood very properly advises the public not to purchasecheap and unknown disinfectants.

VITAL STATISTICS.

HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS.

IN thirty-three of the largest English towns, includingLondon, 6378 births and 3743 deaths were registered duringthe week ending Saturday, Aug. 22nd. The annual rate of

mortality in these towns, which had declined from 24’8 to19’9 per 1000 in the four preceding weeks, further fell to18’0 last week. The rates in the several towns ranged from11’5 in Norwich, 12’4 in Croydon, and 13-2 in Halifax, to22-4 in Manchester and in Preston, 24’1 in Sunderland, and25’5 in Salford. In the thirty-two provincial towns themean death-rate was 18 8 per 1000, and exceeded by 2 0the rate recorded in London, which was 16’8 per 1000The zymotic death-rate in the thirty-three towns averaged 3 8per 1000 ; in London the rate was equal to 3’3 per 1000, whileit averaged 4’1 in the thirty-two provincial towns, and washighest in 1:>ortsmo:ltb, 9aJford, Brighton, 1,ndWoh-erhampton.Measles caused a death-rate of 1-1 in Sheffield and in Gates-head, and 2’6 in Brighton ; scarlet fever of 1’3 in Salford and1’5 in Oldham ; whooping-cough of 1’2 in Salford and 1"4 inPreston; "fever" of 1-3 in Bolton and 1-4 in Hull; anddiarrhoea of 4-1 in Sunderland, 4’2 in Leiceister, 53 3 inPortsmouth, and 7-2 in Wolverhampton. The 84 deathsfrom diphtheria in the thirty-three towns included 59 inLondon, 5 in West Ham, and 4 in Birmingham. No fatalcase of small-pox was registered either in London or in anyof the thirty-two large provincial towns. There were 18small-pox patients under treatment in the MetropolitanAsylum Hospitals and in the Highgate Small-pox Hospitalon Saturday last, Aug. 22nd, against 22 in each of the twopreceding weeks; 4 new cases were admitted during theweek, against 5 and 2 in the two preceding weeks.The number of scarlet fever patients in the MetropolitanAsylum Hospitals and in the London Fever Hospital atthe end of the week was 3437, against 3369 and 3368at the end of the two preceding weeks ; 416 new caseswere admitted during the week, against 360, 366, and378 in the three preceding weeks. The deaths referred todiseases of the respiratory organs in London, which hadbeen 142 and 135 in the two preceding weeks, rose againlast week to 145, but were 23 below the corrected

average number. The causes of 49, or 1-3 per cent., ofthe deaths in the thirty-three towns were not certified eitherby a registered medical practitioner or by a coroner. All thecauses of death were duly certified in Portsmouth, Bristol,Bradford, Leeds, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and in ten othersmaller towns ; the largest proportions of uncertified deathswere registered in Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Leicester,and Sheffield.

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HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS.

The annual rate of mortality in the eight Scotch towns,which had been 154 and 16-1 per 1000 in the two precedingweeks, rose again to 16’5 during the week ending Aug. 22nd,but was 15 per 1000 below the mean rate during the sameperiod in the thirty-three large English towns. The ’rates in the eight Scotch towns ranged from 13-5 inGreenock and 13’8 in Dundee to 20’5 in Perth and 22-8 inPaisley. The 482 deaths in these towns included 41 whichwere referred to diarrhoea, 18 to whooping-cough, 15 to

measles, 7 to scarlet fever, 4 to " fever," and 2 to diphtheria,In all, 87 deaths resulted from these principal zymoticdiseases, against 80 and 73 in the two preceding weeks.These 87 deaths were equal to an annual rate of 3-0 per1000, which was 0’8 below the mean rate last week fromthe same diseases in the thirty-three large English towns.The fatal cases of diarrhcea, which had declined from 57 to28 in the four preceding weeks, rose again to 41 last week,

of which 21 occurred in Glasgow, 9 in Edinburgh, and 5 inDundee. The 18 deaths referred to whooping-cough exceededby 7 the number recorded in the preceding week, andincluded 11 in Glasgow and 5 in Edinburgh. The fatalcases of measles, which had been 16 and 20 in the two

preceding weeks, declined again to 15 last week, of which13 occurred in Glasgow and 2 in Edinburgh, The deathsfrom scarlet fever, which had been 5 and 3 in the twopreceding weeks, rose to 7 last week, of which 2 wererecorded in Glasgow and 2 in Edinburgh. The 4 fatal casesof "fever" exceeded by 2 the number in the precedingweek, and included 2 in Edinburgh. The deaths referred todiseases of the respiratory organs in these towns, which hadbeen 70 and 59 in the two preceding weeks, rose again to67 last week, and were 11 above the number in the corre.sponding period of last year. The causes of 25, or morethan 5 per cent., of the deaths in these eight towns lastweek were not certified.

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HEALTH OF DUBLIN.

The death-rate in Dublin, which had declined in thethree preceding weeks from 27’4 to 21’6 per 1000, rose againto 24-9 during the week ending Aug. 22nd. During the pasteight weeks of the current quarter the death-rate in the cityhas averaged 24’9 per 1000, the rate during the same

period being 21’1 in London and 15’7 in Edinburgh.The 167 deaths registered in Dublin during the week undernotice showed an increase of 22 upon the number in the pre.ceding week, and included 28 which were referred to theprincipal zymotic diseases, against 38 and 25 in thetwo preceding weeks ; of these 21 resulted from diarrhcea,‘i "’rom ° ° fe ver," 2 from hooping-cough, 1 from scarletfever, and not one either from small-pox, measles, or

diphtheria. These 28 deaths were equal to an annualrate of 4’2 per 1000, the zymotic death - rate during thesame period being 3’3 in London and 3-9 in Edinburgh.The fatal cases of diarrhoea, which had been 29 and 16 inthe two preceding weeks, rose again to 21 last week.The deaths referred to different forms of 11 fever," which hadincreased from 2 to 4 in the three preceding weeks,were again 4 last week. The mortality from scarletfever showed a decline from that recorded in the preceedingweek, while that from whooping-cough showed an increase.The 167 deaths in Dublin last week included 51 of infantsunder one year of age, and 35 of persons aged upwardsof sixty years ; the deaths both of infants and of elderlypersons exceeded those recorded in the preceedingweek. Eight inquest cases and 5 deaths from violencewere registered; and 52, or nearly a third, of thedeaths occurred in public institutions. The causes of 18, ornearly 11 per cent., of the deaths in the city last weekwere not certified.

THE SERVICES.

ARMY MEDICAL STAFF.SURGEON - LIEUTENANT - COLONEL LLOYD BRERETON

WARD retires on retired pay. The undermentioned Sur-

geon-Captains to be Surgeon-Majors :-John R. Barefoot,Robert H. Clement, George D. Hunter, Louis E. Anderson,George B. Russell, M.B., Arthur E. C. Spence, 142.B., JohnR. Mallins, M.B., Robert J. McCormack, M.D., Henry N.Thompson, M.B., Joseph 1. P. Doyle, Neville Manders,Lesley R. Colledge, F.R.C.S. Edin., Samuel Freyer, M.D.,Cecil Birt, Robert S. F. Henderson, M.B., Samuel Butter-worth, and Charles J. Holmes, M.D., 1’.R.C.S.Irel. Theunder-mentioned Surgeons on probation to be Surgeon-Lieutenants :-Edwin Thomas Fairweather Birrell, 3,1.B,,Edward Warren Webber Cochrane, M.B., Arthur HughMorrig, George Bushman Riddick, Samuel Arthur Archer,Alexander James MacDougall, M.B., Robert WilliamClements, M.B., Maurice Swabey, and Henry Hewetson.

INDIA AND THE INDIAN MEDICAL SERVICES.

Surgeon-Captain J. G. Jordan, Officiating Civil Surgeon ofTippera, is appointed to be Civil Surgeon of Singhbhum, butwill continue to act, until further orders, as Civil Surgeonof Tippera. Surgeon-Captain A. H. Nott, Officiating CivilSurgeon of Hazaribagh, is confirmed in that appointment.Surgeon-Major Dharmadas Basu, Civil Surgeon of Mymen-singb, but at present Officiating as Civil Surgeon of Purnea,