ZOOLOGY. 355 



In 1849, when the population had increased to 16,000,000, the mortality 

 from small pox was only 1,760, thus showing how the mortality had 

 decreased, vaccination having come nearly into general use within the 

 past ten years. One hundred and eighty-two practicing physicians in 

 England' state, they have never known a death from small pox after 

 vaccination. Some deaths have taken place by small pox after vacci- 

 nation, but not many, and very peculiar causes apart from the disease 

 might have caused the mortality. In the London Small Pox Hospital, 

 40,000 persons were vaccinated during the past 16 years, and not one 

 of whom had ever returned with small pox. 



The committee of the Pennsylvania State Medical Society, have 

 reported against every point advanced by Drs. Gregory and Caznave ; 

 and thus conclude their report: " Your committee have no hesitation 

 in expressing it as their belief, that no circumstances exist to justify 

 the general substitution of inoculation after the 15th year of age, as 

 proposed by Dr. Gregory ; and they regret that at the present time, 

 whilst strenuous efforts are making, through individual exertions, 

 occassionally helped forward by judicious legislation, statements calcu- 

 lated to lessen confidence in the protecting power of vaccination 

 should have been promulgated by Dr. Gregory. Happily, however, 

 abundant evidence exists to show that although the hopes of complete 

 exemption from small pox, once fondly indulged, have not been fully 

 realized, vaccination still offers the only dependance for protection 

 against a disease, the fearful ravages of which have tended so much to 

 darken the pages of history, previous to the precious discovery made 

 by Jenner." 



Some interesting statistics on the protection afforded against small 

 pox by vaccination have been recently obtained by Dr. Balfour, Sur- 

 geon of the Royal Military Asylum, England, from an examination of 

 the recruits of the Army and Navy. From these it appears that out of 

 90,092 recruits medically inspected and found fit for service, 20,132bore 

 marks of small pox ; 60,096 had marks of vaccination, and 5,864 bore 

 no distinct traces of either. By the rules of the service the latter 

 would be immediately vaccinated ; added to the second class, a total of 

 69,900, or 78 per cent, of the whole would be protected by vaccina- 

 tion ; 22 per cent, representing the proportion of those protected by 

 previous small pox. From further returns it appears that the propor- 

 tion of cases of small pox have been 66, and the deaths 8, in every 

 100,000 men serving through the army. But the prevalence and 

 mortality varied in different portions of the force. Thus the deaths 

 had been four times as numerous among the troops in the United 

 Kingdom as in temperate colonies, and eight times as numerous as in 

 tropical colonies ; while a still greater disproportion was found to exist 

 in the admissions into the hospital. A comparative statement of the 

 proportion of small pox among the black troops and Europeans serv- 

 ing in tropical colonies during several epidemics was furnished, by 

 which it appears that the disease literally decimated the black troops, 

 while not a single death occurred among the European soldiers serving 



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