360 ANNUAL OP SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



nate in the East Indies, while consumption is most conspicuous in 

 Great Britain, British North America, and Jamaica. Dropsy is most 

 prevalent in West Africa, Great Britain, and Guiana. Among the 

 different countries the most striking contrasts are sometimes exhibited ; 

 thus the West of Africa is the most fatal to Europeans, while the 

 Southeast is the most healthy country on the globe. Although many 

 causes besides that of climate contribute to produce these results, yet 

 generally, both in countries and in cities, the chances of longevity are 

 greatly in favor of northern latitudes. Of the former we find near the 

 bottom of the scale, Java, as indicated by Batavia, some of the West 

 India Islands, Sicily, Naples, &c. ; and near the top, Norway, Swe- 

 den, and portions of England. In all cases cities are less healthy than 

 rural districts ; of these the lowest is Vienna, and the highest London. 

 It appears that a cool climate near the sea is the most favorable situa- 

 tion for health and longevity. The causes of mortality not dependent 

 on climate are chiefly poverty and want, bad ventilation, unhealthy or 

 excessive labor, especially in youth, intemperance and dissolute habits, 

 and war. 



The proportion of deaths from consumption indicates how little 

 mere climate has to do with the extent of this disease ; since, while it 

 is almost unknown in the Madras Presidency of India, it is more fre- 

 quent at the Cape of Good Hope than in the Northern United States, 

 nearly even in Britain and British North America, nearly the same at 

 Gibraltar as in the West. Indies generally, and is most fatal among 

 European troops in Jamaica. Remittent fever shows an almost regu- 

 larly progressive increase of temperature from the Northern States of 

 America to Jamaica, where the deaths among Europeans amount to 10, 

 and among the blacks to only 8 per 1,000. Of diseases of the diges- 

 tive organs, in the United States the number of cases is 52G, and 

 deaths 14 per 1,000 ; while in Britain the cases are 95 per 1,000, and 

 the deaths only 1 in 2,000 of the population. Rheumatism is most 

 prominent in Britain and least so in Malta. In Asia it is least among 

 Europeans in the Tenasserim provinces, India, and greatest in the 

 Madras. The influence of climate is most powerfully evinced in the 

 mental and physical degradation produced by malaria on the inhabit- 

 ants of the moor and marshy districts of tropical regions ; but, even 

 in Europe, its effect on the amount of mortality is much greater than 

 is generally understood. Thus, in the smiling plains of Southern Italy 

 the rate of mortality is twice as great as in the cold region of Scandi- 

 navia ; and this proportion appears to be held in all countries. Tem- 

 perature alone has a great effect on the production of disease. It is 

 calculated from the returns of mortality that a fall of the mean tem- 

 perature of the air from 45 to 4 or 5 below zero destroys from 300 

 to 500 of the population of London. 



In order to judge of the effects of a climate, it is necessary to com- 

 pare the amount of mortality among the native population of a country 

 with that of strangers to the soil. Now, we find that in all India the 

 average amount of mortality among European troops is nearly three 

 times as great as among natives, and that when in one locality 75 per 

 cent, of European troops died, the mortality among the black troops 



