374 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



in England, where a more equable climate exists, the proportion of deaths 

 from this disease is much higher than in America. This might, however, be 

 owing to the humidity of the atmosphere there. Merc temperature, or the 

 difference of a few degrees of latitude, has little to do with its prevalence. 

 In New York city, which has a mean annual temperature of 50, the deaths 

 are 1 in 8.46, while in Charleston, which is situated 8" further south, and has 

 a mean annual temperature of 64, they are 1 to 6.7. In Philadelphia, with 

 a mean temperature of nearly 54, the deaths by consumption are 1 in 8.9. 

 In Providence, with a temperature the same as New York, the proportion is 

 1 to 6. In Chicago it is 1 to 10. In New Orleans, which has a mean temper- 

 ature of 67, the proportion in 1850 was 1 to 11.7. In Memphis, in 18-39, it 

 was 1 to 11.3. And in Brooklyn, from 1848 to 18-39, it was 1 to 8.11. In the 

 United States army there are about thirteen cases of consumption to every 

 thousand men. The greatest number of cases occur on those posts located 

 between 26 and 35 of longitude, in Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi, 

 including the cities of Charleston and New Orleans, which are characterized 

 by high temperature and excessiA r e moisture. The stations in Texas and 

 California show the smallest proportion of deaths from consumption. Prob- 

 ably the smallest proportion of cases anywhere in the United States is in New 

 Mexico, where the deaths are only about 1.3 in every thousand men. High 

 elevation, cold, equable climate, are not calculated to the large development 

 of consumption. The regions of the high latitudes enjoy almost entire im- 

 munity from the disease, and in Iceland and among the Esquimaux it is rarely 

 if ever known to occur. It is also a rare disease in Upper Russia and West- 

 ern Siberia. In Alexandria, situated in the thirty-first degree of latitude, 

 with an atmosphere saturated with saline vapor, consumption is almost 

 wholly unknown; and in Tehei-an, Persia, situated in latitude 35, with an 

 elevated position and rarefied air, it is very rare. The medical statistics of 

 the British army afford much valuable information in regard to the prevalence 

 of the disease in different parts of the world, and give a correct impression 

 in relation to the influence of certain A r arieties of climate. From these we 

 find that in the United Kingdom 5.5 men in a thousand were attacked by con- 

 sumption. In the West Indies, between the tenth and nineteenth decrees 

 north latitude, there were twelve in a thousand. These returns show how 

 erroneous are the views generally entertained in regard to the influence of 

 the climate of the West Indies, or of a warm climate, per fie, in arresting the 

 development of consumption. In two of the stations of the Mediterranean, 

 namely, Gibraltar and Malta, long noted as salutary retreats for consumptive 

 patients, it is actually more prevalent and fatal than in Canada and New- 

 foundland, with their long, cold winters and vicissitudes of climate. In Can- 

 ada 6.5 per 1000 men are attacked, and 3.8 die of the disease. In Gibraltar 

 7 are attacked, and in Malta 6.7. In Bermuda, with a great uniformity of 

 climate, 8 per 1000 men are attacked, and 5.1 die, while in Newfoundland the 

 deaths are only 4 per 1000. While on the one hand, therefore, consumption 

 is rare or unknown in those countries situated in high latitudes, we find that 

 it frequently exists in its minimum among those living in tropical countries. 

 In all India, out of ten regiments, the aggregate strength of which was 

 nearly 15,000 men, during a period of fourteen years, only forty-three were 

 attacked. 



Madeira, between the thirty-second and thirty-third degrees of north lati- 

 tude, with its balmy atmosphere, perpetually summer temperature, the ther- 

 mometer showing a variation only of 10, and the mean annual tempera' ure 



