40 The Meteorology of 1900. 



excluding Dumfries, he found that the expected deaths during" 

 December, based upon the previous five years' statistics, would be 

 79, whereas the actual number of deaths was 90. So that, though 

 December was a warm month, yet there were 11 deaths more 

 than would have been expected from the recoi'ds of the previous 

 five years. These figures, however, were too small to argue 

 from, and when they took larger figures they found that as a 

 general rule where they had mild winters, even though they were 

 very stormy, they had a decrease in the death rate and also in the 

 death rate from respiratory diseases, and to a certain extent in the 

 deaths from nervous and circulatory diseases. He thought the 

 mild winter did seem to have an influence upon the death rate to 

 such an extent that they might say that a mild winter was not 

 necessarily an unhealthy one, the reason being that it did not 

 press so hardly upon people who were naturally weak. Another 

 curious point that the figures brought out was that the death rate 

 from consumption or phthisis was the lowest in December, which 

 would tend to support the doctrine that phthisis was not altogether 

 a question of climate, and it was not altogether necessary to send 

 away our consumptives to a milder climate if they were put under 

 suitable conditions at home. 



On the motion of Mr Thomson, Dr Ross also was accorded a 

 vote of thanks. 



15t1i February, 1901. 



Mr Robert Murray, V.P., in the Chair. 



JVew Member. — Mr Robert Carruthers, F.I.C., Kirkbank, 

 Dumfries. 



Donations and Exchatiges. — Proceedings of the Academy of 

 Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1900, Part II., March-April. 

 U.S. Department of Agriculture— Laws regulating the transpor- 

 tation and sale of Game. Proceedings of the Canadian Institute 

 for January, 1901. Stirling Natural History and Archaeological 

 Society— -Transactions, 1899-1900. 



Exhibits. — Mr S. Arnott, Carsethorn, showed plants mounted 

 by a new method, which preserved the colours, from Herbarium 



