ON THE VITAL. STATISTICS OF LARGE TOWNS IN SCOTLAND. 195 



the nearest to it, though there are some important particulars in which they 

 differ considerably. 



It will be seen (Table LXVII.) that the average annual mortality in Edin- 

 burgh for the last five years, to the mean population of these years, is as 1 to 

 34-90, or 2-86 per cent., and in Perth it is as 1 to 37*87, or 2-64 per cent. It 

 will also be observed (Table LIIL), that there is an excess in the proportion of 

 deaths in Edinburgh at nearly all the ages up to fifty years, over those which 

 took place at Perth, with the exception of those at two and under five, and 

 those at fifteen and under twenty years ; and that the greatest proportion of 

 deaths at all the ages above fifty years in these towns is in Perth. It will be 

 observed, that the difference in the proportion of these deaths, at any of the 

 ages stated in the table, does not extend to high numbers ; the greatest excess 

 in Edinburgh being of the deaths under one year, which amounts to 0'07 per 

 cent, of the whole population ; and the greatest proportion of deaths in 

 Perth over those of Edinburgh is at the age of seventy and under seventy- 

 five years, which amounts to 0*09 per cent. 



It may further be observed (Table LXXVI.), that in Edinburgh the deaths 

 under twenty years of age amount annually to 1*1 1 per cent, of the population, 

 and to 43*88 per cent, of the whole deaths ; while in Perth the deaths under 

 the same age amount to 1*01 per cent, of the population, and to 38*26 per 

 cent, of the whole deaths. Again (Table LXXVIIL), the deaths in Edinburgh 

 above twenty years of age amount to 1*43 per cent, of the population, and to 

 56*11 per cent, of the whole deaths ; while in Perth the deaths above the same 

 age amount to 1*63 per cent, of the population, and to 61*73 per cent, of 

 the whole deaths. 



The differences in the mortality of these two cities might be traced to 

 the local circumstances of the inhabitants, but to pursue this subject further 

 would lead us beyond the limits of this Report. 



With regard to Aberdeen, partaking as it does partly of the character of 

 Perth as a county town, and of the character of Glasgow and Dundee in the 

 extent of its factories for the manufacture of flax, cotton and woollen goods, 

 the defective state of the registers prevents us from making the tables show- 

 ing the causes of death so complete as for the other towns*. By a careful 

 examination of the mortality tables for this town, it will be found that they 

 afford good reason to believe that Aberdeen is very healthy f; although, as 



* We have been very obligingly favoured with extracts of Registers and Reports from the 

 Hospitals and Royal Infirmary, by several of the medical gentlemen of that city, for the pur- 

 pose of supplying this deficiency to a certain extent. 



f Much has been done of late years to improve the city of Aberdeen, by removing old, 

 closely-built and ill-aired houses, and by building wider streets, more healthy houses, and 

 elegant public buildings in their stead. A considerable number of lanes and closes, sur- 

 rounded by the worst description of houses, have been in this manner removed. And in visiting 

 any of those closes where this class of houses is still to be found, it is gratifying to observe 

 that great attention is paid to the scavenger department of the police. None of those offen- 

 sive accumulations of animal and vegetable matter, which are so conspicuous in some parts 

 of Glasgow, Leith and Dundee, are allowed to remain to destroy the comfort and the health 

 of the inhabitants. Through the kind attention of Captain Barclay, superintendent of 

 police, we have been able to compare the condition of the poorest class of the inhabitants 

 with the condition of those in other towns. There is perhaps no town in which there are 

 worse cases of miserable destitution than are to be met with in Aberdeen, but, fortunately 

 for that city, these cases bear a much smaller proportion to the population than is to be met 

 with in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee, or perhaps in Liverpool. The lodging-houses for 

 the poor in Aberdeen are often densely crowded. In Peacock's Close, for example, above 

 twenty people are frequently to be found sleeping in a room from ten to twelve feet square, 

 with a small closet adjoining. In the majority of these lodging-houses, however, the white- 

 ness of the sheets and blankets indicates a much higher degree of comfort than is to be ob- 

 served among the same class of people in the towns above alluded to. 



The trade and commerce of Aberdeen have long been of a steady and prosperous nature ; 

 bankruptcies are of very rare occurrence in that city. The price of animal food is con- 



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