11 



There was thus a preponderance of cases in males, but as there 

 has been a considerably larger number of males than females 

 in Victoria until quite lately, there cannot be much import- 

 ance attached to the disparity of sexes attacked by hydatids. 

 The proportion in which the different organs of the body were 

 attacked was very interesting, but as I shall consider this point 

 in connection with the total number of cases occurring in all 

 the colonies, I need not discuss it here. It is important to no- 

 tice that if we take the hospitals of Victoria as a whole, there 

 was about one case out of every 175 of the total indoor patients 

 treated suffering from hydatid disease I may remind you that 

 in the four English hospitals the proportion was one hydatid 

 out of about every 900 patients, so that it appears that hydatid 

 disease is more than five times as common in Victorian as in 

 the four English hospitals. But the different hospitals of 

 Victoria itself did not show a like proportion of cases. Thus 

 no cases at all, as I have already stated, were recorded in the 

 Belfast, Maldon, Mansfield, Portland, Swan Hill, and Warr- 

 nambool Hospitals, and yet between them they had 5,639 in- 

 patients during the periods over which their returns extended. 

 South Austealia. — According to the census taken in April, 

 1881, the total population amounted to 279,865 — males, 

 149,530 ; females, 130,335. The death-rate in 1881 was 1390 

 per 1,000. The Eegistrar- General's returns of hydatid deaths, 

 for which I am indebted to the kindness of J. F. Cleland, Esq., 

 extend over the 16 years from 1866 lo 1881. In six of these 

 years, viz., 1866-70 and 72, no deaths were returned as due 

 to hydatids. In 1871 there was returned 1 death ; in 1873 

 there were 3 deaths ; 1 874, 1 ; 1875, 2 ; 1876 and 1877, to- 

 gether, 11 ; 1878-79, 3 ; 1880-81, 13 ; total, 34. So that for 

 all the 16 years in question there were only 34 deaths attri- 

 buted to this parasite. ]S'ow, if we take the last ten years, i.e., 

 from 1872 to 1881 inclusive, we find that there were 33 deaths 

 from hydatids out of a total of 34,431 deaths (Statistical 

 Eegister for 1881, page 25) occuring during the same period ; 

 so that hydatid disease is credited with having caused about 

 one death out of every 1,043 during the last ten years. I am 

 inclined to think that this is considerably below the number of 

 deaths that actually occurred from this parasite. And now as 

 regards the data supplied by the records of the various 

 hospitals in the province. Of such institutions there are nine, 

 viz., the Adelaide, Mount Gambler, Port Adelaide, Port Augusta, 

 Port Lincoln, Wallaroo, Kapunda, Blinman, and Burra 

 Hospitals. Of these the only ones which are large enough to 

 supply any information on this subject are the two first named. 

 I am indebted to Mr. E. H. Hallack for the very exhaustive 

 returns of the Adelaide Hospital, which extend over a period 



