CANCER. 179 



and carefully prepared array of figures than had ever 

 before been presented on the subject, and the whole 

 drift of his statistics was to confirm the generally 

 accepted belief that the disease was increasing in pre- 

 valence, not only among the inhabitants of England 

 and Wales, but also among those of Scotland, Ireland, 

 and the United States of America ; in fact, among all 

 civilised peoples from whom statistics on the subject 

 were obtainable. 



The number of deaths from cancer in England and 

 Wales increased from 7245 in 1861 to 18,654 in 1889; 

 but as the population increased largely during this 

 period, these figures do not give a correct idea of the 

 prevalence of the disease in proportion to the popula- 

 tion. The Kegistrar-General, however, supplies figures 

 which do convey a correct idea of the prevalence of 

 the disease; they are these: In 1861 the number of 

 deaths from cancer to one million persons living was 

 360, which number had in 1888 reached 610 by an 

 increase of marvellous regularity. Of this increase Sir 

 Spencer Wells says : " I think it hardly possible that 

 this steady increase in twenty-six years from 360 to 

 610 deaths from cancer among each million persons in 

 England and Wales during that period can be truly 

 attributed to any great extent to better registration ; " 

 and with this I think all must agree. 



Nor, as I have already hinted, is this alarming state 

 of things confined to England and Wales. In Scotland 

 deaths from cancer are at present even more plentiful 

 in proportion to the population than in England ; while 



