DKN.MAKK. 



DlIMiTllKKlA. 



( ,f an imals, 44,167,905 kroner, against 35,259,765; 

 nl btitlrr. r---. etc., 112.:M;!.'j:;s ki-i.n<-r. against 

 I (to. 1 . i! i :, jr. 1 ,' ; of cereals, 14,538,204 kroner, against 



1,117. 



Tin- di-tribution of the commerce among the 

 principal countries in 1890 is shown in the f<>l- 

 lowmg table, giving the values of the imports 

 from mill tin- exports to each in kroner: 



Navigation. During 1890 there were 28,414 



s, carrying v!.<)-10..">;!.'> ions of cargo, entered, 



and 28,998, currying 584,469 tons of cargo, cleared 



ai Itanish ports, besides 30,414 coasting vessels 



entered and 31,368 cleared. 



The merchant marine in the beginning of 1891 

 consisted of 3,543 vessels, of 302,194 tons, of 

 which 330, of 112,788 tons, were steamers. 



Communications. The Danish railroads in 

 1891 had a total length of 1,247 miles, of which 

 1,000 miles belonged to the Government, which, 

 up to the beginning of the financial year 1891, 

 had invested 164,141,474 kroner in railroads. 



The post-office traffic in 1889 consisted of 49,- 

 015.000 letters and postal cards and 4,284,000 

 printed inclosures and samples. 



The state telegraph lines in the beginning of 

 1891 had a length of 2,790 miles, and the total 

 length of the telegraphs was 3,674 miles, with 

 ln.'J^O miles of wire. The state lines transmit- 

 'i'l 1,548,493 messages during 1890, of which 

 ")(J7.224 were domestic, 948,399 international, and 

 :o official. 



Dependencies. Iceland has an autonomous 

 government under a charter that went into force 

 on Aug. 1, 1874. The legislative authority is 

 ev,.|vised by the Althing, a single chamber con- 

 taining 36 members, of whom 30 are elected by 

 the people and 6 are appointed by the Crown. 

 There is it governor residing at Reikjavik, who 

 carries on the administration under the direc- 

 tion of tlie Minister for Iceland in Copenhagen. 

 The area of the island is 39,756 square miles, and 

 the population is 69.224. 



Greenland, with an area of 46,740 square miles, 

 had in 1888 a population of 10,221. In 1890 

 there were goods of the value of 490,748 kroner 

 imported into Denmark from Greenland, while 

 the Danish exports to Greenland amounted to 

 "IS kroner. 



The only other colonies are the Danish An- 

 tilles. (See WEST INUII-.. 



Elections. As -the term of election for the 

 Folkcthing expired in January, 1893, and the 

 holding of elections at that time would nccesM- 

 tate a suspension of the work of the Rigsdag. 

 the new elections wore ordered to be held mi 

 April 20. IS!)'.?. Of 102 seats, the Right ob- 

 tained 30, the Moderate Left 43. while the K.-nli- 

 eal Left only returned 29 of their candidates. 

 The result gave the Government, for the first 

 time since the constitutional crisis began, a ma- 



jority with which it could proceed on constitu- 

 tional lines with legislative uusiness. The Mod- 

 erate Left separated from their former allies, the 

 Kadical Left, and pledged thcm-ehes i 

 with the minister* on all matters connected with 

 the current administration of the Government, 

 but retained their freedom of action in matters 

 connected with possible demand.- for supplement- 

 ary grants to the War Department. The reverse 

 of the Radical Left, which ever since 1885 had 

 been strong enough to defeat, will' the help of 

 the Moderate Left, each measure submitted by 

 Prime-Minister Estrupp, was due principally to 

 the rural population, which constitutes the great 

 majority of the electorate, and which at length 

 became alarmed by the radical and even social- 

 istic doctrines formulated by the Extreme Left 

 with regard to politics, religion, and social or- 

 ganization. 



Politics. As no understanding regarding the 

 budget had been arrived at between the two 

 houses of the Rigsdag before the beginning of 

 the new financial year, Ai>ril 1, 1892, after the 

 closing of the session of the Rigsdag the King 

 issued a decree promulgating a provisional budg- 

 et for 1892-'93. An extra session of the Rigs- 

 dag, lasting from May 6 to May 11, was called 

 for the purpose of constituting the new Folke- 

 thing. The regular session was opened on Oct. 3. 

 The Minister of Finance presented the budget 

 for 1893-'94. The revenues are estimated at 55,- 

 500,000 kroner, the expenses at 54,200,000 kro- 

 ner, leaving a surplus of 1,300,000 kroner. 



DIPHTHERIA, a specific, contagious, asthe- 

 nic. constitutional disease, occurring epidemical- 

 ly in certain localities, endemically and, perhaps 

 occasionally, solitarily. Its distinctive mark is 

 first a local exudative inflammation in the throat 

 or air passages, then the formation upon their 

 mucous surfaces of layers of lymph or false 

 membrane, possessing signs of bacteroid myco- 

 sis. This same membrane can show itself upon 

 mucous surfaces other than in the throat, and 

 also upon wounds. The disease may occur in 

 any locality, under every condition, attacks the 

 rich and the poor, but finds the majority of its 

 victims among children. It has been found that 

 a porous soil, with an understratum of clay, 

 rather favors its development. Bad hygienic 

 conditions increase the virulence of the poi>< n. 

 but good hygienic conditions offer no bar to its 

 development. Temperature has no effect upon 

 it. although, it is said, diphtheria prevails most 

 during moist, cold weather. Kecords in large 

 cities show the smallest number of cases during 

 the very hot months. There seems to be a 

 hereditary liability to diphtheria in certain fami- 

 lies. A singular' fact is that the Chinese race 

 possess almost complete immunity. Diphtheria 

 must have exi-ted since early ages. A fatal af- 

 fection marked by a membrane in the fauces 

 was described by Hippocrates and Aret;ms. 

 After their time nothing is recorded of the dis- 

 ease for several centuries, and we are forced to 

 the conclusion that the activity of the : 

 must have decreased very markedly and the 

 disease disappeared. After this rest of cen- 

 turies renewed strength must have been ac- 

 quired, for the disease became so prevalent that 

 the attention of physicians was again directed 

 to it. The first accurate account is given by 



