CHAP. xvm. VACCINATION A DELUSION. 281 



Q. 2645, 6, 3212-13, and 3226-3229). Brigade-Sur- 

 geon William Nash, M. D., informed the Commission 

 that the vaccination and revaccination of the Army was 

 " as perfect as endeavors can make it," and that he can 

 make no suggestion to increase its thoroughness (Q. 

 3559, 3560). 



Turning now to the diagram (No. XI.) which repre- 

 sents the official statistics, the two lower lines show the 

 small-pox death-rate per 100,000 of the force of the 

 Army and Navy for each year, from 1860 to 1894. 

 The lower thick line shows the Army mortality, the thin 

 line that of the Navy. The two higher lines show the 

 total death-rate from disease of the Navy, and of the 

 Home force of the Army, as the tables supplied do not 

 separate the deaths by disease of that portion of the 

 Army stationed abroad. 



Looking first at these upper lines, we notice two inter- 

 esting facts. The first is, the large and steady improve- 

 ment of both forces as regards health-conditions during 

 the thirty-five years; and the second is the considerable 

 and constant difference in the disease mortality of the 

 two services, the soldiers having throughout the whole 

 period a much higher mortality than the sailors. The 

 decrease of the general mortality is clearly due to the 

 great improvements that have been effected in diet, in 

 ventilation, and in general health-conditions; while the 

 difference in health between the two forces is almost 

 certainly due to two causes, the most important being 

 that the sailors spend the greater part of every day in the 

 open air, and in air of the maximum purity and health- 

 giving properties, that of the open sea; while soldiers 

 live mostly in camps or barracks, often in the vicinity of 



