308 THE WONDERFUL CENTURY. CHAP xvm. 



These show two striking facts, which the Commissioners 

 failed to notice in their " Final Report." First, the 

 smaller amount of small-pox mortality in Ireland than 

 in Scotland, the latter being alleged to be well vacci- 

 nated, the former imperfectly so; and, secondly, the 

 similar difference in the two chosen diseases and the 

 general parallelism of the two. Here again we see 

 clearly the influence of density of population, Scotland 

 having a very much larger proportion of its inhabitants 

 living in large manufacturing towns. 



The next three diagrams V., VI., and VII. show 

 small-pox mortality in Sweden, Prussia, and Bavaria 

 countries which at previous enquiries were adduced as 

 striking examples of the value of vaccination. They all 

 show phenomena of the same character as our own coun- 

 try, but far worse as regards epidemics in the capitals; 

 that of Stockholm, in 1874, causing a death-rate more 

 than 50 per cent, higher than during the worst epidemic 

 of the last century in London! The diagram of small- 

 pox and zymotics in Bavaria is given merely because the 

 statistics were brought before the Commission as a proof 

 of the beneficial results of vaccination in well-vaccinated 

 communities. It was alleged by Dr. Hopkirk that almost 

 the whole of the population Avere vaccinated, and ad- 

 mitted by him that of the 30,742 cases of small-pox in 

 1871 no less than 95.7 per cent, were vaccinated! The 

 epidemic was, however, less severe than in Prussia, again 

 showing the influence of density of population less than 

 one-seventh of the Bavarians inhabiting towns of over 

 20,000, while one-fourth inhabit similar towns in Prus- 

 sia; but we see that during the latter half of the period 

 chosen small-pox greatly increased, and the other zy- 



