656 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



there is a loss of 9,692,505 weeks' work in every year, and among 

 females a loss of 10,592,761 weeks. Thus we may believe that our 

 whole population between fifteen and sixty-five years old do, in each 

 year, 20,000,000 weeks' work less than they might do if it were not 

 for sickness. The estimate is so large that it must, on first thoughts, 

 seem improbable ; but on fair consideration I believe it will not seem 

 so. For the members of the Manchester Unity who are in the work- 

 ing-time of life, the reckoning is certainly true, and it is founded on 

 the experience of between 300,000 and 400,000 members. In respect 

 of health they may represent the whole population, at least, as well as 

 any group that could be taken. They are not very strictly selected — 

 they are not picked lives ; yet they are such as are able, w^hen they 

 are in health, to earn good wages or good salaries, and, as their pru- 

 dence in joining this association shows, they are comparatively thrifty 

 and careful persons. They do not, at all events, include many of the 

 habitual drunkards, the cripples or utterly invalids, or those who, 

 through natural feebleness or early disease, or mere profligacy, can 

 not earn enough to become members or maintain themselves in mem- 

 bership. Neither do they include many of the insane, or imbecile and 

 idiotic, of whom there are, in our population, nearly 70,000, doing no 

 work, and losing not less than 3,500,000 weeks' work in the year. 



It would be tedious to tell the grounds on which the estimate may 

 be deemed too high, for just as many and as good could be told on 

 which it might be deemed too low. And it is rather more than con- 

 firmed by some estimates of the annual sickness in other and very dif- 

 ferent groups of persons. 



In the army, at home, the average number of days' sickness in each 

 year is, for each soldier, about seventeen ; and, as the number of the 

 troops in the United Kingdom is more than 80,000, we have here a 

 loss of about 200,000 weeks' service in each year. 



In the navy, on the home stations, the average number of days' 

 sickness in each year has been in the last five years for each man 

 nearly sixteen ; so that for the total of about 20,000 men there is a 

 loss of 45,000 weeks' service in each year. 



The amount of sickness in the services thus appears much higher 

 than in the friendly societies. This is due, in great part, to the fact 

 that a soldier or a sailor is often put off duty a day or two for much 

 less illness than that for which a civilian would " go on his club." 

 Still, the one estimate may confirm the other ; for the sickness in the 

 army and navy is that of picked men, who were selected for the ser- 

 vices as being of sound constitution, and who are in what should be 

 the best working years of life : and, if it includes many cases of sick- 

 ness for only a day or two, it excludes nearly all cases of more than a 

 few months, such as make up a heavy proportion of the average sick- 

 ness in the friendly societies and in the general population. 



And I may add that the estimate from these societies, that nine 



