126 REPORT—1863. 
the ori-nasal cover in its place. A kerchief is bound round the neck over the tippet, 
to prevent any foul air passing under it; and the waistcoat and coat should then 
be fationed and secured over the tippet for the same purpose. 
On the Coal-Miners of Durham and Northumberland, their Habits and 
Diseases. By Dr. Wison. . 
Premising that disease, like life, was not an entity per se, but a modified vitality, 
the object of this paper was to show what effect the exclusive habits and occu- 
pation of the coal-miners of the North of England had on their health and length 
of life. The author described at length the construction of the cottages, the dress, 
the food, the nature of the work, and the —— of the pitmen. 
Their houses are well adapted for good ventilation. Their dress is the best for 
resisting the effect of the change of temperature in going to and returning from 
work, Their food is wholesome, and, although eaten somewhat irregularly, the 
customs they adopt are well suited to their peculiar circumstances. The division 
of labour is fully carried out. They work in a constrained position—each hewer 
working alternately one week from 1 a.m. till 9 a.m., and in the next from 9 a.m. 
till 5 p.m. They eat a moderate quantity of animal food once a day, emery, on 
returning from work: after this meal they give themselves a thorough cleansing 
with soap and hot water, and then they retire to rest. They have favourite amuse- 
ments, and many of them indulge periodically in great excesses. Ale is the liquor 
chiefly drank, and that by some in large quantities; but the régime of a colliery is 
so strict that, however much they may exceed on receipt of their wages, they must 
resume work at the proper time; and thus habitual drunkenness is prevented, and 
consequently the specific diseases induced by alcohol are extremely rare. 
The most frequent cause of death amongst them is accidental violence. The 
miners of Durham and Northumberland are not prone to phthisis, and there is 
almost a total absence of the black phthisis which is so common in some mining 
districts. 
The impure air they often unavoidably breathe brings on structural changes 
in the mucous membrane of the lungs, and the consequent oppressed breathing 
is a very common ailment. According to the author’s experience, they are almost 
exempt from Bright’s disease; and he attributes this to their profuse perspiration 
while at worl, and the daily ablution with soap and hot water on their return 
home. 
Having gone with some minuteness into the statistics taken by Dr. Farr from the 
census of England, the author drew the conclusion that the miner of the north of 
England has an average of three years’ longer life than the aggregate of English- 
men, eight years’ longer life than the Cornish miner, nine longer than the Staftord- 
shire and twelve longer than the South Wales miner, and only one year less than 
that of the men of the healthiest districts of the kingdom. 
These results were in accordance with the author’s personal observations, and 
were also borne out by statistics taken by him from the local registers of his 
neighbourhood. Pitmen marry young, and are thus freed from a large class of 
imaginary and real disorders; and the author concludes, that whilst there is much 
aed for amendment in their morals, their physical condition should not be inter- 
ered with. 
GEOGRAPHY AND ETHNOLOGY. 
Address of the President, Sir Roprrtcx I. Murcuison, A.C.B., D.O.L., LL.D., 
F.RS., Director-General of the Geological Survey, and President of the 
Royal Geographical Society. 
A Quarter of the ~ aaa century has elapsed since it fell to my lot, as Joint 
General Secretary of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, to 
address the numerous and influential body which in 1838 was assembled at New- 
