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TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 159 
ham 31, Milford 52, Erpingham 33, Wayland 36, Tunstead 36, Depwade 36, Nor- 
wich 37, Ailsham 38, Flegg 39, Yarmouth 40, Loddon 41, Henstead 41, Blofield 43, 
Treebridge Lynn 44, King’s Lynn 47, Swaffham 47, Docking 47, Downham 48, 
Forehoe 49, St. Faith’s 50. At Chelsea, the number was 28, whilst at Hampstead 
it was G1, so that while one person in 28 died at Chelsea from phthisis, only one in 
61 died from the same disease at Hampstead. With regard to pulmonary consump- 
tion, the returns showed that the death-rate corresponded generally with the density 
of the population ; that the general mortality of England and Wales was at the rate 
of 24-47 per thousand; that in the healthy and more thinly populated districts the 
rate was only 17:53 per thousand ; while in the large towns it was 28°01. In the 
agricultural part of Surrey it was 18 per 1000, in Westmoreland 18, in Sussex 19, 
in Lincolnshire 19, and in Dorsetshire 19; while in the metropolitan part of Surrey 
it was 25, in London 24, Staffordshire 25, Lancashire 27, Yorkshire 23, West 
Riding 24, and North Riding 19. At Bromley in Kent, at Hast Hampstead, in 
Berkshire, and Dulverton, in Somerset, the rate was only 16; at Tenbury, in Wor- 
cester, King’s Norton, near Birmingham, Hampstead, Pershore, in Worcestershire, 
Haltwhistle, Bedford, Longtown, and Bootle, the rate was from 14 to 17; at Belling- 
ham, in Northumberland, it was only 14, and at Glendale and Rothbury it was 15. 
In Wales, the least mortality was at Knighton, where it was 16; in England, the 
lowest rate was at Bellingham. The total deaths in the ten years were 4,210,715, of 
which 508,923 were from phthisis, the deaths of females exceeding those of males 
by 30,513. In the twelve districts of England and Wales, the proportion of cases to 
opulation was:—North West 31, Monmouthshire and Wales 32, London 34, 
Bester Counties 37, Yorkshire 57, North Midland 59, South Eastern 39, South 
Midland 40, South Western 41, West Midland 42, Northern Counties 42, so that 
the West Midland and the Northern Counties were the most exempt, and in the North 
Western Counties andWales the disease was the most prevalent. Among sailors, 
the most fatal stations as regarded phthisis were the western coast of Africa and the 
Mediterranean. A dry atmosphere, cold or hot, was most frequent in districts 
where phthisis was comparatively rare. Among some of the causes of phthisis 
were possibly included, atmosphere, soil, climate, amount of population, nature 
of occupation, hereditary predisposition, food, and the communicability of the 
disease. There was no doubt that one frequent exciting cause of phthisis was the 
exposed state of our railway stations and steamboat piers, which people would 
hurry to reach in order to save a boat or train, and where, having become heated, 
they were in cold weather liable to a sudden chill—a matter that should be brought 
before the House of Commons as one materially affecting the public health. 
The object of this paper was especially to show that a moist damp atmosphere, 
which by many had hitherto been considered the best for those predisposed to 
tubercular affections of the lungs, was the worst that could be selected. Thus, 
talking the county of Norfolk, at Thetford, and in the surrounding districts, where 
stagnant water and fogs were prevalent, the mortality was 1 in 28; whilst at 
King’s Lynn, Downham, and St. Faith’s and other places it was considerably less, 
The results are obtained by dividing the amount of population by the number 
of deaths from phthisis during the ten years named. Fractions are purposely avoided, . 
_ because the data are necessarily imperfect, and because such a comparative method 
for general purposes is better understood. 
On Patent Monopoly as affecting the encouragement, improvement, and pro- 
gress of Science, Arts, and Manufactures. By Henry Drecxs, C.E., 
PRS. 
On the New Scheme of Mr. C. Seely, M.P., and Mr. F. P. Fellows for Adimi- 
ralty Estimates, and “ Finance,” “ Expense,” “ Manufacturing,” and other 
Accounts, §c., recommended for adoption by the Committee of the House of 
Commons on Naval Monies and Accounts, and now being introduced. By 
Frank P. Fetztows, F.S.A., FSS. 
The author prefaced his remarks by explaining that for some years he had been 
