May 25, 1906.] 



SCIENCE. 



823 



summaries of the different state sections of 

 our Climatological Service of the Weather 

 Bureau. 



VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS AND RAINFALL. 



The eruption of Vesuvius draws attention 

 once more to the supposed connection between 

 rainfall and volcanic activity. Curiously- 

 enough, a recent number (Vol. III., No. 1) 

 of the Bolletino of the Italian Meteorolog- 

 ical Society contains a paper on this subject. 

 It appears, from studies at Mt. Etna, that 

 there is no evidence of any relation between 

 the activity of the volcano and local rainfall. 

 In this investigation both the daily variation 

 in activity during the 1892 eruption, and the 

 whole series of eruptions whose dates are 

 accurately known, are taken into account. 



E. DeC. Ward. 



ENGLISH VITAL STATISTICS. 



The registrar-general's annual summary, 

 giving the births, deaths and causes of death 

 in London and other large towns in 1905, has 

 just been issued. According to the abstract 

 in the London Times the 76 great towns of 

 England and Wales dealt with in the weekly 

 returns for 1905 contained an estimated popu- 

 lation of 15,609,377 persons in the middle of 

 that year. The births registered in these 

 towns in the period of 52 weeks ended Decem- 

 ber 30, 1905, numbered 438,360, and were equal 

 to a rate of 28.2 per 1,000 of the population, 

 the rates in the three preceding years having 

 been 30.0, 29.7 and 29.1. The deaths regis- 

 tered in the same period numbered 244,840, 

 and corresponded to a crude rate of 15.7 per 

 1,000, the rates in the three preceding years 

 having been 17.4, 16.3 and 17.2. The death 

 rate in 1905, calculated without reference to 

 sex and age constitution of the populations, 

 varied, as usual, considerably in the several 

 towns, the lowest crude rate being 7.6 per 1,000 

 in Hornsey, and the highest, 22.1, in Merthyr 

 Tydvil. 



The 244,840 deaths at all ages included 

 61,279 of infants in their first year of life. 

 In the 76 great towns infantile mortality, 

 measured by the proportion of deaths under 



one year to registered births, was 140 per 

 1,000, the mean proportion in the preceding 

 three years having been 150. Smallpox was 

 the cause of 51 deaths in the 76 towns. Of 

 these 10 belonged to London, 7 to Bradford, 

 5 to Oldham, 4 to Southampton, 4 to Burnley, 

 4 to South Shields and smaller numbers to 

 11 other great towns. Measles was the regis- 

 tered cause of 6,058 deaths, which correspond- 

 ed to a rate of 0.39 per 1,000 living at all 

 ages. Scarlet fever caused 2,082 deaths, which 

 corresponded to a rate of 0.13 per 1,000 living. 

 Diphtheria (exclusive of croup unless stated to 

 be membranous) was the stated cause of 2,528 

 deaths, corresponding to a mortality of 0.16 

 per 1,000 of the population. Wliooping cough 

 accounted for 4,507 deaths and for a mortality 

 equal to 0.29 per 1,000 living at all ages. Con- 

 tinued fever, mainly enteric, was the regis- 

 tered cause of 1,252 deaths, equal to a rate of 

 0.08 per 1,000 of the population. Diarrhoea 

 (including dysentery and English cholera) 

 accounted for 12,877 deaths at all ages, and 

 for a death rate of 0.83 per 1,000 of the popu- 

 lation. 



The marriages in London during the year 

 1905 nimibered 39,631, corresponding to a rate 

 of 16.9 persons married per 1,000 of the popu- 

 lation at all ages. This rate was 0.1 per 1,000 

 below the corresponding rate in 1904, and was 

 1.0 per 1,000 below the average rate in the ten 

 years 1895-1904. In the year 1894 the mar- 

 riage rate was 17.0; from that date it gradu- 

 ally rose to 18.8 in the year 1898, since which 

 year it has declined almost continuously to its 

 present level. The number of births regis- 

 tered in London during the 52 weeks ended 

 December 30, 1905, was 126,620. In propor- 

 tion to the total population of both sexes and 

 all ages, these births were equal to a rate of 

 27.1 per 1,000. The birth rate in 1905, cal- 

 culated in this way, was 0.8 per 1,000 below 

 that in 1904, and was 2.2 per 1,000 below the 

 average in the ten years 1895-1904. In the 

 year 1895 the birth rate was 30.6 per 1,000, 

 showing an increase on the rate in the previ- 

 ous year. Since that date, however, the birth 

 rate has gradually decreased, the rate in the 

 year 1905 being the lowest on record. The 



