18 



be more than four years less than that of the persons living 

 in England in 1876. Our colony is very young, not fifty 

 years of age : our community is young, time has not been 

 allowed even for our early settlers to attain to extreme years. 

 There is a constant immigration of persons, none of whom 

 are above forty years of age, and so it comes to pass that our 

 mean age is four years less than that of the mother country. 

 But the shorter duration of life is only one year and four 

 months. So we may believe that this is fully explained by 

 that, and more than explained ; and that although our mean 

 duration of life in those who die of phthisis is sixteen months 

 less than at home, yet it is quite possible, nevertheless, that 

 we may be attacked at a later rather than an earlier age, and 

 our duration of life after invasion, both among those who are 

 attacked here and those who contract the complaint elsewhere, 

 may be longer than in England. There is one other circum- 

 stance which may be mentioned, too, by way of explanation 

 and palliation of our lower age at death. It is this : — There is 

 confessedly considerable immigration of people in the early 

 stages of consumption from Britain to these colonies. These 

 come out here and die. ]S"ow it seems very natural that these 

 should consist almost entirely of the young. Eor when men 

 have attained to middle age they are engaged in business 

 pursuits which to leave would be to ruin, or are surrounded 

 by families, to whom domestic necessities and domestic 

 affections inseparably bind them. But the young, more 

 sanguine of benefit than the old, more attracted by the novelty 

 of travel, less fettered by business and by family ties, find it 

 more convenient and congenial to take the voyage. They come 

 out here, and they die. The older die at home. These raise 

 the mean duration of life in phthisis in England — those lower 

 it in South Australia. Again we require the blank space 

 filled up in our death certificates, that we may know among 

 those who die at early ages, how long they have been in the 

 colony. 



Lstlueh'ce of Season. 



If we prepare a table showing the number of deaths which 

 have occurred during each of the twelve months of the years 

 1872-77 we find that in January 84 died, in February 71, in 

 March 102, in April 113, in May 102, in June 85, in July 89, 

 in August 102, in September 93, in October 105, in jSovember 

 90, and in December 77. Whence it appears that the fewest 

 deaths during any three consecutive months occurred in 

 December, January, and February, with a total of 232 ; most 

 deaths in the next three months of March, April, and May, 

 viz., 317 ; during the next quarter, June, July, and August, the 



