THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. LIV 



these three embryologically different organs, rectum, in- 

 testines and peritoneum are arbitrarily lumped together 

 by the registrars of vital statistics. It is necessary for 

 present purposes to unscramble the figures with as little 

 arbitrariness as possible. Data (admittedly rather 

 meager) given by Hoffman 23 (pp. 116-121) from the New 

 York State investigation indicate that in a lumped total 

 of cancer of the peritoneum, intestines and rectum, the 

 fractions incident upon each of the organs are about 0.04 

 for peritoneum, 0.30 for rectum, and 0.66 for intestines. 

 As these figures are much less arbitrary than a mere 

 guess, I have adopted them. It should be remembered 

 that in the final result it makes little difference what 

 fraction is adopted, because the total rate under item 41 

 is so small. A remarkable thing which comes out when 

 the lumped figures for cancer of peritoneum, intestines 

 and rectum are subdivided in the above-named propor- 

 tions, is the similarity, amounting practically to identity, 

 in the death rates in all four times and places studied, 

 from cancer of the buccal cavity and cancer of the rectum. 

 The figures are as follows : 



This identity can hardly be accidental, since it occurs 

 in all three different localities with quite different cancer 

 rates in each. It indicates that the fundamental embryo- 

 logical likeness between buccal cavity and rectum is ac- 

 curately reflected in their neoplastic pathology, provided 

 it can be safely assumed the portion of the rectum in 

 which cancers preponderantly occur is ectodermic. This 

 appears to be the fact, (c) Item 86 (diseases of the 

 nasal fossae) is added, because the lining membrane of the 

 nose is ectodermal in origin. 



23 Hoffman, F. L., "The Mortality from Cancer throughout the World," 

 Newark, 1915. 



