201 
“In the last twenty years,” says Dr. Farr, “the towns of 
England have increased from five hundred and eighty to 
nine hundred and thirty-eight, their population from nine 
to fourteen millions.” Supplement to 35th Ann. Rep., p. viii. 
The population throughout the country has increased so 
that, on the average, there are now 1'74 acres to each 
inhabitant, and in the decade (1841 — 50), there were 2'21 — 
and in most of the towns there is a still greater proportionate 
increase in the density; thus, in London, it has doubled 
the acreage to a person ; sinking from '04 to *02, and the 
• same proportionate increase is found at Plymouth ('04 to '02) ; 
at East Stonehouse it has sunk from '02 to '01 ; in Salford 
and Portsmouth the space has diminished from '08 to '05 ; 
in Leicester from *07 to '04 ; in Stoke-on-Trent from '23 to 
*15; in West Bromwich from *32 to '19. 
It is not easy to estimate the exact effect upon health of 
this crowding together of populations. Its operation is com- 
pounded of many distinct elements; thus Dr. Farr himself 
ascribes a direct influence to the dead and decomposing 
organic matter floating in the air ot towns, the product of 
respiration and of excrementitious matter of all kinds ; and 
there can be little doubt that it is a powerful predisposing 
cause of the large group of scrofulous diseases that annually 
carry off more than 30,000 persons. 
But in towns there are found many other malign influ- 
ences in full operation in much greater abundance than in 
the country ; ill-ventilated, unhealthy, crowded dwellings ; 
sedentary and unwholesome trades and occupations; together 
with much freer play to the two other causes of increased 
mortality that have been mentioned, such as increased facili- 
ties and temptations to the use of strong drink ; female em- 
ployment, and consequent neglect of children b}^ their mothers. 
That town-life is more unhealthy than country-life, and 
that the mortality increases in some way with the density of 
the population is sufficiently shown by the following table : 
