PHILOSOPHICAL 
TRANSACTIONS. 
XI. Of the Influence of Cold upon the Health of the Inhabitants of 
London. By William Heberden fun. M. D. F. R. S. 
Read March 10, 1796. 
The extraordinary mildness of last January, compared with 
the unusual severity of the January preceding, affords a pecu- 
liarly favourable opportunity of observing the effect of each of 
these seasons contrasted with each other. For of these two 
successive winters, one has been the coldest, and the other 
the warmest, of which any regular account has ever been kept 
in this country. Nor is this by any means an idle speculation, 
or matter of mere curiosity ; for one of the first steps towards 
preserving the health of our fellow-creatures, is to point out 
the sources from which diseases are to be apprehended. And 
what may make the present inquiry more particularly useful, 
is that the result, as I hope clearly to make appear by the 
following statements, is entirely contrary to the prejudices 
usually entertained upon this subject. 
Oo 
MDCCXCVI, 
