238 
Infantile mortality in France. 
[1892 to 1897, inclusive.] 
Place. 
Deaths at all 
ages from all 
causes. 
Deaths of in- 
fants under 1 
year per 1,000 
of all deaths at 
all ages. 
Deaths from 
diarrhea and 
gastro enteritis 
of infants un- 
der 1 year per 
1,000 deaths un- 
der 1 year from 
all causes. 
Paris, population 2,511,629 
303, 206 
145.35 
380. 30 
11 cities between 100,000 and 500,000 inhabitants having 
a combined population of 2,365,238 
322,129 
184. 73 
420.49 
47 cities between 30,000 and 100,000 inhabitants having 
a combined population of 2,421,820 
334,032 
167.25 
350.06 
622 cities of less than 30,000 inhabitants having a com- 
bined population of 5,892,034 
790, 576 
168.13 
(“) 
“ Not recorded. 
In Paris and the cities of France having over 30,000 inhabitants 
the deaths from diarrhea by months per 1,000 infants under 1 year 
dying from all causes were as follows: 
January 212. 8 
February 211. 1 
March 224.8 
April 254. 8 
May 303.1 
June 426. 4 
July 587.1 
August 606.4 
September 537. 7 
October 431. 5 
November 304. 6 
December 235. 9 
It is seen from these figures that, though the months of June, July, 
August, September, and October present the most deplorable propor- 
tion of deaths from diarrhea, this cause is not negligible in autumn 
and winter. 
In Germany, according to Behring, of every 1,000 children born 
alive 235 succumb during the first year of life. Only 510 out of 
1,000 males born attain manhood. Not more than a third of those 
reaching maturity are found to be fit for military service. These 
sad facts Behring attributes very largely to the ulterior effects of 
infection derived in infancy from milk. 
DIARRHEAL DISEASE AND MILK. 
The statistics given show how large a proportion of all deaths are 
among infants. It has been said that there is only one other period in 
life in which the chance of death is greater than it is under 1 year, 
namely, in persons over 90 years old. It is seen also that no cause is so 
prolific among children in the first year of life as disease of the diges- 
tive organs. Diarrheal diseases of infants are generally accepted to be 
due to impure food ; but there is no reason to believe that the alimen- 
tary canal of the average infant is often incapable of digesting the food 
necessary for growth and development when the food supplied is of 
