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142
Deptford and Battersea, whilst in the North, Hackney and Finsbury are prominent
though to a somewhat less extent. A specially marked feature is the low prevalence
of both diseases in the West and North-west areas as regards both scarlet fever and
diphtheria. In these districts the overcrowded and insanitary neighbourhoods
are surrounded by better class residential property and more sparsely populated areas,
which provide a sluice against the tide of infection. The table also demonstrates
that scarlet fever and diphtheria definitely tend to run together.
In considering the densities of population in the various boroughs regard must
be paid to the fact that in some boroughs more or less extensive, areas are not residential,
such as in the case of Bermondsey where the docks cover a wide tract of
land ; if allowance is made for these unoccupied spaces the actual density of population
in Bermondsey is in the neighbourhood of 200 persons per acre instead of 79.
Again, in other boroughs, like Lambeth, certain quarters are densely populated
whilst in other parts of the borough good class residential property prevails,
thus providing a diluent to reduce the general density of the borough taken as a
whole.