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17
The table shows that there were 2,206 deaths from these
groups of diseases out of the 3,751 deaths from all causes, of
which 528 were from zymotic diseases, 774 from inflammatory
diseases of the lungs, 428 from tubercular affections ; 323 from
wasting, and 153 from convulsive diseases of children under 1
year old. The number of deaths in each 1,000 population from
all these causes varied but little during during the years 188387,
the highest rate having been 10.77 in 1885 and the lowest
9.78 in 1887. The highest mortality from any group of
diseases being 399 per 1,000 population from zymotic diseases
diseases in 1884, whilst the lowest rate from these affections
occurred this year, namely, 234. The highest rate from acute
pulmonary diseases happened in 1885, when it was 3.59, and
the next highest in 1887, when it reached 3.42 per 1,000
inhabitants. The deaths from tubercular diseases were unusually
low this year, namely, 190 against 2 63 per 1,000 population
in 1883, but the mortality from wasting diseases of infants under
1 year was rather high, so that probably some deaths which
would ordinarily have been classed with tubercular affections
were placed in this group. The mortality from convulsive diseases
of infants was lower than usual, which is a satisfactory return, as
these deaths are caused to a great extent by improper feeding
in children having a constitutional tendency to these diseases.
The deaths from pulmonary diseases (excluding phthisis,
which is a constitutional affeotion), as might have been expected,
have varied in different years to a greater extent than any other
of these groups of diseases, owing to their relation to extremely
cold weather. Since 1877 the annual death rates from these
affections per 10,000 population have been as follows: 36.8,45.3,
37.9, 33.1, 29.3, 35.9, 31.8, and 34.2. It is not what may be
called steady cold, so much as oscillations of very cold with
comparatively warm weather, with more or less fog, that injuriously
affects the lungs, as was well shown in 1887, when with
a continuous depression of temperature, we had a rather low
death rate in the early and late months of the year.