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cent. of all the houses in the district, 12.2 per cent. were
infected in 1882, 39.6 per cent. in 1886, and 22.9 per cent. in
1887, making, with those in the quarter-mile radius, totals of
18.5, 55.1, and 36.2 respectively in the different years within
the half-mile radius. The mean of the infected houses in the
half-mile radius was 36.6 whilst the percentage of houses to all
the houses was only 21.1 per cent. Between the half and onemile
radii there were 31.5 per cent. of all the houses, whilst
the percentages of infected houses were as follows : in 1882,
29.6 per cent. ; in 1886, 23.4 per cent.; and in 1887, 26.3 per
cent., the mean number of infected houses being 26.4 per cent.
amongst 31.5 per cent. of all the houses. Outside the mile
radius there were 47.4 per cent. of all the houses in the district,
whilst the percentages of infected houses were as follows : 51.9
per cent. in 1882 ; 21.5 per cent. in 1886 ; 37.5 per cent. in
1887, giving a mean of 37.0 per cent. houses infected in the
47.4 per cent. of all the houses in the district.
If the density and the social status of the population, the means
of isolation for infected cases, and the possession of wealth were
the same all over the district, and returns of cases were furnished
to me in equal proportions, these results would be conclusive
against the hospital. The various parts of the district are,
however, occupied by persons differing in all these respects, as a
majority of those who reside within the quarter-mile radius are
comparatively poor. It is therefore evident that the chances
of the spreading of the disease are much greater here than elsewhere,
except in other localities occupied by the poor, where in
most instances local outbreaks have occurred. Again, as nearly all
the cases are removed to the hospital from the houses of the poor,
and I receive intimation of these removals, whilst I do not receive
information of the existence of the disease in more than a small
proportion of the houses of the more wealthy classes, the
comparison and conclusions are open to grave objections. As
regards small-pox the proportion of cases reported to total cases
is much greater than for scarlet fever, as the former diseaes