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parents either administer some of the nostrums so widely
advertised or consult a chemist. The latter is not paid for professional advice, nor is he qualified to give it. We are constantly
preaching the necessity of obtaining immediate medical advice
in cases of bronchitis of infants and young children. In former
years the bronchitis mortality was notably in excess of the
pneumonia. In general practice throughout the country about
50 per cent. of all deaths of young children from the combined
diseases are ascribed to pneumonia; but in hospital practice,
where post-mortem examinations are made, the pneumonic
condition has been proved to be the cause of death in some
94 per cent. of all cases.
The Problem of the Birth Rate in other Countries.
The serious decline in the French birth rate, which last
year showed a falling off of 32,869 births as compared with
1910, has led the Minister of Finance to appoint a Commission
for the purpose of investigating the causes of the decline and
of suggesting remedies. In emphasising the importance of
immediate action if France is to maintain her position in the
world, M. Jacques Bertillon, the eminent statistician, points
out that whereas a century ago, 27 per cent. of the population
of the great European powers were French, to-day the proportion
is only 11 per cent. Formerly French was the most
widely spoken language ; to-day it is the mother tongue of only
45,000,000 as compared with 100,000,000 who speak German,
and 130,000,000 who speak English. As for remedies,
M. Bertillon insists that Frenchmen must be taught to regard
a child as a burden which its father supports for the benefit of
the whole community. But in order that a family should pay
what it owes to the State it should consist of at least three
children—two to fill the places of the parents when they die,
the third to fill the gaps caused by those who die before attaining adult age. In order to promote this end M. Bertillon