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25
SUMMARY OF VITAL AND MORTAL
STATISTICS, KENSINGTON.
In the table at page 26 there will be found a summary of
the principal vital and mortal statistics of the year arranged in
four-weekly periods corresponding to the dates of the monthly
reports, the maxima and minima being indicated by
distinctive type.
We have already seen that the birth-rate in 1898 was
21.1 per 1,000,as compared with the decennial average 22.2, and
that the death-rate, 16.3 per 1,000, was 0.7 per 1,000 above the
rate in 1897 (15.6) and 0.4 below the deccnnial average (16.7).
There were, as usual, considerable fluctuations in the rate at
different periods of the year ; the rate ranging between the
minimum (12.7) in the twelfth four-weekly period, ended
December 3rd. and the maximum (21.9) in the first fourweekly
period ended January 29th. During the first four fourweekly
periods, the rate was above the decennial average rate.
In the remaining periods the rate was in three instances above,
and in six instances below, the average. The deaths in the
first half-period of the year (1,647) were more by 396 than
those in the second half-period (1,251); the death-rate in the
two half-periods being 19.2 and 14.5 per 1,000 respectively.
There was no very remarkable difference in the number of
deaths from the principal diseases of the zymotic class in the
two half-periods, (such as there had been, to the number of 158,
in 1897) the number in the first six months having been 193, as
compared with 154 in the last half of the year. The 347
deaths from these causes were 37 more than the number in
1897, and 8 below the corrected decennial average (355).
The deaths from the diseases of the respiratory organs (571)
were 80 in excess of the number in 1897 (491). The deaths
from phthisis were 217.
The mean temperature of the air at Greenwich during
the year was, approximately, 51.3 degrees Fahr.; the means of
the four quarters successively being, 41.0, 50.3, 59.7, and 47.5.