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8
the case of the City, there have been but three occasions
during the last ten years, when the mortality
has been so high. The cause of this remarkable
increase of the death-rate is only to be found in
the singularly dry condition of the atmosphere
during many months of the year; for not only has
there been less rain than usual, in the proportion
of 17.24 inches instead of 23.27 for the whole
year, but the average degree of atmospheric humidity
has been but 77 instead of 80, and the
number of wet days has been only 147 instead of
169. And besides this, the temperature of the air
has been fully a degree below the average. It
would seem, therefore, that frequent showers of
rain are beneficial in clearing the atmosphere of
impurities, and in keeping it in a normal state
of humidity.
As regards the ages at death, the principal facts
are recorded in Table IV. of the Appendix;
and it will be noticed that 37 per cent, of all the
deaths in the year have been among children of
less than five years of age, and of these about half
have died in the first year of infancy. In other
words, there have been 2,780 births in the City
during the year, and there have been 517 deaths
of children less than a year old; so that rather more
than 18 per cent., or about 1 in 6 of all the children
born have died in the first year of their