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the mortality rapidly increased. The cold was most fatal to the old,
the very young, the diseased, and the debilitated. The Registrar
General has indicated a remarkable law, subject to which death from
cold takes place. He says, in brief, "taking the increase of mortality
by cold between 20—40 as one, then the mortality became 2, 4, 8,
and so on, doubling every 9 years." Again, "the mortality from
cold increased 8 per cent, for every year of age, or it doubled every
9 years from the age of 20, as it did in 1855."
The Death-rate among Infants in St. Giles District.
21. In the year 1874 the number of deaths among Infants
under 1 year of age was 286 (excluding the deaths in the Infants'
Home and the British Lying-in Hospital). Of these 66 belonged
to St. George Bloomsbury, 134 to St. Giles South, and 86 to St.
Giles North.
22. The rate of mortality in each Sub-District was as follows:—
Whole District 1 Death in every 5-46 Births = 18'4 per cent, of Births.
St. George Bloomsbury 1 do. do. 7'18 do. = 13492 do.
St. Giles South 1 do. do. 4'2 do. = 23'8 do.
St. Giles North 1 do. do. 61 do. = 16'4 do.
23. The subjoined table shows the proportion of deaths of
Infants to all deaths, which is the ordinary mode of comparison.
Whole District 1 Death to every 4.8 of all Deaths
St. George Bloomsbury 1 do. do. 4'85 do.
St. Giles South 1 do. do. 4'72 do.
St. Giles North 1 do. do. 4'19 da
24. There appears, on the surface, a remarkable discrepancy
between these tables. According to the second table, St. George
Bloomsbury (1 in 4-85), and St. Giles South (1 in 4'72), are
nearly on a par as regards deaths of infants to total deaths, and a
stranger to the district would conclude, unhesitatingly, that their
sanitary condition must be similar. This conclusion would, however,
be erroneous, and would be dissipated on an examination of the first
table, when the deaths of infants, to births, in St. George
Bloomsbury, is represented as 1 in 7.18, and in St. Giles South, as
1 in 4'2. The deaths in St. Giles South are clearly in great excess.
25. The reason why the Death-rate of infants, in relation to
total deaths, is nearly as high in Bloomsbury as in St. Giles South,
is because St. George Bloomsbury has a low Death-rate at all ages,
which, of course, gives a relative preponderance to its infant deaths.
This method of estimating the Death-rate is liable to fallacies,
which are avoided by estimating it in relation to births.
The Death-rate among Persons 60 years of Age
and upwards.
26. The registered deaths among persons 60 years of age and
upwards were 278 ; but various corrections have to be made, as I
have already detailed (§ 12), with reference to the general Deathrate.
After these corrections, the number is 287, of which 62