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the lungs, affections of the liver, stomach, bowels, joints, and
diseases of women. There were, as might have been expected,
as many as 1241 deaths from these causes, or 43.9 per cent. of
the whole. The number of deaths in each order differed
considerably from those of last year, as in 1875 there were 356
deaths from brain disease, against 379 in 1876; whilst the
deaths from heart disease differed very little, having been 187 in
one year and 186 in the other. The mortality from affections of
the lungs was very much larger in 1875 than in 1876, owing to
the great severity of the winter in the former year, as no less
than 372 deaths from bronchitis and 100 from inflammation
of the substance of the lungs were registered in 1875, against
282 from bronchitis, and 145 from pneumonia in 1876. The
total from diseases of the lungs, exclusive of consumption,
was 622 in 1875, and only 479 in 1876. The deaths from
affections of the stomach and bowels were nearly the same
in both years, viz., 118 and 123. The mortality from developmental
diseases, which include premature birth and debility,
malformations from birth, and deaths from old age, also never varies
very much, so that it is not surprising to find 370 in 1875
against 378 in 1876. The percentage from this class was 13.4
of the whole. Violent deaths were also very close, viz., 85 and
81, or 2.9 per cent. of all the deaths in each year.
The ages at death varied considerably from those in former
years, as a very large proportion of deaths happened during the
first year of life, and less than usual between 1 and 5; so that
although there were as many as 27.4 per cent. of deaths under
1 year against 24.5 last year, the percentages of total deaths
under 5 were nearly the same, viz., 41.5 in 1876, and 41.3 in
1875, the mean of 1866-75 having been 40.02. This large
proportion of deaths of infants to total deaths has been
increasing of late, in consequence of the greater number of
births, but as there were only 14.6 deaths to each 100 births,
the death rate is much below the average for all London, which
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