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44
This table shows the highest and lowest temperatures, the
mean temperature, and the rainfall for each month. They do
not differ materially from those recorded at Greenwich, and I
therefore adopt the Greenwich temperatures, rather than these,
for comparison with former years. It will, however, be noticed
that a very high temperature, viz., 91.8 degrees, was recorded
in July, and a rather low temperature in January, viz., 22.6,
giving the large range of 692 degrees in the year. The mean
temperature of August, viz., 58.5, and the highest, viz., 79.0,
were very low as compared with that of 1884, so that the
mortality from diarrhoea in that month was comparatively small,
122 deaths from this cause having been registered, against 190
in 1884. The temperature in January, March and December,
was generally low, especially in January, when it was only 36.1
against 440 in 1884, and 38.9 in December, against 414 in
1884. The mortality from inflammatory diseases of the lungs
was high this year, viz., 756 against 603 in 1884, so that the
balance of deaths due to the temperature was large in 1885, and
yet the annual death rate was 0.6 per 1000 population below
that of 1884, chiefly in consequence of the diminished mortality
from small-pox, whooping cough, and scarlet fever. The
number of deaths from measles was, however, very large, viz.,
168 against 55 in 1884, but this unusual mortality was not only
due to its prevalence, but also in part to the cold weather from
the inflammatory affections of the lungs, to which the mortality
of measles is attributable. There was very little sunshine in
January, with a spell of cold between the 12th and 26th, and
variable as regards temperature during the rest of the month.
At Greenwich (from which alone the differences from the mean
are given,) the temperature was — 139 deg. Fahr., as compared
with the average for the 44 preceding years. In February, the
temperature was + 4.3, having been in excess on almost every
day of the month. In March, the opposite obtained, as the
mean temperature was — 1.4, having been below the mean
with the exception of the three or four days. In April, the