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4
Inquests
were held in 52 cases. The causes of death were returned
as follows:—
Natural Causes 23
Violent deaths— 29
Accidental 10
Suicidal 8
Homicidal 2
Eighteen deaths were registered as "Not Certified," no
inquest being considered necessary by the Coroner after
inquiry.
Meteorology.
The mean temperature of the air at Greenwich in 1886
was 48.7° Fahreinheit, or 0.6° below the average of 40 years.
The highest reading by day, 89.8°, was registered in
July, and the lowest reading by night, 16.0°, in January.
Rain fell on 1G3 days, the total amount of rainfall being
24.21 inches, a slight increase on the previous year, but still
an inch below the average.
Milk.
Too much importance cannot be attached to the necessity
of having all milk cooked before using it, for though all
dairies and milk shops are carefully inspected, and the cleanliness
and well-being of the cows insisted upon, diseases of
cattle come on so insidiously, that long before the dairyman
has any suspicion of danger, zymotic disease, more especially,
it is thought, scarlet fever, may be spread unwittingly over a
district.
The simple act of boiling destroys the poisonous germs,
and enables the milk to be kept longer without decomposition.
Water Supply.
The water supply still continues to be of good quality
and free from impurity, but I must again impress upon