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such proportions, I must point out to you that it is less
in both cases than the average of the 9 years 1869—77,
that of the deaths of children under one year having been
27 per cent., and under 5 years nearly 50 per cent. Information
on this point may be gained from a perusal of Table II.
Zymotic diseases, such as Small Pox, Measles, Scarlet Fever,
Whooping Cough, and Diarrhoea, contributed a large share towards
this infant mortality, no less than 231 of the 288 deaths from
diseases of a Zymotic character having been those of children under
five years of age—Whooping Cough and Diarrhoea having contributed
between them 135. Of 205 deaths from Constitutional
diseases, 89 were those of children under 5 years of age, of which
number 67 were due to Tabes Mesenterica, popularly known as Consumption
of the Bowels. Of 526 deaths from local diseases, 234
were those of children under 5 years of age. Local diseases include
Diseases of the Brain and Nervous System, of the Organs of Circulation,
of the Organs of Eespiration, and the other various organs
and members of the body. Of these 234 deaths, 71 were due to
Inflammation of the Brain and Convulsions, and 140 to inflammatory
affections of the lungs, such as Bronchitis and Pneumonia. Of 130
deaths from diseases incidental to Development, 83 were those of
children under 5 years of age. Of these 29 were due to premature
Birth, 20 to Teething, and 31 to Debility.
We find, therefore, that the principal causes of infant mortality
in the District have been Measles, Whooping Cough, Diarrhœa,
Tabes Mesenterica, Inflammation of the Brain, Convulsions,