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21
months. Atrophy, Debility and Marasmus caused 15 deaths, and these terms
in most cases simply mean improper feeding. Adding these deaths to those
due to premature birth gives a total of 34 infant deaths for which it is not
unfair to say that the mother was responsible, in most cases no doubt through
ignorance. This number is really greater, because some of the deaths placed
under "other causes" were due to non-assimilation of food, and probably half
at least of the 14 deaths due to "Convulsions" were caused by errors of diet.
Five infants died from Whooping-cough, but none from any of the other
infectious diseases. The deaths from Whooping-cough and Diarrhoea together
give an infantile zymotic death-rate of 3 76 per 1000 births. Five infantile
deaths were due to tuberculous diseases, two more than last year.
Infantile Mortality-rate. There is far less margin for error in this
rate than in the others given in the Eeport, for it is calculated on actual
births and deaths registered during the year, and not on any estimated figures.
The official infantile mortality-rate is 136.8 per 1000 births. The correct
infantile mortality-rate, calculated after deducting the births and deaths of the
children of non-residents, is 127.0 per 1000 births. It is 32.5 per 1000 births
less than the rate for 1904, and well below the average for the last ten years.
It is 40.8 lower than the correct infantile mortality-rate last year.

It should be noted that the above rates are not calculated to annual
equivalents, as the quarterly birth and death-rates are, but the rate for each
quarter is based on the actual number of births and infant deaths registered in
that quarter.