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16
So that tubercular diseases have declined from
a general average of 210 per 1000 deaths to 197;
and zymotic diseases from 204 to 181; while inflammatory
affections of the lungs have advanced from
165 to 173. For two years past the number of deaths
from scarlet-fever has been excessive : last year the
number was 127,and the year before it was 123, whereas
in the two preceding years it was but 40 and 30.
In the years 1863 and 1864, as well as in 1855, 1856,
and 1859, the mortality from scarlet-fever was unusually
high—in fact, it has prevailed as an epidemic
on 70 ccasions during the last 16 years, and frequently
with continued fevers. Last year the number of deaths
from the various forms of continued fever was only
54, whereas in the 5 years from 1862 to 1866, inclusive,
it ranged from 105 to 170 per annum. The
causes of these fluctuations in the severity of the
different kinds of zymotic diseases is entirely beyond
our comprehension; for although each year has its
special epidemic, yet in the aggregate the total mortality
from all forms of zymotic disease remains about
the same. This will be apparent from the following
table:—