Page:Transactions of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, volume 4.djvu/296

 194 Plymouth. In the case of the parish of St. Paul, indeed, if we include the deaths from decline with those from consumption (179 of the former and 18 of the latter, and there can be little doubt that the majority of the cases marked decline were, in fact, consumption) we have the proportion of deaths from this disease very nearly the same as at London and Plymouth, viz. 1 in 4.6. In the parish of St. Hilary, supposing the cases of tussis (7) and tabes (70) to have been instances of pulmonary consumption, the proportion of deaths from this cause, upon the whole number of diseases, is 1 in 11.3; but rejecting those which are marked unknown, many of which must have been owing to tuberculous phthisis, the proportion is then 1 in 4.3. This, it will be observed, is less than the proportion usually given of mortality from consumption in recent investigations, Dr. Clark making the proportion, both in France and England, no less than one-third. I own I cannot bring my mind to admit so large a proportion for this country as one-third, fearfully prevalent and fatal as l know this disease to be; and the result of my general observation respecting the causes of death in my public and private practice, and among my friends and neighbours, during the last twenty years, is in some degree corroborated by the statistical results. The mean proportion of deaths from phthisis at Carlisle, London, Plymouth, and the Landsend, is 1 in 5.6.

It is the opinion of some of the older practitioners of the district, that consumption is more prevalent