Remarks suggested by the Glasgow bills of mortality. I. On the mortality of children in Glasgow.

  • Robert Cowan
Date:
1832
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Remarks suggested by the Glasgow bills of mortality. I. On the mortality of children in Glasgow. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    proving most satisfactorily the diminished danger of infancy from measles, and all other diseases. The following table exhibits the proportion which the still- born, the deaths under two, under five, under ten, and the total under ten, bear to the total deaths in the registers. The first five periods of six years each, are from Dr. Watt’s work, and the sixth has been made up by m yself, and is for the six years previous to 1831. Period. Still-born. Under 2. Under 5. Under 10. Total under 10. Total Deaths. 1 5-03 39-40 10-66 3-42 53-48 9994 2 5-53 42-38 11-90 3-79 58-07 11103 3 5-33 38-82 12-21 3-45 54-48 9991 4 6-69 33-50 13-43 5-10 52-03 10034 5 6-70 35-89 14-22 5-58 55-69 13354 6 7-49 36-84 9-03 5-12 50-84 31151 The foregoing table is constructed in the first five periods by Dr. Watt, and in the sixth by myself, on the same principle as the five preceding periods; and even on this defective principle, it proves, that Dr Watt’s conclusions as to the non-diminution of infantile mortality were completely erroneous. In the per centage of the still-born, there is a slight increase; but compare this with the population at any of the six periods, and you will find, that in reality, there is a diminution in the number of the stillborn. At all the different stages of life the improvement is marked and visible, and, consequently, in the totals, even admitting the stillborn. But to do justice to this subject, it would require the numbers of the stillborn, the numbers under two, five, and ten years, to be compared with the population of the city at each of the periods, and then the triumph of civilization, and the increasing success of medical treatment, would become more and more apparent. This I have done at large, but my time will not permit my inserting the tabular results here. It was my intention to have carried my inquiries farther into the great diminution in the mortality of the city of Glasgow, which has taken place, and which the mortality bills fully piove, but this must be delayed till some future opportunity. I o recapitulate. In the foregoing paper it has been proved. ]. I hat before the introduction of vaccination nearly 1 of the deaths under ten years of age were occasioned by small- pox. J