The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-23 00:00:00

HEALTH Of LONDON DURING TIE
WEEK.

(From the Report of the Registrar General.)

The deaths in London, which in the previous
week had f =lien as low as 963, rose in the week
ending Saturday, June 19, to 1160. In the 10
years 1848-57 the average number of deaths in the
weeks corresponding with last week was 958 ; but,
as the present return is for a population which has
annually increased, it can only be compared with
the average when the latter has been raised in pro-
portion to the increase, a correction which will
make it 1,053. The result of the comparison is that
the deaths of last week exceeded by about 100 the
number which the average rake of mortality for the
middle of June would have produced.
Taking the results of the last two weeks, it ap-
pears that deaths from zymotic diseases rose from
253 to 286 ; those from " local diseases" from 323
to 422 ; the " developmental," from 127 to 142 ;
violent deaths from 23 to 70 ; while deaths from
" constitutional diseases" (comprising phthisis,
scrofula, hydrocephalus, dropsy, cancer, &c.), ex-
hibited in the two weeks the same number—viz.,
227. The increase under violence is due to casual
irregularity in the registration of deaths of this de-
scription ; the increase in the zymotic class of dis-
eases, and propably tosome extent under other heads,
is the effect of the late extreme heat of the weather.
Measles, scarlatina, and hooping-cough showed but
slight change,while typhus (including common fever)
tose from 21 to 41, and diarrhoea from 18 to 31.
Diarrhoea, however, exceeds the corrected average
only in a trifling degree. Two young children died
of cholera. Deaths from disease of the heart in-
creased from 31 to 49 ; those from pneumonia from
39 to 51 ; disease of the liver from 11 to 21 ; those
of the kidneys from Bto 24. Five deaths from scar.;
latina occurred in the sub-district of St. Peter's,
Wal worth ; 4 in that of Lambeth Church (2d part).
Of four nonagenarians who died in the week the
oldest was a man aged 98 years.
Last week the births of 729 boys and 752 girls,
in all 1,481 children, were registered in London.
In the 10 corresponding weeks of the years 1848-57
the average number was 1,448.

COMPOSITION OF THE WATER SUPPLIED BY EIGHT
OF THE METROPOLITAN WATER COMPANIES IN

Mai, 1858.
The amount of impurity is expressed in degrees,
each degree being equivalent to 1 grain of foreign
matter present per gallon. The analyses were made
by Dr. Thomson, F.R.S., of St. Thomas's Hos-
pital.

Total Organic
Companies. Impurity. Impurity.
grs. or deg. grs. or deg.
Dis'illed water o'o
Kent . 25'36 2.40
New River
Grand Junction 17.08 1.80
Southwark 1684 1'76
Chelsea lB2O 1.68
Lambeth lB'4B 1.60
East London 15'92 I'4B
West Middlesex

All the samples were taken from the mains, with
the exception of the Lambeth specimen, which was
procured from a service-pipe at Champion-hill. The
present table, when compared with that for the
preceding month, exhibits a greater equality in the
composition of the waters generally, inconsequence
of the absence of rain, which has a tendency to
augment the impurity.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean
height of the barometer in the week was 29.803
inches. The highest barometrical reading was
29.99 inches on Saturday. The mean temperature
of the week was 67.7 deg., which is 8.5 deg. above
the average of the same week in 43 years (as deter=
mined by Mr. Glaisher). On Monday, Tuesday,
and Wednesday the mean daily temperature was
from 13 deg. to 17 deg. in excess of the average.
On Wednesday, which was the hottest day, the
thermometer in the shade rose to 94.5 deg. ; the
lowest point was 61.5 deg. The lowest tempera-
ture in the week was 48.5 deg. on Saturday, and
the extreme range was therefore 46 deg. The mean
daily range was 27.1 deg. The difference between
the mean dew-point temperature and air tempera-
ture was 10.1 deg. ; the mean degree of humidity
of the air was 69 ; on Wednesday it was only 56,
complete saturation being represented by 100. On
that day the wind was in the east ; during the rest
of the week it was in the south-west. The mean
temperature of the water of the Thames was 69.6
deg., or about 2 deg. higher than that of the air,
and so far favourable to evaporation. Some rain
fell on the afternoon of Friday.