The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-17 00:00:00

BEALTII OF LONDON DURING THE

WEEK.

(From the Report of the Registrar-General.)
The deaths registered in London, which were
1,182 in the week that ended Nov. 5, were 1,051 in
the week that ended last Saturday. In the 10
years 1849-58 the average number of deaths in the
weeks corresponding with last week was 1,068 ; but
as the deaths now returned occurred in an increased
population, they should be compared with the aver-
age raised in proportion to the increase, namely,
with 1,174. Last week was therefore so far favour-
able to health that the deaths in it were less by 123
than the number which would have occurred if the
average rate of mortality for -the early part of No-
vember had prevailed.
The deaths from bronchitis continue to increase ;
in the three weeks they were 58, 90, and 102 ;
those from pneumonia had risen to 73 in the pre-
vious week, but they declined to 60 last week.
Whooping-cough has also declined to 14. There
were 21 from small-pox. Scarlatina maintains a
high mortality, and is now the most fatal in
the zymotic claibs ; 98 deaths are referred to it,
and eight to diphtheria. Scarlatina was fatal in
11 cases in Pancras and in 14 in Islington. Two
children died of suppressed scarlatina and mumps,
at 2, Ship-street, St. George-in-the-East. Two in-
fants died by murder or manslaughter, 3 were suf-
focated in bed, 2 died from being neglected at birth.
Four persons hanged themselves, among whom was
a boy only 14 years of age.
Of bricklayers 1 died in the week, of bricklayers'
wives 1, of bricklayers' children 6; of carpenters 8
died in the week, of carpenters' wives 4, of carpen-
ters' children 7 ; of painters 8 died, of painters'
wives 7, of painters' children 9 ; of plasterers' chil-
dren 1 died.
Last week the births of 918 boys and 930 girls,
in all 1,848 children, were registered in Loudon.
In the 10 corresponding weeks of the years 1849-
58, the average number was 1,592.

METROPOLITAN WATERS IN OCT., 1859.
The following table of analyses of the waters
used in London has been prepared from his ex-
periments by Dr. Robert Dundas Thomson,
F.R.S., of St. Thomas's Hospital. For the sake
of comparison the composition of one of the un-
wholesome shallow wells of the metropolis is added,
and likewise that of the Clyde, the old supply to
Glasgow, and that of Loch Katrine, the new water
supply to that city. Although the Clyde was
only half as impure as the Thames the inhabitants
have cheerfully submitted to the expense of
obtaining their water from a distant and pure
source, rather than use the water of the river close
at hand, contaminated as it is with the sewage of
the upper districts :

Total impurity Organic ina
per gallon. purity.
grs. or deg. gni. or deg.
0.0 0.0

Distilled Water
Loch Katrine water, new supply
to Glasgow
Clyde, Old supply to Glasgow...,
Well, Church-street, Camberwell
THAMES COMPANIES.
Chelsea
Southwark
Grand Junction
West Middlesex

2'll 0.8
9.5? 1.08
112.51$ 13.44

11'56
17*20
17.96
17'52
17'80

21)8
1.6-1
0.96
110
110

Lambeth
OTHER COMPANIES.
New Iliver
1810 I'6o
Last London
Kent
23'32 2*(4
The table is read thus—Loch Katrine water contains in the
gallon 2.14 degrees or grains of foreizn matter in solution, of
which •8 degrees or grains are of vegetable or animal origtin.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean
height of the barometer in the week was 30.022 in.
The mean daily reading was above 30 in. on the
last four days. The readings rose from 29.22 in. on
Sunday to 30.56 in. on Friday, being the lowest and
highest in the week. The mean temperature of the
air in the week was 43.7 deg., which is less by 0.9
deg. than the average of the same week in 43 years
(as determined by Mr. Glaisher.) The mean daily
temperature was below the average on the last four
days. On Sunday its excess above the average was
8.7 deg. ; on Thursday its depression was 7.3 deg.
The highest point attained by the thermometer in
the shade was 60.4 deg. on Sunday; its lowest
point was 29 deg., or 3 deg. below the freezing
point of water on Thursday. The range in the week
was therefore 31.4 dog. The mean daily range was
13 deg.; the range on Wednesday was only 8.7
deg. The difference between the mean dew-point
temperature and air temperature was 6.6 deg. The
mean degree of humidity of the air was 78. The
mean .temperature of the water of the Thames was
48.8 deg., which is 5.1 deg. above that of the air.
On Thursday the thermometer on the grass fell to
20 deg. At the beginning of the week the wind
blew from the south-west, afterwards from the
north, and on the last two days from the south-
east. Rain fell to the amount of 0.52 in., nearly
all of which fell on Sunday. Sunday was
stormy ; the wind blew with an average velocity of
27 miles an hour, and with an average pressure of
61b. on the square foot, and at night there was
thunder and lightning. Fog prevailed on the morn-
ings of Thursday and Friday. On the former day
the temperature of the Thames was about 3 deg.
above the highest temperature of the air, and 10
deg. above the lowest.