The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-01-15
VITAL STATISTICS OF THE METROPOLIS.

VITAL STATISTICS OF THE METROPOLIS.
~~~>o~~~~c~~o~o~~-~~
The Deaths, Births and Marriages
for the Year 1858.
In accordance with usual custom at the commence
ment Of each year. publish the vital statistics Of the
city for the preceding twelve months The tables show
ing the number Of deathsom the various diseases
much interest," not only or the medical fraternity but for
all who concerned in the health Of the great metropolis
and this account for than the Inhabitants
themselves The silent lessons which they teach full Of
meaning they should be Of practical value to Our c
zens and yet there is city perhaps in Christendom
where less attention and paid to the laws Of hy
giene With location which can hardly be surpassed
for s healthness, with system Of sewerage that i'm
proves every year. with abundance Of the purest
ter flowing in subteranean pipes beneath every street,
with climate equal if not superior to that of any city
the whole continenwh all these advantages Its favor
the mortality Of New York that Of many of the
most unhealthy cities in the world When into the
statistics before the Of this excessive mortality
becomes painfully apparent They explain at the
reason, although they will doubtless fail, statistics
have heretofore failed, in pointing out the remedy The
cause, have sad painfully apparent and may be
found in the reckless indifference to the value Of human
life which prevalent among We do not alude to
the number Of deaths from what improperly called
accidental causes but to the fatal diseases engendered by
individual carelessness among which may cnumerate
large portion Of those which put down to the credit
Of consumption and other diseases or consumption not
less than died. which about oneeighth Of the whole
NUMBER but how much of this mortality produced by
reckless exposure would be impossible to say We be-
leve would be unfair to attribute this to our climate,
and constrained therefore, to adopt the opinion
cans uRt he looke in tho
nees Of the people themselves It is somewhat
singular that the deaths from this disease bear
about the same proportion every TO the total amount
set down in the bills Of mortality. Consumption fact
stands always At the head Of the list Of fatal Diseases and
numbers victims than any other the Of
death. Next the list is infanle commissions of which
e55 died, and after this comes cholera nfanum from
which the deaths ,5o3 Then have the still
born cases. which always occupy conspicuous place in
the mortality tables and which this year put down
1,4ss. 1t is said, and it may be well to state here that
many of the enumerated under this head abor
tons and that the practice Of procuring such carried
on 10 fearful extent in New York. To these stborn
cases. so called may be added the premature births OF
which there 4s4 during the year just closed There
five deaths from yellow fever-a fact which
tce simply to show that the disease exist among
without necessarily becoming epidemic, and also to prove
that the presence of in the city affords
able cause for alarm. .---.-s.s
As usual, the children have contributed the largest
number Of recruits to the ranks Of DEATH and the whole
mortality s,568, than third, under one
year old while of children under ten years IA o39 died.
1t may be gratifying TO know Offset TO this that 7l9
lived to between sixty and seventy ass between seventy
and eighty, 197 TO between eighty and ninety 80 to be-
tween ninety and one hundred and to hundred
The deaths among males is almost always the case
more than amongst the females as may be seen
fron he 70 owi ntive6 6our
men 44ol
women ................. ,2g8
boys..... S,22S
1lrs. ,52S
From the table giving the classification of diseases it
viii be that those of the throat and Lungs most
destructive TO human Ife and number 6,543, while
there were 6,0l5 deaths from diseases of tho
stomach, bowels and other digestive organs. There
feature in this table which is deserving of par
tcular notice, indicating either remarkable amount
Of ignorance among portion of the medical profession
a lamentable falling of in medical science ITSELF We
refer the deaths which set down unknown, and
which reach the large number of 81. OF killed
dered there 46 cases of suicide IL Of drowned
157 of casualties, 14s; of fractures 62 of accidental
suocaton, 20; of stroke 81 and of burned scad-
ed, 1l3
The table of the nativity of the deceased shows
that 3s25 were born in Ireland, 1455 in Ger
many II 575 in the United States 40 in England 6o in
Scotland and 102 France Tie whole number of deaths
among persons born outside of the United States was
6,lS7.
From the return of deaths in each month it appears
that greatest Of mortality in the month Of
July when o747 persons died, while the month of juno
would seem to be the heatest in the whole year, if We
should Judge by number of deaths, which did not ex
| ceed 1,5I6.
1t is with feeling of relief turn from the terri
bic array Of statistics presented by the tables Of NOR
taly to the monthly Of marriages for the r
commencing November 1857. and ending Octobe 1853
They arc full Of suggestions of pleasant cf racor and
although they but Of dry ara tedious agures,
yet they possess much meaning and interest those who
look below the surface Of tnnss Each marriage cf The
42s recorded the table referred TO has doubtless soe
.nirg Of roahse blended with its reality, and in the sum
total there is perhaps of the move, a w9aaeru
than could be found in all the works of fiction published
iof the last twenty years including the efforts of the
French feulletonss. Pleasant however, as the task
might be- it is not with the romantic portion of facts
before us that have to DEAL but with the returns as
they appear and the compaf sops they afford BY ree-
renee TO tic table, ii will be that the ages Of the per-
sons married vary from under twenty to eighty that
| a very considerable portion of them either did not
know how old they were, or were unwilling to tell;
that not few were widowed, and that eight coored
were married to as many white womon-whch latter fact
ought to be particularly gratifying to the abolition portion
Of the community There arc, may also be seen some
months which are more favored than others by those who
seek in married life relief from the duh monotony Of SIN
gle blessedress and bacholorshp. Thus, il would seem
that while November March, April and are less pro-
ductve IN the bymenal crop, the months Of January,
May August and September the most prolific Of the
whole twelve. Why this should be so we do not pretend
to diynewe leave it for the phuosophic mind to deter.
mine is curious to observe how rapidly the number of
married females diminish they have passed the ago
oftoeny lvcan age which, by the way they arc gene,
rally atoeraby longer time IN attaining than allowed
by the yearly calendar. However this may be- ct
that after the age stated the marriages among be-
come gradually less up to the age Of seventy sixty