The New York herald., 1868-03-18
THE BOARD OF HEALTH.

The Board Of Health held their regular weekly
meeting yesterday afternoon, the President Mr.
George Lincoln, In the chair. The Sanitary Commit
mittee, to whom had been referred the question OF
locating public market up town, reported through
Dr. Stone that they had conferred with the engineer
OF the Board in regard to location and had come to
the conclusion OF petiti0nng the Legislature to en-
power the proper authorities to locate market
somewhere between Fourteenth and Fifty-ninth
streets the North river Shore the market to be
thousand feet on the river 'front.' the street side to be
covered and the building to extend back 30 as to
adjotn one OF the avenues, be erected with o floor
level with the ground, with no sewer beneath, the
whole to cover thirty-fve or forty acres.
On motion Of Commissioner Manierre Il was re-
solved that the services OF the assistant sanitary in
spectOs, doing duty out Of town, should be for the
present dispensed with After the reading of several
documents OF no public interest, on motion Of Com
missioner Brennan the Board adjourned.
The Mortality Of the City-vital Statistics.
The following report was issued yesterday by Mr..
E. Harris from the Bureau OF Vital Statistics Metro
potan Board Of Heath:-
The second week OF March, ending on Saturday
last afforded much evidence that with the return OF
spring and even the partial opening and ventilation
ofcrowded tenements the preventabe causes OF NOR
tality were daily diminished. There were 464 deaths
In New York. including the so that occurred In the
public institutions This Is Is less than the previous
deaths in The public Charities we n may the
actual gain to life as amounting to 23 In the city
dwellings. In Brooklyn there were I45 deaths, q
gain OF 10 lives over the previous week.
The decrease Of total mortality was observed
mainly in the cOngestive and in1ammat0ry Diseases
while we notice an increase in phthisis and some
other fatal chronic diseases Old age--from sixty
years upwards-gained greatly In the temporary
chance Of ife for only thirty persons at those
ages pershed last week, against fifty one in the pre-
vious week. to against an average OF fortyfve each
week the past winter. The mean temperature was
forty three degrees Fahrenheit but In the previous
week It was twentyone degrees, or at the mean for
the coolest month OF the winter.
Scarlatna decreased In fatality in New York last
week, but greatly increased In Brooklyn. 1t killed
twenty mine children In each city. 1t is by no means
equally distributed the cities. Its ravages
just now mainly In the Eleventh and Sixteenth wards
OF Brooklyn, to the Eleventh, Seventeenth and Twen-
teth In New York; and we here observe that It was
In the same wards In both Cities and In the Fifth,
Sixth and Eighth wards Of the latter, to the Sixth
and Tenth Of the former (Brooklynh that the death
rates showed greatest excess last week.
Deaths from acute diarTh9al diseases and from
the enterc typhoid fever are reported In some OF
the rural villages OF the Metropolitan district and
they justly awaken inquiry concerning the local
and especially in regard TO the wells and surround
ing drainage and soakage In the two cities these
fatal bowel disorders are at present almost confined
to the hospitals and public charities. But the sub
the Croton and the Ridgewood water afford. With
the opening spring win be needed Herculean task
Of scavengng and local cleaning and drainage In the
villages less than In the cities. During the period
Of the autumn rains the death rates in some Of the
villages exceeded those IN the Cities and this mostly
In consequence Of preventabe bowel disorders. The
science and methods OF sanitary drainage and purity
Of the home and Its accessions wherever 1t chances
to be located Is essential to the art Of healthy living
and as spring opens II very Enthusiastically reveals the
places and the local circumstances which require the
application Of this homey science.