Morning journal and courier., 1893-09-18
HEALTH OF THE STATE.

The State Boards Report for the Month Just PasI-The Death Rate The Medical Practice Act-SoOn to Go Into Active Effect.
 The state board of health makes its re- port for August. It finds that the total of deaths in the state for the month were 1, ASA. with very few places yet to hear from. Of these the deaths of children under years of age was eos.
 The mortality in public institutions of the state were: in Bridgeport, 4; in Hart ford, IA; in Middletown, 5; and in New Haven, 19. Non residents in these are de- ducted from the total mortality of their respective towns in estimating the death rates of those towns.
 The following towns are reported as having no deaths in August: Andover, Bolton, Brookfeld, Durham, Eastford, Easton, Essex, Franklin, Goshen, Hartlsnd, Middlebury, Monroe, New Canaan, New Fairfield, Oxford, Prospect, Roxbury, Salem, Union, Voluntown, Westbrook, Wilmington, Wolcott, Woodstock-24.
 The registrar of Newsown has made no report for August.
 The number of deaths in the state for the month-1, ,434-was 62 more than in July and 10 more than in August, 1892, and 119 more than the average number of deaths in August for the five years preceding the present.
 The office is in receipt of eighteen other reports from sanitary correspondents in various parts of the state relating to the sickness prevailing in the places from which they are received. The towns so reporting are Ansonia, Bridgeport, Cheshire, Coventry, Green wich, Griswold, Hsddam. Hartford, Nau- gatuck, New Hartford, Norwalk, Rocky Hill, Roxbury, Salem, West Hartford, IS.
 The death rate was 23 1 for the large towns; for the small towns 189, and 21.6 for the whole state.
 The deaths from zymotio diseases were 584, being 30.3 per cent. of the total nor tality.
 CONCERNING DEATHS FROM CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. The last general assembly enacted law requiring special preparation of bodies for burial which had died from cholera, yellow fever, smallpox, typhoid fever. typhu. fever, scarlet fever, measles, diphtheria and membraneous croup. In such cases certain duties are imposed upon the reg istrar.
 Physicians rendering certificates of death in cases where such diseases were the cause of death should remember that the regis trars are the town clerks, and not oonvers- ant with medical nomenclature, and there fore in making out such certificates should always write the names used in the law in stead of synonyms or descriptive phrases. Thus, typhoid fever, not enterio fever smallpox, not variola; diphtheria, not ex udative inflammation of the pharynx. The Medical Practice Act BECOMES LAW IN AN EFFECTIVE WAY ON OCTOBER 1. It is proposed to publish immediately after October the names of all the prac titioners of medicine, surgery and mid wifary in Connecticut who have compiled with the law relating to registration up te ! that date.
 This list will be sent to all the registrar | of births and deaths. in order that the. ! may know what physicians in the state | have fulfilled the requirements of the law and so are legally qualified to practice and to render certificates of births and deaths.
 1 Up to this date between 700 and 80, have registered, including nidwives.
 There are probably nearly as many nor who should be registered. I In consequence of many erroneous ant unauthorized publications in the newspa pers from time to time, much misunder standing and perplexity among the pro fession, has arisen in regard to obtaining the blanks upon which practitioners are re quired to make out their statements fo registration. The law says the blanks fo said statements shall ba furnished by tn
 state board of health. The law gives n
 directions as to the way in which the
 shall be furnished, and as no full list exie,
 of all the medical practitioners, the mtd
 wives and other specialists in Connecticut
 the board has assumed that the law intend
 ed that the blanks should be furnished O
 application, as the most impartial metho
 of distribution practicable.
 A simple request from any practitioner ! in any part of the state, on 8 postal car
 or in briet note, addressed to the secre
 tary of the board at New Haven has a
 ways been ss promptly answered as tn
 postal service would permit.
 In addition to this the secretary ha
 written hundreds of special letters to ir
 dividuals, in reply to enquiries about th
 law and in the corrections of errors i
 making the statements.