The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-09-20

| showed that 26 per cent. died between
midnight and 6 a. M, 10 per cent. pc
tween a. m. and noon, 81 per cent.
between noon and 6 .. M, and "a per
cent between p. M and midnight by
adding these percentages together we
! find the curious fact that the deaths
were very evenly distributed between
the hours of darkness and light, 115 pa
tients having died between p. m. and
a. M, and 116 between 6 a. m. and
p. m. Desiring to pursue this ques-
ton still further,I examined the deaths
/ for the ten preceding years, nearly
! l 500 in all, and found this statement
strikingy confirmed, as a change of
one-half of / per cent. would have
made the deaths exactly even during
the hours of day and night,
"A chart which / made of the deaths
for the year--and | might also add
that the statements which | am about
to make were corroborated by a chart
made of all the deaths during the pre-
ceeding decade--showed, when divided
into sections az three house each, that
the highest point of the curve was
reached, both for men and women, be-
tween the house of 3 and p. M, near
~ 20 per cent of all the deaths having
occurred between those hours. The next
highest point was between the hours
of and a. M, althougs there was a
decided fall for both sexes for the sin
gle hour from to s. when the line
went down to the lowest point reached
in any hour OF the twentyfour There
was also a decided fall, especially for
women, between II and u in the morn
ing $50
"These figures, therefore, show that
there Is some reason for the popular
belief that many deaths occur during
the early morning hours but they show
still more plainly that the majority of
those who suffer from long continued
mental disease give up their lives to-
ward the close of day As a general
rule death softly follows life and suf-
fering at the end, either physical or
mental, is of rare occurrence. In fact
it is not an uncommon thing to notice
a clearing up of the couded brain
few hours before the final change, This
fact was noticed by Rush a hundred
years ago, and in my opinion, too little
has been Written of it since. From my
own observations and from the reports
of reliable nurses, many patients, es-
pecia1ly those dying of phthisis, or af-
ter surgical operations, or from acute
intercurrent diseases, or injuries which
produce a profound shock upon the
general system become calm and CO.
herent shortly before DEATH
Elsewhere, DR., Pilgrim makes this
remark THE number of cases dag
nosed upon admission as acute melan-
cholia which is just about two and
one-half times as great as that of acute
mania, is quite suggestive. 1t not only
proves as is generally admitted by
alienists, that it is the rule for insan-
ity to begin with depression, but it al
so showes that cases are sent to the
hospital much earlier than they used
to be, before the latter stage of mania
has had time to develop It is undoubt-
eddy this fact which so often gives rise
to the assertion that the form of in
sanity has changed of late and that the
terrible troublesome cases of former
years, in which restraint seemed so
necessary, are no longer seen But is is
my belief that the real reason for the
infreduency of such cases is that hos
pitfalls for the insane are today regarded
much more favorable than they were
even a decade ago, and their aid is
much earlier sought and their full
benefits much oftener obtained"