HH62/1/INVERN/9

Transcription

[page] 8

Inverness-shire is divided into 33 Parishes, some of which
are partly situated in other counties. It includes 92 Islands
above 50 acres in extent - from Skye with 411,703 acres, to Soay
Beg with 52 acres.

POPULATION - CENSUS 1891.
[table inserted]

In the last decade there was a decrease of 2089. This
decrease was most marked in the purely agricultural parishes.

DENSITY OF POPULATION.
[table inserted]

In Table I. number of acres to each person in the different
parishes is given. Average in each district is as follows:-

[table inserted]

BIRTHS AND BIRTH RATES.
In Table II. births and birthrates are given. It will be
seen from this table that the districts having the highest birth-
rates are Harris and South Uist, while those having the lowest
are the 1st or Inverness District and the 2nd or Aird District.
The birthrate has been high in the poor and insanitary districts,
and low in more prosperous districts of the mainland.

INFANT MORTALITY.
A high infant mortality is almost always associated with
insanitary surroundings. Before accurate conclusions can be
drawn it will be necessary to have statistics of several years, as
mortality may be raised any one year from accidental causes. In

[page] 9

Table IV. number of deaths under one year. per 1000 births, is
given. In 28 of the large manufacturing towns of England the
average deaths of infants under one year, per 1000 births, was
161 in year 1889, and 171 in year 1890. In the insanitary
districts of Harris and Kilmuir, in Skye, the average deaths of
infants under one year, per 1000 births, were -

[table inserted]

The prevalence of zymotic disease in these districts largely
contributed to this high infantile mortality.

UNCERTIFIED DEATHS.
Before referring to the deaths from zymotic and other diseases
which are give in Tables VI. and VII., I must refer to a
circumstance that makes the inferences drawn from these tables
misleading, namely, the number of deaths registered that are not
certified by medical men. The cause of death given in many
such cases can only be a mere supposition. 47.1 per cent. of
deaths registered in the County generally were uncertified. In
Skye 65 per cent., and in South Uist and Barra 73 per cent.,
were uncertified. Table V. gives further details on this subject.

ZYMOTIC DEATH RATE.
TABLES VI. and VII.
The zymotic death rate of the mainland districts was low, and
may be considered satisfactory. In 2st, 2nd, and 3rd Districts it
was almost the same. In the island districts it was considerably
higher. In Skye it was 2.45 per 1000, and in Harris 3.11 per
1000, exceeding the zymotic death rate of England and Wales for
1890, which was 2.05
Diphtheria caused five deaths in Skye, and three in rest of
County.
Scarlet Fever - The mortality from this disease was very low;
only three deaths were due to it.
Typhus Fever was present in a severe form in Skye, where
it caused one death.
Enteric Fever caused two deaths in Skye and one in Harris.
Measles - Of the 36 fatal cases of measles, Skye contributed
20, Harris 14, and North Uist 2.
Whooping Cough caused 42 deaths; of these only one
occurred in the mainland.
Diarrhoea - Very few deaths appear to have been produced
by this disease. Epidemic diarrhoea, which is so fatal among
young children in England, does not seem to have existed. Dr
Ballard, who writes with authority, states "that the essential
causes of diarrhoea resides ordinarily in the superficial layers of the