HH62/2/SELKIR/5

Transcription

[page] 4

partially accounts for the comparatively large number of
persons who live to an advanced age in country districts.
A third method is to calculate the population on the data
of the number of inhabited houses and the proportion of
persons to a house. I am inclined to consider this the most
correct method at our command, and one which I hope to
make use of in future years. As yet there has not been
sufficient time at my disposal to work it out for last year.
In this report, therefore, the population as given in the
Census Report of March 1891 will be used, and although
there is probably a small error, it is so inconsiderable that
the value of the deduced rates is not appreciably diminished.
According to the Census of 1881, the inhabitants numbered
4401, and by the Census of 1891, 4592, thus showing an
increase of 191 persons.

[table inserted]

Births.
The number of births in 1891 was 113, and the rate per
1000 persons living 24.624. The rate for Scotland in 1891
is 31.2, and the mean rate for the ten years 1881 to 1890 is
32.4.

Deaths.
During the year 1891, 77 deaths were registered in the
County of Selkirk, giving an annual rate of 16.779, or, in other
words, at a ratio of one death to every 59.6 persons living

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during the year, and was distributed throughout the quarters
thus:-

[table inserted]

The death rate for Selkirkshire, including the towns of
Selkirk and Galashiels, is 17.37. It is, however, not quite
correct to compare an urban population with a rural, and
deductions made from such a comparison must be received
with caution.
The infantile mortality (i.e., children under 1 year), for the
last quarter was one, giving an annual rate of 0.874 per 1000
persons living, or a rate of 4.3 per cent. of the deaths, or 3.4
per cent. of the births registered in the quarter.

Cause of Deaths.
The causes of deaths have not been ascertained for the
whole year, but Tables I and 2 give the information for the
13 weeks ending 2nd Jan. 1892. The high death rate from
all causes for the quarter is accounted for by the four deaths
from influenza, giving a rate per 1000 of 3.496. The deaths
from influenza and diseases of the respiratory system are
together more than 30 per cent. of the total deaths, and with
phthisis more than 43 per cent. The subjoined table gives
the numbers of deaths of males and females at various ages.

[table inserted]