THE ENGLISH DEATH-RATE IN 1908
1
485 hanging, (5) irregular, and (6) lingual forms-is both I practical and scientific. THE ENGLISH DEATH-RATE IN 1908. THE provisional figures showing the vital statistics for ° England and Wales in 1908, which by the courtesy of the ( Registrar-General we were enabled to publish in our last c issue, afford conclusive evidence of continued satisfactory E health progress. The death-rate in England and Wales ( during last year did not exceed 14’7 per 1000 of the estimated population in the middle of the year, and was con- siderably lower than the rate recorded in any previous year 1 since the initiation of civil registration in 1837. The marked decline in the English death-rate dates from the year 1870 ; the mean annual rate during the ten years 1861-70 being equal to 22’5 per 1000. The mean rate in the three succeeding ten-year periods successively declined to 21-4, 19-1, and 18.2 per 1000 ; and in the past eight years of the current decennium the mean annual death-rate has shown a still larger proportional decline to 15’ 6 per 1000. The deaths of infants under one year of age last year in England and Wales were equal to 121 per 1000 births registered, against 132 and 118 in 1906 and 1907 ; the mean annual infantile rate in the last eight years 1901-08, however, has not exceeded 133 per 1000, whereas in the ten preceding years the mean rate was 154 per 1000, showing a recent distinct reduction in the waste of infant life. Satisfactory as is this evidence of health progress, no one who studies in the Registrar-General’s returns the varying death-rates prevailing in different counties, towns, and sanitary districts will doubt that it should prove an incentive to improved sanitary organisation and action in those administrative areas where the death-rates still show excess. THE HISTORY OF COCA. To the Pharmaceutical Journal of Jan. 9th Dr. J. Gordon Sharp contributes an interesting sketch of the history of 1 coca. The drug first became known in Europe through the writings of Garcilaso Inca de la Vega, a student of Peruvian history who died in 1616. Abraham Cowley (1616-1667) wrote in glowing terms of the virtues of the drug, as in the following lines :- Our Varicocha first this Coca sent, Endow’d with Leaves of wondrous Nourishment, Whose Juice succ’d in and to the Stomach taken Long Hunger and long Labour can sustain : From which our faint and weary Bodies find More Succour, more they chear the drooping Mind, Than can your Bacchus and your Ceres join’d. These Leaves supply for six Days March afford. The Quitoita with this Provision stor’d Can pass the wild and cloudy Andes o’er." Shortly after the conquest of Peru (1524) the widely pre- vailing employment of this new intoxicant was a matter of anxiety to both the Church and Government of Spain. At a council of bishops held in Lima coca was condemned, after deliberation, chiefly for the reason that the Peruvians thought it gave them strength and that this idea was an illusion of the devil. But the Church, despite her strength, was powerless to put down the practice of chewing coca amongst the natives, and it is said that even many of the conquering Spaniards themselves secretly fell victims to the vice. The Government forbade the cultivation of the plant, but being unable to enforce the enactment it was annulled and an excise tax of 5 per cent. was put on the drug, the cultivation of which became a profitable source of revenue. Joseph de Jussieu in 1750 was the first to send specimens of the plant to Europe, after which but little was heard of it for a long time. Various travellers on returning to Europe recorded their observations on the use of the drug in Peru. Of these Poppig, a German naturalist who had lived in Peru from 1827 to 1832, spending much of his time in the company of users of the drug, considered it to be injurious to the Indians, regarding its use as akin to excessive drinking or opium eating. On the other hand, von Tschudi, another German naturalist, spent a year in Peru, and held the opinion that coca was, on the whole, a blessing, for its use enabled the people to undergo fatigue, although he did not deny that cases of abuse did arise. The plant became more widely known in 1847 on the publication of Prescott’s "History of the Conquest of Peru." He stated that the leaves, dried in the sun, were mixed with lime and chewed by the natives, and that with a small supply of this preparation and a handful of roasted maize they were able to make wearisome journeys day after day with- out fatigue, or at least without complaint. When used in excess, however, it was said to produce all the harmful effect of habitual intoxication. In 1876 the late Sir Robert Christison published the results of some personal experiments made by himself with coca at the age of 78, and created fresh interest in the drug. The plant , was so rare in Europe at the time that in one of his experi- i ments he had only about half an ounce of the leaves at his disposal. He ascended Ben Vorlich, in Perthshire, 2900 feet above the highway, in two and a half hours, and was much fatigued. Instead of joining his companions at lunch he chewed 40 grains of the leaves, and after a rest of three- s quarters of an hour he began the descent, chewing 10 grains t more on the way down. He reached home free from fatigue t or hunger, having fasted for eight and a half hours. In n 1859 Niemann discovered cocaine, the active alkaloid of the s leaves, and in 1884 the discovery of the anaesthetic power of the drug brought it into still more prominent notice and removed it from the category of empirical remedies. It is interesting to note that the name coca is a corruption of the Amyara word khoka, which means "the tree of trees." Garcilaso changed it into cuca, and from this it was altered to coca, an unfortunate change owing to its resemblance to the words cocoa and cacao. THE TREATMENT OF WOUNDED IN NAVAL WARFARE. THE treatment of wounded in naval warfare has been affected by the introduction of steam in a not altogether favourable manner. The bluejacket on a modern man-of- war gets the benefits of the progress in surgical science, but the circumstances in which first-aid is given are worse than they were within the old wooden walls of England. Some space was available in the roomy three-decker, but in modern battleships, which are complicated masses of machinery packed with marvellous precision into the smallest conceiv- able space, the difficulty of finding even a temporary sheltered spot in which to render first-aid would be almost insuperable during an actual naval battle. This diffi- culty is one which should be met, for the sight of a deck strewn with wounded and dying men would damp the ardour of the bravest, while the throwing the dead at once overboard would powerfully affect the feelings of the seamen. In the modern man-of-war the question of where to place a dressing station must resolve itself into a search for the best protected spot according to the type of vessel-for all men-of-war are not alike-and the more usual varieties of casualty. Some cases will occur during every action which demand immediate attention, and these must be attended to before they can even be removed. The medical officer must run risks of course in discharge of his duty, but it would be well that on every ship the most sheltered place for a . dressing station were selected beforehand, so that not only : can the work be done uninterruptedly but the wounded man
Transcript of THE ENGLISH DEATH-RATE IN 1908
485
hanging, (5) irregular, and (6) lingual forms-is both Ipractical and scientific.
THE ENGLISH DEATH-RATE IN 1908.
THE provisional figures showing the vital statistics for °
England and Wales in 1908, which by the courtesy of the (Registrar-General we were enabled to publish in our last c
issue, afford conclusive evidence of continued satisfactory Ehealth progress. The death-rate in England and Wales (
during last year did not exceed 14’7 per 1000 of theestimated population in the middle of the year, and was con-siderably lower than the rate recorded in any previous year 1
since the initiation of civil registration in 1837. The markeddecline in the English death-rate dates from the year 1870 ;the mean annual rate during the ten years 1861-70 being equalto 22’5 per 1000. The mean rate in the three succeedingten-year periods successively declined to 21-4, 19-1, and18.2 per 1000 ; and in the past eight years of the currentdecennium the mean annual death-rate has shown a still
larger proportional decline to 15’ 6 per 1000. The deaths ofinfants under one year of age last year in England and Waleswere equal to 121 per 1000 births registered, against 132 and118 in 1906 and 1907 ; the mean annual infantile rate in thelast eight years 1901-08, however, has not exceeded 133 per1000, whereas in the ten preceding years the mean rate was154 per 1000, showing a recent distinct reduction in the wasteof infant life. Satisfactory as is this evidence of health
progress, no one who studies in the Registrar-General’sreturns the varying death-rates prevailing in different
counties, towns, and sanitary districts will doubt that itshould prove an incentive to improved sanitary organisationand action in those administrative areas where the death-ratesstill show excess.
__
THE HISTORY OF COCA.
To the Pharmaceutical Journal of Jan. 9th Dr. J. Gordon
Sharp contributes an interesting sketch of the history of 1
coca. The drug first became known in Europe through thewritings of Garcilaso Inca de la Vega, a student of Peruvianhistory who died in 1616. Abraham Cowley (1616-1667)wrote in glowing terms of the virtues of the drug, as in thefollowing lines :-
Our Varicocha first this Coca sent,Endow’d with Leaves of wondrous Nourishment,Whose Juice succ’d in and to the Stomach takenLong Hunger and long Labour can sustain :From which our faint and weary Bodies findMore Succour, more they chear the drooping Mind,Than can your Bacchus and your Ceres join’d.These Leaves supply for six Days March afford.The Quitoita with this Provision stor’dCan pass the wild and cloudy Andes o’er."
Shortly after the conquest of Peru (1524) the widely pre-vailing employment of this new intoxicant was a matter ofanxiety to both the Church and Government of Spain. At
a council of bishops held in Lima coca was condemned,after deliberation, chiefly for the reason that the Peruviansthought it gave them strength and that this idea was anillusion of the devil. But the Church, despite her strength,was powerless to put down the practice of chewing cocaamongst the natives, and it is said that even many of theconquering Spaniards themselves secretly fell victims to thevice. The Government forbade the cultivation of the
plant, but being unable to enforce the enactment it wasannulled and an excise tax of 5 per cent. was put onthe drug, the cultivation of which became a profitablesource of revenue. Joseph de Jussieu in 1750 was
the first to send specimens of the plant to Europe,after which but little was heard of it for a long time.
Various travellers on returning to Europe recorded their
observations on the use of the drug in Peru. Of these
Poppig, a German naturalist who had lived in Peru from1827 to 1832, spending much of his time in the company ofusers of the drug, considered it to be injurious to the
Indians, regarding its use as akin to excessive drinking oropium eating. On the other hand, von Tschudi, anotherGerman naturalist, spent a year in Peru, and held theopinion that coca was, on the whole, a blessing, for its useenabled the people to undergo fatigue, although he did notdeny that cases of abuse did arise. The plant became morewidely known in 1847 on the publication of Prescott’s
"History of the Conquest of Peru." He stated that the
leaves, dried in the sun, were mixed with lime and chewedby the natives, and that with a small supply of this
preparation and a handful of roasted maize they wereable to make wearisome journeys day after day with-out fatigue, or at least without complaint. When
used in excess, however, it was said to produce all
the harmful effect of habitual intoxication. In 1876 the
late Sir Robert Christison published the results of some
personal experiments made by himself with coca at the
age of 78, and created fresh interest in the drug. The plant, was so rare in Europe at the time that in one of his experi-
i ments he had only about half an ounce of the leaves at hisdisposal. He ascended Ben Vorlich, in Perthshire, 2900 feetabove the highway, in two and a half hours, and was much
fatigued. Instead of joining his companions at lunch hechewed 40 grains of the leaves, and after a rest of three-
s quarters of an hour he began the descent, chewing 10 grainst more on the way down. He reached home free from fatiguet or hunger, having fasted for eight and a half hours. In
n 1859 Niemann discovered cocaine, the active alkaloid of thes leaves, and in 1884 the discovery of the anaesthetic power of
the drug brought it into still more prominent notice andremoved it from the category of empirical remedies. It is
interesting to note that the name coca is a corruption of the
Amyara word khoka, which means "the tree of trees."Garcilaso changed it into cuca, and from this it was alteredto coca, an unfortunate change owing to its resemblance to
the words cocoa and cacao.THE TREATMENT OF WOUNDED IN NAVAL
WARFARE.
THE treatment of wounded in naval warfare has been
affected by the introduction of steam in a not altogetherfavourable manner. The bluejacket on a modern man-of-war gets the benefits of the progress in surgical science, butthe circumstances in which first-aid is given are worse thanthey were within the old wooden walls of England. Some
space was available in the roomy three-decker, but in modernbattleships, which are complicated masses of machinerypacked with marvellous precision into the smallest conceiv-able space, the difficulty of finding even a temporarysheltered spot in which to render first-aid would be almostinsuperable during an actual naval battle. This diffi-
culty is one which should be met, for the sight of a
deck strewn with wounded and dying men would damp theardour of the bravest, while the throwing the dead at onceoverboard would powerfully affect the feelings of the seamen.In the modern man-of-war the question of where to place adressing station must resolve itself into a search for thebest protected spot according to the type of vessel-for allmen-of-war are not alike-and the more usual varieties of
casualty. Some cases will occur during every action whichdemand immediate attention, and these must be attended tobefore they can even be removed. The medical officer mustrun risks of course in discharge of his duty, but it would bewell that on every ship the most sheltered place for a
. dressing station were selected beforehand, so that not only: can the work be done uninterruptedly but the wounded man
