The geographical distribution of disease in Great Britain.

  • Haviland, Alfred, 1825-1903.
Date:
1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The geographical distribution of disease in Great Britain. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

    67/438 (page 43)
    A7^cas of Comities. had once natural boundaries. Eacli sheading had its central river, the catchment basin of which occupied the higher portion of the parishes comprehended within its boundaries. It seems highly probable that in the orvjiiial division of the island, the chief rivers and other water courses, their water- partings and their catchment basins, were taken as guides by its early invaders, the Norwegians, which at all events is evidence'of their possessing at least some common sense, a mental qualification that does not seem to have been possessed by either the original designers of the Poor Law districts, which are now used for registration and sanitary purposes, or by the more recent Local Government Board officials who have attempted to rectify the ancient blunders of their pre- decessors. County Councils have now a golden opportunity of doing: some service to science in this matter. The student of medical geography mast expect to meet with plenty of difficulties in carrying out his investigations, and amons: the first will be the artificial mode of dividino; the country; but as it cannot now be altered as regards the statistics already collected, the difficulty must be met, and made the best of, ever remembering that few evils are unmitigated. The average size of the counties varies in Great Britain and Ireland :—• Thus the 40 English counties average 1,273 sq. miles. 12 Welsh „ „ 614 33 Scotch „ „ 921 32 Irish „ „ 992 The English counties ranging from Rutland, with an area of only 148 square miles, to Yorkshire with one of 6,066 square miles. The registration districts vary even more in size one from another; but it is not worth while to give details as in the course of this work there will be frequent opportu- nities of discussing the incongruities in their form, size, and boundaries.