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1438 NOTES UPON HEALTH RESORTS.-VITAL STATISTICS. INLAND WINTER HEALTH STATIONS. Gudbrandsdal and its immediate district and adjacent valleys offer special opportunities for the sportsman and health seeker, and as the railway extends along the valley from Lillehammer as far as Ojta the health stations in this neighbourhood are fairly readily accessible.5 Chief among the all-the-year-round resorts must be placed Tofte .sanatorium (Fig. 4) which your Commissioner, through the kindness of Mr. John Sorensen, was enabled to visit. Here at an altitude of about 1900 feet above sea-level and 1200 feet above the valley on a spur of the mountain side Mr. Sorensen has established a thoroughly homely and in every way delightful winter retreat, where under almost ideal conditions the brain-fagged and bodily- wearied worker may recuperate or the convalescent regain strength. The establishment consists of two villa-like residences so placed as to secure far-extending views and free exposure to sunlight. The houses are of wood, exceedingly warm and snug, and all the rooms are heated with soapstone stoves. The proprietor, who is himself a sufferer from asthma, has established this delightful I station primarily for his own health’s sake, but possessing wide sympathies and an intimate knowledge of England and other lands he hospitably opens his home to guests from all countries. Mr. Sorensen has taken an active part in educational work and has done much for the development of Norway. He has also established a charming summer hoifjelds sanatorium at Lauvaasen, on the mountain plains above Tofte, at an elevation of 3000 feet above the sea. The -Fefor Mountain Hotel, near Vinstra railway station, is open for the Christmas holidays and from February to April. The Feforkampens Hotel and Hoijjelds Sanatorium, situated in Nordre Frou, 12 kilometres distant from Vinstra railway station at an altitude of 3000 feet, is open throughout the year. During the summer many other establishments are open and considerable numbers of visitors take small houses and bring their families for the free and open life of the high mountains. Visitors to this district should on no account miss seeing the admirable collection of old Norwegian houses from Gudbrandsdal with their ancient furniture and equipment, now belonging to the town of Lillehammer. Tonsaasen Sanatorium (Fig. 5) is situated in Valdres at an altitude of 2020 feet. It was originally established for con- sumptives but has now been rebuilt and tuberculous cases are excluded. It is open all the year round and affords facilities for every kind of sport. Convalescents, neurasthenics, and delicate and overworked patients are received, but many resort here for holidays and recuperation and the special out- door pursuits of winter. The rooms are large, picturesque, and artistically adorned, electrically lighted and centrally heated with stoves. There is a resident physician. Inclusive prices vary from kr. 140-240 per month, according to the size and position of room.6 The railway is within easy drive and Tonsaasen is only about half a day’s journey from Christiania. Within the limits of this article it has only been possible to touch on some of the most likely centres which at the present time might well be expected to attract and to meet the requirements of English visitors. It should, however, be clearly understood that Norway possesses almost limitless possibilities in regard to the supply of first-class winter health and sports stations. At present it is waiting for the demand but by a wisely directed anticipation Norway may go far to create the demand. VITAL STATISTICS. HEALTH OF ENGLISH TOWNS. IN 76 of the largest English towns 8977 births and 4433 deaths were registered during the week ending May 9th. The annual rate of mortality in these towns, which had been equal to 15’2, 15-4, and 15 7 per 1000 m the three preceding weeks, declined to 14’ 2 in the week under 5 Particulars of many of the health stations in this district can be obtained from a well-illustrated manual. 11 Gudbrandsdalen og Lillehammer Reisehaandlog" (Kristiania: Trykt i Centraltrykkeriet, 1905), an English edition of which should be prepared without delay. s The Scandinavian krona (kr.) containing 100 ore (6) is roughly equivalent to Is. 1., or 27 American cents or 1 franc 39 centimes in French money. notice, a lower rate than has prevailed in any previous week of this year. During the first six weeks of the current quarter the annual death-rate in these towns has averaged only 15’ 5 per 1000, and in London the rate did not exceed 15 ’ 2 during the same period. The lowest annual death- rates in the 76 towns during the week under notice were 6 - 6 in King’s Norton, 7’ 9 in Willesden, 8 ’ 0 in Walsall, and 8 ’4 in East Ham ; the rates in the other towns ranged upwards to 19 ’ 6 in Merthyr Tydfil, 19 - 8 in Tynemouth, 20’ 1 in Liverpool, 23’ 0 in Preston, and 23’ 1 in Huddersfield. The death-rate in London during the week did not exceed 13’8 8 per 1000. The 4433 deaths in the 76 towns during the week showed a decline of no less than 463 from the number returned in the previous week, and included 329 which were referred to the principal epidemic diseases, against numbers ranging between 487 and 376 in the six preceding weeks ; of these, 115 resulted from measles, 99 from whooping- cough, 42 from diarrhoea, 31 from diphtheria, 24 from scarlet fever, and 18 from " fever (principally enteric), but not one from small-pox. The deaths from these epidemic diseases last week were equal to an annual rate of 1’ 1 per 1000, against 1 - 2 in each of the three preceding weeks ; the rate from the same diseases in London did not exceed 1’ 0. No death from any of these epidemic diseases was registered last week in Blackburn, Norwich, Wolverhampton, Wigan, York, or in eight other smaller towns ; the annual death- rates from these diseases, however, ranged upwards to 3’ 0 in Wallas 3y, 3’ 1 in Rhondda, 3’ 9 in Salford, and 4 - 6 in Bootle. The fatal cases of measles in the 76 towns, which had been 101 and 128 in the two preceding weeks, declined again to 115 last week ; this disease caused the highest death-rates, 2’ 0 in Stockton-on-Tees and in Rhondda, 2’ 3 in Wallasey, and 2’ 8 in Salford. The deaths from whooping-cough, which had ranged from 204 to 122 in the six preceding weeks, further declined last week to 99 ; they caused, however, death-rates equal to 1 5 in Bootle, 1 - 7 in Barrow-in-Furness, and 2’ 0 in Merthyr Tydfil. The 42 deaths attributed to diarrhcea, were fewer by 10 than the number in the previous week, and the 31 fatal cases of diphtheria showed a further decline of seven from recent weekly numbers; diphtheria caused four deaths in Liverpool, three in Manchester and Salford, and two each in West Ham, Portsmouth, Leeds, and Cardiff. Of the 24 deaths from scarlet fever, also showing a decline from recent weekly numbers, 13 occurred in London and its suburban districts and four in Liverpool. The 18 deaths referred to "fever " included five in Liverpool and Bootle and three in Manchester. The number of scarlet fever patients under treatment in the Metropolitan Asylums and London Fever Hospitals, which had been 2861 and 2928 at the end of the two preceding weeks, had declined again to 2870 on May 9th; 353 new cases were admitted to these hospitals during the week under notice, against numbers increasing steadily from 297 to 368 in the four preceding weeks. The deaths in London referred to pneumonia and other diseases of the respiratory organs, which had been 301 and 281 in the two preceding weeks, further declined to 228 during the week under notice, and were 27 below the corrected average number in the corresponding week of the five years 1903-07. The 28 deaths directly referred to influenza in London showed an increase of nine upon the number returned in the previous week. The causes of 56, or I - 3 per cent., of the deaths registered last week in the 76 towns were not certified either by a registered medical practitioner or by a coroner. All the causes of death were again duly certified in Leeds, Bristol, West Ham, Bradford, Nottingham, and in 45 other smaller towns ; 10 uncertified causes of death were, how- ever, registered in Liverpool, five in Birmingham, five in Preston, five in Gateshead, and three in Tynemouth. HEALTH OF SCOTCH TOWNS. The annual rate of mortality in eight of the principal Scotch towns, which had been equal to 18’8 8 and 18’7 per 1000 in the two preceding weeks, declined to 17’ 8 in the week ending May 9th, but exceeded by 3’6 the mean rate during the same week in the 76 English towns. Among the eight Scotch towns the death-rate during the week under notice ranged from 14 .’2 and 15’0 in Leith and Paisley, to 22’ 2 in Perth and 22’ 3 in Dundee. The 629 deaths in these eight towns showed further decline of 29 from the numbers returned in recent weeks, but included 77 which were referred to the principal epidemic diseases, against 68 in the previous week;
