THE GENESIS OF THE DICROTIC PULSE WAVE

Here, again, the exposed parishes have -a higher proportion of comparatively short cases than the sheltered parishes and a lower proportion of coinparatively long cases. It will doubtless be objected to these tables that the reeorded durations of cases of phthisis cannot be implicitly relied on. To this objection I would reply: 1. That it is very umlikely that the errors in three consecutive areas would all tell in jLst the same direction and 2. That there is no reasonable ground for assuming such error as would invalidcte these figures. The much longer durations generally recorded about Budleigh Salterton than in Barnstaple and Okehampton rural dTistricts may perhaps be jointly ascribed to more wealth, less wind, less rain, and more pervious soil. These, however, are matters which only concern us so far as to account for a difference which might otherwise be put down to varying accuracy of record. Taking these tables together with those published in niy former paper, I think a very strong case is established for the view that strong, prevalent, rain-bearing winds exert an influence upon the course, as they certainly do on the prevalence, of phthisis. Mly best thanks are due to Dr. Young, of.Okehampton, for kindly helping me to obtain the figures for his district.