in every case where death occurred, and, so far as practicable, in all cases where the disease was known to exist. Dr. F. W. Draper, one of our medical inspectors, was assigned this duty, and the preparation of a special paper on the subject. The work was pursued with diligence until nearly the close of the year, and much valuable material had been gathered when he was disabled by sickness, and the work suspended. We regret that his illness has prevented the publication of the result of his investigation in this report.

The number of deaths from this disease will be found on one of the tables which follow.

INFANT MORTALITY.

The large number of deaths of children under five years of age, of infantile diseases in years passed, seemed to us to require investigation, in order to discover, if possible, the This duty was assigned to W. L. Richardson, M.D., one of our medical inspectors, whose report is hereto annexed.

cause.

MEDICAL COMMISSION.

The members of the Medical Commission appointed at the suggestion of His Honor the Mayor in 1874, to examine into the death-rate of the city, are entitled to great credit for their thorough investigation of the subject, and the valuable report which they submitted to us in November last.

CHEMICAL WORK.

The only work submitted to a chemist during the year was in the latter part of April, when complaint was made at this office that a certain kind of cooked corned beef had produced sickness in several families. Specimens of the meat were at once obtained, which were found to be packages of cooked meat rolled in a layer of cloth, and covered outside with tin foil.

Evidence was obtained which left no doubt but that the meat caused the illness, and the public was at once cautioned through the daily papers.

Dr. E. S. Wood, Professor of Chemistry of Harvard University, was employed to examine the meat, and we make the following extracts from his report:

"In accordance with instructions received from you, I have examined specimens of the pressed beef which have caused several cases of poisoning in the City of Boston. Three specimens have been examined. The first two of these specimens were examined chemically, and the third was administered to a small dog, but without any result. The only result of a careful analysis of the first two specimens was the detection of a trace of lead in both of them. This was not sufficient to cause the serious symptoms which were caused by eating specimens of the beef, but might, if eaten for a sufliciently long period, cause chronic lead poison. The presence of lead in the beef can readily be explained by the tin foil (which contains lead) which is wrapped around the beef, although it is separated from it by a layer of cloth. In order to preserve the meat it is treated with brine, which saturates the cloth, and dissolves a portion of the lead from the tin-foil. When dissolved, it can readily permeate the cloth, and enter the meat in small amounts. It occurred to me that a large excess of saltpetre, used in curing the meat, might have caused the symptoms, which were those of an irritant poison; but a quantitive estimation proved this hypothesis to be a false one, a pound of the meat containing less than fifty grains of saltpetre, an amount insufficient to produce such serious symptoms. The symptoms, so far as I have been able to learn, are principally vomiting, purging, and extreme prostration. These symptoms are entirely consistent with, and, in fact, exactly similar to those which are produced by eating unsound meat; and this is the probable explanation of its injurious action, since only one of the specimens which I received preserved its fresh odor more than twenty-four hours, an odor of putrefaction being plainly perceptible after that lapse of time, although it was kept in a cool place. This decomposition was probably started before the meat was packed. The practice of placing tin-foil about preserved meats should be reprimanded, since a certain amount of the lead is dissolved."

We referred last year to the efforts then being made by some philanthropic people to save, if possible, the lives of many children who might fall victims to the various so-called summer diseases. A house was established on the seashore (Beverly), and the results reported by the officers of the institution fully meet the expectations of those who planned and carried out the enterprise.

Our acknowledgments are again due to Dr. Geo. H. Rohé, of the U. S. Signal Service, for furnishing us with daily reports of meteorological observations during the past year, and for the courtesy and promptness with which he has at all times responded when called upon for information.