reason, that by carrying out this measure to the letter, such enormous profits have arisen from it, as to become unwieldy and useless: since the management of them engrosses such attention and trouble as to make the office careless of extending its bus. ! [The italics and the note of exclamation in this case are ours.] It has also been unjust; for instead of rewarding prudence and self-sacrifice, by assisting even for a while such strenuous exertion for the accomplishment of a noble object, or by bestowing some equivalent for past privation, it passes by such virtue unrecognized and unrewarded, and thus perverts the very principle from which life assu, emanated. To remedy as far as possible this defect, there will be a fund instituted by the Athenæum, called The Provident Fund, to be raised by the mutual contributions of the members themselves, on the following orig. and beneficial plan.

The first 500 persons who desire to participate in this benefit will leave a tenth portion of their pol. for the purposes of this fund, which will be thus applied: 1. To the keeping up of the pol. of such members who shall previously have paid 5 ann. prems. The aid afforded by this fund for that purpose will not be continued for a longer period than 5 consecutive years, and to be returned to the So. at the convenience of the assu., with int. at the rate of 5 p.c. p.a.; or the sum advanced may be deducted with such int. from the pol. when it shall become a claim. 2. To grant small loans on the deposit of the pol. to those members who may require temporary assistance. 3. To such qualified members, who really need it, the directors will have the discretionary power of granting such an amount as will purchase in the So, an annu. not exceeding 100 during the lives of themselves and widows. And To divide among the surviving members at the end of 20 years from the date of the list being closed, the whole of the remaining and unapplied portion of the fund.

It is also determined to provide as far as practicable a similar fund for such of the orig. shareholders as may become distressed, by applying a portion of the entire profits of the So. for such a purpose. Then we are told, "The rates of prem. to secure these important advantages are lower than those in many first-class offices where no such privileges exist." "Another important feature in connexion with this So. is that of granting pol. payable during the lifetime of the assured, in cases where long sickness or accident may prevent parties from following their avocations." [SICKNESS INS.] Then there was a scheme for granting pol. payable to holders. [BEARER POL.]

66

The pol. were absolutely indisputable." Claims "paid immediately on satisfactory proof of death, and the exhibition of such documents as are required by law." 70 p.c. of profits to parti. pol. Diseased lives assu. on equitable terms. "Members of consumptive families assu. at equitable rates." The extra prems. for residence in foreign climates "are lower than in other offices, and are founded on data." To conclude, "The directors wish it emphatically to be understood that there are no privileges or advantages in this inst. in which the public do not equally participate, as the appeal is to them; and no benefit can accrue to any class, however worthy or respected, without the co operation and support of all."

This is rather a long programme we must now proceed to ascertain what came of it all. The first ann. meeting was held in August, 1852-322 pol. had been issued, yielding in prems. £4419 5s. 2d. The expenses were 6422 15s. 2d.; but this included £2585 16s. 7d. as preliminary. In May, 1854, we find the co. figuring in the Cheltenham County Court under circumstances which did not indicate any economy of management. At the close of 1855 there are some signs of impecuniosity. Early in 1856 we hear of a committee "being engaged in the investigation of its affairs with a view to put an end to its misfortunes." At that time it was involved by means of re-insurance in the ins. frauds of Wm. Palmer, of Rugeley; and in the same way had an interest in the "Jodderell policies." Then comes a "call" upon the shareholders. Next it turned out that £10,000, part of the "assets" of the Co., consisted of Westminster Improvement Bonds, which had been purchased for £4500 cash, 7 debentures of £500 each, and 2000 shares in the Co., making up a nominal total of £10,000. In July an application was made to the Court of Chancery, at the instance of the directors, to wind up the Co.-the liabilities being then £28,000-assets, £10,000; query the above Bonds? Mr. Selwyn, then one of the leaders of the Chancery bar, said on behalf of some of the shareholders, “though he looked with the greatest suspicion upon any proposition coming from the directors, admitted that there was no prob. of the Co. being carried on with advantage." Order made. The then existing pol. of the the Co. were trans. to the People's Provident, and so ultimately found their way to the European (No. 2). Mr. R. P. Harding wound up the Co. under the directions of the Court. Out of the proceedings of this Co. several important law cases arose, of which we propose here to give a brief outline.

În Agar v. Athenæum the facts were as follows: The directors had power to borrow, but only with the consent of an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. They did borrow by issuing debentures sealed with the seal of the Co. and signed by two of themselves; and it was held that these debentures were binding on the Co., although no such authority to borrow had been conferred by a general meeting, as was contemplated by the Co.'s D. of sett.

In the case of Prince of Wales Assu. So. v. Athenæum So. the Court of Queen's Bench held that a pol. of ins. issued under the seal of an ins. so., and signed by three of the directors, was binding upon the so., although the issue of the pol. had not been authorized by a previous resolution of directors as required by the Co.'s deed.

In the case Ex parte the Eagle Co. the same principle was approved and acted upon in Chancery. In this case a claim was made against the Athenæum So. in respect, not of a pol. under its seal, but of an agreement to grant such a pol., entered into on behalf of the So. by its directors. The Court allowed the claim.

ATHENIANS.-The city of Athens was founded B.C. 1234. The Athenians became great in Gov.; great in commerce; great in war. We find but faint traces of their maritime

practice as bearing upon ins. See AVERAGE (MARITIME); BottomRY; and MARINE INS., HIST OF.

ATKINS, JOHN, was Resident Sec. in Lond. of Liverpool and Lond., from 1860 down to his death in 1869.

ATKINS, RICHARD, sen., became Surveyor of the Sun F. in 1800, and continued in that position down to 1844.

ATKINS, RICHARD, jun., succeeded his father as Surveyor to the Sun F.. from which position he retired in 1868. Mr. Atkins entered the office as a junior in 1812, so that he has had more than half a century's experience of the bus. He is still living.

In 1854 he prepared for the Assu. Mag. a paper: The Stamp Duties on Contracts of Assu. (Assu. Mag. iv. p. 22).

In 1866 he pub. The Average Clause: Hints on the Settlement of Claims for Losses by Fire under mercantile policies. The papers forming the basis of this vol. had been read before the Inst. of Act. during the years 1853-8. [AVERAGE POL.]

ATKINSON, GEORGE, pub. in 1854, The Shipping Laws of the Brit. Empire; consisting of Park on Marine Ins., and Abbott on Shipping. The author in his preface says:

Many years ago I resolved that I would, if spared, attempt to restore "Park on Marine Ins.," and "Abbott on Shipping," to their orig. simplicity and design. To effect this I chose an early ed. of each work; which, as you know, were small 8vos., sold at a few shillings, and so simple that he who ran could read them. I have religiously kept them as they orig. were, works on general principles. I have omitted no Act of Parl., nor any reported case that I know of. I have done this-where either one or the other interfered with the orig. text, there I have introduced itnot in extenso (a system no less derogatory to learning than injurious to the utility of a book), but analyzed, abridged, and incorp. with the text Ive drawn largely upon the learning and industry found in the reports in the Admiralty Courts and in the Privy Council.

It is a very practical book. ATLAS ASSURANCE Co., founded in 1808, F. and L.-At a meeting of gentlemen held at Will's Coffee-House, Cornhill, on the 19th Dec., 1807, a subs. was opened for forming a new proprietary Assu. Co. for F., L., and Annu. ; and some of the subs. then present presented the prosp. of a plan for the estab. of the Co. The cap. proposed was £2,000,000, in 40,000 shares of £50. It was afterwards (27th April, 1808) resolved that the cap. should only be one million; but it was finally determined that it should be £1,200,000, in 24,000 shares of £50, of which £5 per share was to be paid up, viz. : 10s. at time of subs., 1 on signing deed, 30s. two months after, and £2 four months after. "The rest of the cap. to be called for only under actual necessity." The cap. might be increased by authority of a general meeting. It never has been increased.

The affairs of the Co. were to be managed by a president and 18 directors, holding 60 shares each. In 1812 the number of directors was reduced to 12. The office of president was retained until 1837. No subs. was to hold more than 60 shares. In 1820 the number was increased to 100, "and new proprietors are not to be entitled to receive a dividend if holding less than 10 shares." In no event was any shareholder to be accountable for any loss sustained by the Co. or its concerns beyond the amount of his share or shares, and his interest in the cap. stock. Each subs. or subsequent holder of any share "should insure with the said Co. to the amount of such share or shares, within 6 months after his admission, or pay ann. thereto so much money as the clear profit of such ins. would amount to." Any person might trans. his shares, but before the transferee could be admitted a member he must execute a proper instrument, declaring his submission to the regulations of the inst." No charge for trans. except Gov. stamps. The constitution of the Co. was only to be altered by two-thirds of the subs. at a general meeting convened for that purpose. The only clause in the prosp. declaratory of the bus. regulations of the Co. was the following:

That whenever the Co. should restore or rebuild any premises damaged by fire, and the insurer should have been deprived of rent, or have been compelled to pay rent, the same should be paid by the Co. until the premises were so restored or rebuilt, not exceeding 6 months; but if the Co. should elect to pay the amount of the damages sustained, they should allow rent for such reasonable time as that the said premises might be restored or rebuilt by the insurer, not exceeding 6 months.

This regulation continued in force until 31st January, 1860. Loss by lightning was a risk undertaken by the Co.

At this same meeting (19th December, 1807) some of the subs. were nominated a committee for effectuating the estab. of the Co. Mr. John Chalk was appointed Sec. pro tem. The committee determined that the subs. list should be closed 3rd May, 1808. The whole of the cap. was subs.

The subscribers met from time to time to determine upon the constitution of the Co. It was determined that the name should be "The Atlas Assu. Co." It was resolved there should be a Chairman and Deputy-Chairman of the Board, and these offices were filled. Sir Christopher Baynes, Bart., was appointed Chairman. Directors were appointed; among them many persons of distinction. One of these, Mr. James Deacon Hume, was afterwards Deputy-Chairman of the Co, and became Sec. of Board of Trade. He served his country ably and well, as may be seen by an interesting life of him, by Charles Badham, M.A., pub. 1859. A Sec. was appointed, Mr. Henry Desborough, who held that office for 50 years-retiring in 1858. At a meeting, 15th May, it was resolved that "no salary ought to be taken by the Directors or Auditors of the said Co. until after a

div. should have been made to the proprietors." At a meeting, 7th June, it was resolved that the prosp. already recited should be given to the solicitor of the inst. for the purpose of preparing draft deed. The solicitor selected a then rising man at the bar to "settle" the deed, Mr. Sugden-now Lord St. Leonards-the only man connected in any way with the founding of the Co. still surviving. Mr. Ansell, whose name has been identified with the office for a very long period, only entered it at the close of 1808 as a junior.

One of the first steps the directors took was to look for a situation for a permanent office. The present site was obtained; and while the office was building, temporary offices were obtained in Bush-lane, and afterwards in Coleman-st. Bus. was commenced at No. 2, Bush-lane.

We propose to run rapidly through the deed, which bears date 1st Sept., 1808, and records of itself as follows:

And whereas this present D. of Sett. hath been framed according to the said prosp., with such alterations and add. regulations as the said directors of the said Co. have thought it expedient to make and insert in the same; and the same as it now stands hath been approved by a general meeting of proprietors of the said inst. held on the 3rd August now last past.

Clause 33 defines the objects and bus. of the So.

To make or effect assu. against loss or damage by fire on houses and other property; and also to make or effect assu. on the life or lives of any person or persons whomsoever, and on survivorships; and to make or effect all such other assu. (whether connected with F., L., or Survivorship, or not) as may be effected according to law; and also to grant, purchase, and sell annu. either for life or otherwise, and on survivorships.

A "General Court," consisting of not less than 30 members, to be held every year. An extraordinary General Court may be called on requisition by 24 members holding not less than 10 shares each, and who shall have held the same for at least twelve months preceding. Such extraordinary Court, consisting of not less than 50 members, may remove director or auditor (auditor not to hold less than 10 shares); increase cap. ; amend existing regulations or make new ones (c. 48). Board meetings to be styled "Court of Directors," not less than 3 directors being present. Court to take security of Sec., agents, clerks, etc. Also to determine rates for bus. undertaken. Then the following: 67. That the Court of Directors shall cause all the pol. and annu. deeds that may be granted by the Co. to refer to the printed proposals, and shall cause a copy of the printed proposals, so far as the same shall relate thereto, to accompany each pol, and annu, deed; and shall cause the clause herein. after contained against the individual responsibility of any member beyond his or her share in the cap. of the Co., or the effect thereof, to be inserted in the said pol. and annu. deeds.

Then there are specific powers to purchase annu., accept surrender of, or revive pol.; and then the following provision in case of plague, famine, etc.—a clause of a similar character being inserted in the deeds of most ins. asso. founded at that period :

71. Whenever a sudden increase of deaths shall happen in consequence of the Plague or any contagious or epidemic disorder, or of Famine, invasion or Civil War, it shall be lawful for the Court of directors to defer the payment of the whole or any part of the sum to be claimed under each and every pol. of assu. upon any life or lives or survivorship which shall expire during the prevalence of such plague, contagious or epidemic disorder, famine, invasion, or civil war, until such time as an adequate supply for the payment thereof can be obtained out of the funds of the said Co.

Then there are specific powers for increase or decrease of cap. Then powers for appointing separate classes of trustees for separate funds-as Assurance Fund; Cap. Stock, etc., Ten p.c. of the Cap. Stock (the proportion paid up) to be separately invested, "and the accumulations thereof, and the stocks and securities in and upon which the said sum and its accumulations shall for the time being be laid out and invested, and the int., div., and ann. produce thereof respectively" (c. 88). Shareholders neglecting to pay up any instalments of cap. at any time required, and to keep up ins. as required, to be subject to expulsion and forfeiture of shares. Members may find substitutes as to ins.such substitutes to ins. for twice amount of shares; or may pay 6d. p. share p.a. by way of fine. If any member hold at any time more than 100 shares in the Co., otherwise than by marriage, "the surplus shares" shall be subject to the power of the Court of Directors herein before given to compel sale thereof" (c. 157). No L. ins. to be effected by the Co. for any sum exceeding £5000; or any annu. for more than an equivalent to that sum (c. 181). An

The first div. was to be declared at General Court in 1811; and thereafter ann. extraordinary Court of Directors (not less than 7) may declare a div. Two extraordinary Courts may declare bonus, "out of the Assu. Fund for the time being of the Co., of such amount as to them shall seem just and expedient." Then the following:

204. That at the first Court of Directors after a bonus shall have been declared, the bonus so declared shall be divided into three equal parts. 205. That at the same Court of Directors one of the said three equal parts shall be added to and consolidated with the subs. cap. stock, and from part thereof. 206. That at the same Court of Directors the remaining two equal third parts of such bonus shall be distributed amongst the members of the said Co.

The F. duty collected by the Co. in 1811 was £9312 17s. 4d., being greater than that of some of the offices nearly a century its senior.

The Co. from the beginning was conducted on sound bus. principles; and an opportunity soon arose for the directors to show that they would not allow it to be imposed upon with

impunity. We have before us the notes of the trial of James Smith, on the prosecution of the Altas Assu. Co., for wilfully setting fire to his dwelling-house, No. 119, Newgatest., on the night of the 11th November, 1812. This indictment was tried at the Sessions House in the Old Bailey, 15th January, 1813, before Sir Archibald Macdonald, Kt., Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. The jury found the prisoner "not guilty;" but the directors were so satisfied with the course they had taken, that they caused a verbatim report of the trial, as taken by Mr. Gurney, to be printed.

In 1814 the Co. obtained a special Act of Parl.-54 Geo. III. c. lxxix.-An Act to enable the Altas Assu. Co. to sue and be sued in the name of their Chairman or Sec. under certain regulations. It received the R. assent 27th May, 1814. The D. of Sett. had provided that all actions were to be in names of trustees. The Act recited that difficulties had arisen; and it was therefore enacted as stated in the title. The "certain regulations" will be commented upon in our art. LEGISLATION FOR INS. Asso.

In 1816 a bonus scheme for parti. L. pol. was propounded. Bonuses to be declared every 7 years. The profits on English and Irish bus. were to be kept distinct. The L. income was then £22,000 p.a., and the accumulated fund from prems. £69,349 Is. 4d. At this date also the plan was propounded of making ins. for the whole of life by a limited number of ann. payments. [LIMITED PREM. L. POL.]

In the same year a scheme of parti. for Fire pol. was adopted, in this form :

After payment of losses, and expenses attendant upon losses, the commission to agents and the charges of management, on a scale moderately proportioned to the receipts, the surplus prem. which may remain is returned to the assu. in respect of all pol. for £300 and upwards that shall have been in force from the term of 5 years. This return is made on pol. effected in Gt. Brit. and on those effected in Ireland distinctly, on the separate results of the accounts in each department-the total amount of losses being previously charged to the aggregate prems. As it will not be practicable to admit calculations for the fractional parts of a year, the returns of prems, are made only upon entire years, and ending at the Christmas quarter.

The return on F. pol. whose period of 5 years ended at Christmas, 1822, was 25 p.c. for both Gt. Brit. and Ireland. The Co. about this period had agencies with committees of local residents in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Belfast, and Londonderry. There were also committees in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Manchester. The F. duty returns of a later date show that the Co. transacted a considerable F. bus. in Ireland.

The first bonus to L. pol. was allotted at the close of 1823-and was called "Surplus prems."- -on a 1000 pol. taken out at age 30, and on which the ann. prem. was £26 145. 2d., the rev. bonus for the 7 years amounted to £135, being just under 2 p.c. p.a. In this same year Mr. Ansell was appointed Act. of the Co.

In 1826 the Co. issued: Instructions for the Solicitors in correspondence with the Atlas Ins. Co. of Lond. A well-written pub., from which we make a few extracts :

The Co. does not now grant annu., the terms offered by Gov. being more favourable for the public than any assu. office can afford to give. These favourable terms, it is understood, form part of the plan of Gov. for reducing the National Debt, by converting annu. in perpetuity into terminable L. annu. The grant of endow. or the assu. of sums payable to children of specified ages, provided they attain the age of 21 years, has never formed a part of the bus. of this office.

Then the following:

Report on Appearance. The solicitor will then see the party whose life is proposed for assu., and ask him the several questions printed on the fly-leaf of the declaration; particularly noticing any diseases or ailments he may state that he has had or is subject to.

Young Life.-If the life proposed be that of a youth or girl, the solicitor is to inquire and state whether he or she have had the measles, hooping-cough, etc.

Gout.-If it be declared that the party have had the gout, the solicitor is to ascertain and report: 1. When the gouty symptoms first appeared. 2. What part of the body was affected. 3. How often the attacks of gout have occurred during the last 3 years.

Solicitors' Remarks.-The solicitor's own remarks on the appearance of the party whose life is proposed will then follow, as well as any information respecting the party which the solicitor is either possessed of or can obtain. These remarks he will be pleased not to write in the presence of the proposer of the ins. or of other interested party. As the directors rely much on the solicitor's report, they, of course, depend on his taking every means to satisfy his own judgment that all lives he may recommend or assu., or report favourably upon, have an equal chance of long life with other perfectly healthy persons of like age; since it must be obvious that none other can be assu. without a manifest disadvantage to the Co.

It is out of no idle curiosity that we read and extract these "instructions." We see in the care and sagacity they indicate the germ of that prosperity which has always characterized this office. Again :

Assu. of Solicitor's own Life.-When a solicitor proposes an assu. on his own life, and cannot conveniently appear before the directors, it would be proper that his replies to the usual interrogatories which accompany the declaration should be taken down, and the certificate of his appearance signed by some public character in the place to whom he may not object to apply confidentially; such as the minister of the parish or a justice of the peace. A similar course may be pursued in cases in which a solicitor has a personal interest in any other life.

It is carefully noted that "no alteration whatever can under any circumstances be made by a solicitor in a L. pol., nor can he make any indorsement thereon."

The bonus divisions of 1830 and 1837 call for no special remark. By 1841 the cap., orig. 120,000, had increased by bonus add. to £200,000. Mr. Ansell gave evidence before the Parl. Committee on Joint-Stock Asso. which sat in 1843. He gave some details regarding this Co., of which we have made use on the present occasion. He further said that however disastrous the F. bus. might at any time become, that circum

stance would not in any respect alter the bonus or profit upon the L. bus.: the proprietors themselves would have to make good the deficiency arising from the losses on the F. pol., leaving the L. ins. fund untouched (answer 1925). We notice that the Deed was carefully drawn in this respect. [COMPLEX INS. Asso.]

In 1844 a bonus investigation took place. The total surplus for Gt. Brit. and Ireland together at that date amounted to £262,472 14s. 8d.

In 1848 new regulations were made regarding distribution of surplus. The investigations and divisions were to take place every five years, instead of every seven. The next investigation, therefore, fell due at the close of 1849. The amount for distribution to parti. L. pol. was ascertained to be £246,995 6s. 2d., of which there was allotted to Gt. Brit. and Ireland £193,364 145. 11d., "retaining £53,630 11s. 3d. as a cautionary reserve kept back to be improved at compound int., for the exclusive benefit of the pol.holders." The surplus was declared to be realized and not anticipatory. The ann. income of the L. branch was then £170,000: the accumulated L. fund £1,353,436.

We pass over several other divisions, and reach that of 1869. The total surplus allocated to L. pol.-holders, up to and including the then division, had reached the sum of £1,411,447, cash-purchasing rev. bonus, for, of course, very much larger sums. The pol. in force at that date were: ordinary whole life with parti., 5759; without parti., 65; special ins., 375-total, 6199 L. pol. There were 18 annu. (we have seen annu. bus. was discontinued before 1826) payable, amounting to £450 p.a. The average age of the annu. was 62. Two of the pol.-holders were upwards of 90 years of age. progress of the Co. will be learned from its ann. returns.

The future

The office is unquestionably one of the most solid ins. inst. of the country. ATLAS FREIGHT INSURANCE Asso.—This Co. was founded in Sunderland in 1847, for the purpose of mutual marine ins. It was existing in 1853.

ATLAS MARINE (No. 1).-A Co. under this title was projected in Liverpool in 1852. We have not been able to learn its subsequent hist.

ATLAS MARINE INSURANCE Co. (No. 2), founded in 1857, and ceased to carry on bus. in 1863.

ATLEE, JOHN, was Sec. of British Industry Ins. Asso., 1852.

air"

ATMOSPHERE.-That volume of air that surrounds the earth. The term "atmospheric was introduced to distinguish the atmosphere from other airs-a term formerly applied to all the gases.

The earth, it is well known, is surrounded by an atmosphere of organic matter, as well as of oxygen, nitrogen, carbonic acid, and watery vapour. This matter varies, and is constantly undergoing transformation from organic into inorganic elements; it can neither be seen, weighed, nor measured.-Reg.-Gen. 10th Report.

Dr. Farr has again and again drawn attention to the qualities and properties of the atmosphere as affecting human life and health. The following accompanied the 5th Report of Reg.-Gen.:

The atmosphere, besides oxygen and nitrogen, contains carbonic acid and aqueous vapour. The mean proportion of carbonic acid is 49 volumes in 100,000 volumes of air, according to the younger Saussure; who also states that it varies from 37 to 62 volumes. Mr. Coathoupe has estimated the quantity of air which passes through the lungs of a man of ordinary size in 24 hours at 267 cubic feet, of which nearly 8 p.c. by volume, or 21 feet, are exchanged for carbonic acid; the bulk would be equivalent to a cube of 6'4 feet. If, for a mere illustration, we assume that on an average 16 cubic feet of the gas are thrown off from the skin and lungs of each person, 30 million cubic feet will be exhaled daily by the pop. of the metropolis, distributed over an area of about 1951 million square feet. Add the amount of the same gas formed by animals of every kind-fires, lamps-and multiply the sum by 100, inasmuch as respiration for several hours in air which contains 1 or 2 p.c. of carbonic acid has been found to produce alarming effects (Broughton), and it will be seen that without effectual means of dispersion the amount of air vitiated in the metropolis, by this element alone, would be by no means inconsiderable.

Is the excessive mort., then, in towns, to be ascribed to the accumulation of carbonic acid, or of any similar gas, which is so rare as to be innoxious in open districts? It was natural, when it had been discovered that carbonic acid mixed in air destroyed animals, and after many accidents in mines and closed chambers had been traced to this agent, to ascribe the excessive mort. of towns to the same cause. Further investigation must show, I think, that it has but a small share in raising the mort. of towns, the provision for its dispersion is so complete. [AIR.] [CLIMATE.] ATONIA (from the Greek, tone).-A word denoting relaxation, a want of tone of the system generally.

ATONIC GOUT.-A variety of gout in which the characteristic symptoms of the disease are accompanied by atony of the stomach or other internal organ.-Hoblyn. ATROPHY (technically termed Atrophia).—Want of nutrition; a wasting and loss of substance, without any discoverable disease. A disease of the whole body, or of any particular part-thus atrophy of the heart is fatty degeneration of the muscular tissue of that organ.

In ten

ATROPHY AND DEBILITY (Class, DEVELOPMENTAL; Order, Diseases of Nutrition).—The deaths from these combined causes in England show a considerable increase. consecutive years they were as follows: 1858, 26,860; 1859, 27,990; 1860, 26,930; 1861, 29,291; 1862, 27,077; 1863, 28,193; 1864, 29,634; 1865, 32, 161; 1866, 31,097; 1867, 32,317; showing a variation from 1393 deaths to each million of the pop. in 1858 to 1473 p. million in 1861, 1549 in 1865, and 1523 in 1867. Over a period of 5 years ending 1864 they averaged 1404 p. million.

VOL. 1.

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