During a rather extensive trip through the Far East I was unable to see or even hear of any cancer, although I met a large number of medical men, and made diligent inquiry regarding the same. As I wished to verify my views in regard to the rarity of the occurrence of cancer among those who lived on rice or other vegetarian diet, I visited very many civil, military, and mission hospitals, with a total of many thousands of patients, and ministering to many millions of population; in Japan, Korea, China, the Philippines, India, Siam, and Egypt, I met the same response, that cancer was rarely seen among those vegetarian natives. Brazil is credited with having the lowest cancer record of any portion of the western hemisphere, especially among the natives in the Equatorial regions, while in the Argentine Republic, where meat is known to be largely consumed, cancer is fairly common. From many parts of the world there come reports of the relative infrequency or even absence of cancer among simple living natives, one writer in regard to the West Indies stating “Even those cases which I have witnessed in this class of people have been among the better orders of them, whose habits of living assimilated to those of Europeans.” England and Wales present the most satisfactory field for the study of the progress of cancer, as the national vital statistics have been well kept since 1840; even at that time under the able direction of William Farr they had already acquired a well-deserved reputation for reliability, as Williams remarks, from whom I shall freely quote. In that year, 1840, there died of malignant disease in England and Wales 1 in 5,646 of the total population, 1 in 129 of the total mortality, or 117 per million living. In 1905, the deaths, due to this cause were 1 in 1,131 of the total population, 1 in 17 of the total mortality, or 885 per million living: thus, while the population had only a little more than doubled, the cancer death rate per million living had increased five fold. Dr. Williams answers by figures and tables the several objections which have been raised in regard to the actual increased mortality from cancer, as it has been repeatedly claimed that the increase is only apparent and not real; thus it has been asserted that it is due—1. To mere increase of population: 2. To the average age of the population having advanced: and 3. To improved diagnosis and more careful death certification. Time does not admit a full presentation of his statistical refutation of these claims, to which he devotes some pages very convincingly, but it can be safely accepted that for some as yet unknown reason, cancer has made strides in England which are truly alarming.