====================================================== | DEATH RATE IN SANITARY DISTRICTS --------------------------- | 1901-5 | 1906 | 1907 ------------------------------------------------------ New York State | 17.1 | 17.1 | 17.5 Maritime | 19.0 | 18.2 | 18.4 Hudson Valley | 17.2 | 17.0 | 18.2 Mohawk Valley | 15.5 | 16.3 | 16.6 West Central | 15.0 | 15.6 | 16.6 Lake Ontario and Western | 14.9 | 15.5 | 15.9 East Central | 14.9 | 15.4 | 15.9 Southern Tier | 14.4 | 14.7 | 15.6 Adirondack and Northern | 13.9 | 15.1 | 15.3 ====================================================== _Death-rates in New York State._ [Illustration: FIG. 1. MAP OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK SHOWING THE SANITARY DISTRICTS] The Maritime District includes the four counties of New York City and comprises about half the population of the state. Its population is almost entirely quartered under distinctly urban conditions, in some parts with a congestion not equaled in any other city of the country. It would naturally, therefore, have a high death-rate, and that it is no higher than it is makes it a matter for congratulation. And yet the rate in New York City is higher than in the other principal large cities of the world. For example, the rates for the five-year period 1900-1904 in Berlin averaged 18.3, in Paris 18.2, and in London 16.9, New York being 19.4 for the corresponding period. The excess in New York is due in part to local conditions and in part to a less active oversight in matters of public health. Similarly, the Hudson Valley District, which embraces the large cities along the Hudson, has a higher death-rate than the state average, whereas the other six districts have low rates, chiefly because of the large proportion of agricultural land and small towns. The last district should be noted particularly, since its rate is remarkably low and its number of cities very small, compared with the area included. The conclusion may be properly drawn, therefore, that statistics confirm the general impression that life in the country is healthier than life in the city. _Accuracy of death-rate records._