Causes of Death. The principal causes of death in September were the same as in preceding months. Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death, with diseases of the circulatory system (heart disease, etc.! next in order. There were also considerable numbers of deaths from diseases of the digestive system, of the nervous system, and of the respiratory system, ranking in the order mentioned, as well as from various forms of violence-suicide, accidental injuries, etc.

Typhoid fever, as usual, was the most fatal epidemic disease in the month, with diphtheria and croup next in order.

STATISTICS OF MARRIAGES: 1906.

Reports to the State Bureau of Vital Statistics show that there were 21,317 marriages in California in 1906, the first calendar year covered by the present registration law, against an incomplete total of only 8,338 for the last half of 1905, when the law was being put into operation. The numbers were highest in 1906 for Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Alameda counties, being respectively 4,506, 3,539, and 3,019. Next in order were: Santa Clara, 956; Sacramento, 834; Marin, 750; San Diego, 581; Fresno, 549; Orange, 524; San Joaquin, 520; San Bernardino, 404; Sonoma, 380; Riverside, 287; Santa Cruz, 269; Humboldt, 266; and San Mateo, 252. There were also 100 or more marriages in the year in the following counties, arranged in descending order: Santa Barbara, Tulare, Contra Costa, Solano, San Luis Obispo, Mendocino, Monterey, Butte, Napa, Shasta, Kern, Ventura, Siskiyou, Kings, Yolo, Nevada, and Stanislaus. Among the remaining twenty-four counties the totals range from 89 for Tehama and 88 for Placer to 4 for Mono and 1 for Alpine.

For a State population of 1,882,846 in 1906, estimated conservatively by the Census Bureau method with slight modifications, the 21,317 marriages give an annual rate of 11.3 per 1,000 population. Of the individual counties, Marin, adjoining San Francisco, shows the highest rate, 43.4, and Orange, adjoining Los Angeles, has the next, 22.4. The marriage rates are next highest for the following counties: San Mateo, 19.0; Sacramento, 16.9; Los Angeles, 16.0; San Diego, 14.4; Santa Clara, 14.2; Riverside, 13.9; Alameda and San Joaquin, each 13.2; San Bernardino, 12.6; Fresno, 12.4; Tulare, 12.1; Santa Cruz, 11.8; Santa Barbara, 11.3; San Luis Obispo, 10.9; and Stanislaus, 10.5. In all except the last two the rates exceed or equal the State average. The marriage rates are also notably high for other counties, as follows: Butte, 9.9; Napa, 9.8; Kings, 9.6; Yuba, 9.5; Contra Costa, 9.4; Humboldt and Sonoma, each 9.1; Monterey, 8.8; San Benito, 8.6; Merced, 8.1; Mendocino, San Francisco, and Shasta, each 7.9; and Tehama and Ventura, each 7.6. On the other hand, the rate is only 2.0 for Alpine and 1.8 for Mono.

The marriage rate per 1,000 population is 7.6 for Northern California and 10.7 for Central California, or 10.1 for the fifty counties north of Tehachapi, against 15.3 for the seven counties in Southern California. In Northern as well as Central California the rate is higher for the counties on the coast than for those in the interior. The marriage rate is also higher in urban than in rural districts. Thus, the rate is 10.6 for the metropolitan area, comprising San Francisco and the other bay counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San Mateo), against 9.6

for the rural counties north of Tehachapi. Similarly, the marriage rate is 16.0 for Los Angeles, as compared with 14.0 for the other six counties of Southern California. The ratio of marriages to population is not only greatest in the two main urban centers of the State, but away from them is also greatest in those counties which contain important cities, such as Sacramento, San Diego, San José, Riverside, Stockton, San Bernardino, Fresno, Visalia, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Modesto. The high marriage rates for the metropolitan centers and for counties with large cities indicate that there is a strong tendency for marriageable persons living in the country to go to the largest city accessible for the purpose of being married, even leaving the home county for one with a city in which to satisfactorily celebrate the event.

On the other hand, there is a counter movement impelling residents of a metropolitan center like San Francisco or Los Angeles to select for their place of marriage not the metropolis proper, but instead a suburban city or town. This is shown by the very great proportion of marriages to resident inhabitants for Marin and San Mateo counties in the suburbs of San Francisco and for Orange County adjoining Los Angeles. In short, country swains like to celebrate marriage in large cities, while couples belonging to a metropolis are apt to prefer the suburbs.

Of the 21,317 marriages in California in 1906, 15,790 or 74.1 per cent were first marriages for both parties, neither groom nor bride having been married before. In all of the few marriages in Alpine and Mariposa counties both parties were single. Outside these the per cent of first marriages ranges from 95.2 for Plumas, 92.3 for Inyo, and 91.7 for El Dorado to 66.3 for San Mateo, 65.3 for Orange, and 61.3 for Marin.

In 2,238 cases the marriage was the first of the groom only, and in 1,674 it was the first of the bride only. That is, there were 568 more instances where widows fascinated bachelors than where widowers won spinsters. In fact, it is a general rule that there are more marriages between single men and widowed or divorced women than between single women and widowed or divorced men. There are exceptions to the rule, and only slight exceptions at that, for only seven counties— Kings, Lake, Lassen, San Benito, Siskiyou, Sutter, and Tuolumne.

In only 1,615 instances, or 7.6 per cent of all, was the marriage the second or over of both groom and bride, each party having been married before. The per cent of marriages where both parties had prior experience is 8.8 for Southern California, 7.1 for Central California, and 6.9 for Northern California. It is 8.4 for Los Angeles and 9.6 for the other counties south of Tehachapi. The per cent is only 5.3 for San Francisco, against 8.1 for the other bay counties.

Altogether 18,028 or 84.6 per cent of the grooms were single, 1,988 or 9.3 per cent widowed, and 1,301 or 6.1 per cent divorced. Among the brides the single numbered 17,464 or 81.9 per cent, the widowed 2,174 or 10.2 per cent, and the divorced 1,679 or 7.9 per cent. The widows outnumber the widowers by 186 or 9.4 per cent, and the divorced women outnumber the divorced men by 378 or 29.1 per cent.

The per cent single, among grooms as well as brides, is considerably higher for San Francisco than for any other geographic division, though not as high as for various small counties.

The per cent widowed is much higher for both grooms and brides in Southern California than in either Northern or Central California, and is especially high for the counties south of Tehachapi other than Los Angeles. The per cents are also much higher for the bay counties adjoining San Francisco than for the metropolis itself.

Generally speaking, the per cent divorced is highest, both among grooms and brides, for the bay counties adjoining San Francisco and for the counties of Southern California other than Los Angeles. The per cent divorced among grooms is 10.3 for Marin, 9.1 for San Mateo, and 6.5 for Alameda County against only 5.2 for San Francisco. Similarly, it is 10.2 for Santa Barbara and 8.8 for Orange County, but only 6.4 for Los Angeles. Among brides, the per cent divorced is no less than 14.5 for Marin, 12.3 for San Mateo, and 7.9 for Alameda as compared with only 7.0 for San Francisco. Likewise the per cent is as great as 12.6 for Orange against 7.0 for Los Angeles County.

There is a tendency for city couples to go to the suburbs to be married, and this movement is particularly strong on the part of widowed and divorced persons, especially the latter. The shy divorcee even more than the coy maiden likes to be wed in a quiet Gretna Green.

CALIFORNIA STATE BOARD OF HEALTH.

MONTHLY BULLETIN.

Entered as second-class matter August 15, 1905, at the post office at
Sacramento, California, under the Act of Congress of July 16, 1894.

N. K. FOSTER, M.D., State Registrar..Sacramento | GEORGE D. LESLIE, Statistician................... Sacramento

STATE HYGIENIC LABORATORY.

ARCHIBALD R. WARD, D.V.M., Director.

University of California, Berkeley

VITAL STATISTICS FOR OCTOBER.

Summary.-For October there were reported 2,409 living births; 2,506 deaths, exclusive of stillbirths; and 2,030 marriages. estimated State population of 2,001,193 these figures give the following annual rates: Births, 14.2; deaths, 14.7; and marriages, 11.9. The corresponding totals for September were 2,111, 2,272, and 1,967, while the rates were respectively 12.8, 13.8, and 12.0.

The October totals for the metropolitan area, comprising San Francisco and the other bay counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San Mateo) and corresponding roughly to the proposed "Greater San Francisco" are as follows: Births, 1,003; deaths, 911; and marriages. 751.

Marriages were reported by counties as follows: Los Angeles, 403; San Francisco, 341; Alameda, 295; Sacramento, 98; Santa Clara, 78; Marin, 73; San Diego, 70; Orange, 59; and Fresno, 57.

Births were registered in freeholders' charter cities as follows: San Francisco, 651; Los Angeles, 360; Oakland, 142; Berkeley, 50; Sacramento, 49; San Jose, 41; Alameda, 38; Pasadena and San Diego, each 31; and Fresno, 28.

Deaths occurred as follows in the leading cities: San Francisco, 530; Los Angeles, 326; Oakland, 153; Sacramento, 53; San Diego, 50; Stockton, 49; San Jose, 36; Berkeley, 31; Pasadena, 28; and Alameda, 25.

Causes of Death.-In October there were 363 deaths, or 14.5 per cent of all, from diseases of the circulatory system (heart disease, etc.), and 352, or 14.1 per cent, from tuberculosis of the lungs and other organs. For September the proportion was slightly higher for various forms of tuberculosis than for heart disease and allied ailments. Other important causes of death each month were violence, diseases of the nervous system, of the digestive system, of the respiratory system, and cancer. The proportions for pneumonia and other diseases of the respiratory system were somewhat higher in October than in September.

Typhoid fever was the most fatal epidemic disease in the State each month, though the number and per cent of diseases from this cause was considerably less for October than for September. Diphtheria and croup, plague, and whooping-cough were next in order among epidemic diseases each month.

The following table gives, for both October and September, the number of deaths from certain principal causes as well as the proportions from each cause per 1,000 total deaths: