Hungary 7.7 Upper Missouri and Plains 15
Netherlands 2.8 Rocky Mountains and Plateau 10
England, N. M. 1.8 South Atlantic 8
" E. 1.3 Central Mississippi 7
" S. M. 1.2 Upper " 7
" York and W. M. 1.1 Ohio Valley 7
" N. 1.0 Middle Atlantic 6
Wales 0.9 Gulf States 5
England, S. E. 0.8 New England 4
" N. W. 0.7 Pacific Coast <1*
" S. W. 0.6 North and South Dakota 20
London 0.1 California 0
* Note in case of Pacific coast, Table X., "<1" means "less than 1."
The figure for Hungary is based on the seven years 1897-1903; that for
the Netherlands, from data by A.J. Monne (69) on the nine years
1882-1890. The English data, due to R. Lawson (70), are from
twenty-four years, 1857-1880; those for the United States, due to
Henry (68), are for five years, 1896-1900. In comparing these data
allowance must be made for the fact that danger from lightning is much
greater out of doors than in. Thus in Hungary, in 1902 and 1903, out
of 229 persons killed, at least 171 were killed out of doors. Of the
229 only 67 were women, the only assignable explanation being their
rarer employment in the fields. Thus, _ceteris paribtis_, deaths from
lightning are much more numerous in a country than in an industrial
population. This is well brought out by the low figure for London. It
is also shown conspicuously in figures given by Henry. In New York
State, where the population is largely industrial, the annual deaths
per million are only three, but of the agricultural population eleven.
In states such as Wyoming and the Dakotas the population is largely
rural, and the deaths by lightning rise in consequence. The frequency
and intensity of thunderstorms are unquestionably greater in the Rocky
Mountain than in the New England states, but the difference is not so
great as the statistics at first sight suggest.