In spite of the spread of baby-saving activities in the past few years, 238 or 43 per cent of the 551 infant-welfare stations, together with 345 or 39 per cent of the 877 station nurses, and 523 or 49 per cent of the 1,062 nurses not connected with station work, are found to be concentrated in the eight cities of over 500,000, representing a total population of 11,511,841. Of the nurses who devote at least a portion of their time to prenatal work, 40 per cent are working in these eight large cities; but the figures show that agencies in other groups of cities as well are not neglecting this important phase of infant-welfare work.

COMPARISON OF WORK BY MUNICIPAL AND PRIVATE AGENCIES.

The agency by which the work is carried on may be the municipality, either alone or in cooperation with a private agency, or an exclusively private agency. According to the reports, infantwelfare work is carried on by municipalities or private agencies through infant-welfare stations or through instruction of mothers in their homes by nurses in 287 cities of over 10,000 population. The number of cities in which some work of this character is done by the municipality or by the municipality in cooperation with some private agency is 149. Infant-welfare stations are operated by the municipalities in 60 cities; instruction of mothers in their homes is carried on by the municipal nurses in 100 cities; prenatal work is carried on by the municipal nurses in 63 cities. The total number of cities in which work is carried on by private agencies is 254.

It is found that for the country as a whole only in one group-cities having a population of between 100,000 and 500,000-does the number of stations maintained by cities or by cities in cooperation with private agencies exceed the number maintained by private agencies alone. The city stations, however, in two groups-the 500,000 and over and the 100,000 to 500,000-maintain as large a staff of nurses as the private agencies. Of the nurses not connected with station work who visit mothers in their homes, the number maintained by municipal or by municipal in cooperation with private agencies in the eight cities of 500,000 population and over is found to be much larger than that employed by private agencies. This is partly due to the employment of school nurses in summer in infant-welfare work.

With the exceptions noted, private agencies in all the different population groups outclass municipal agencies in the number of stations and in the number of nurses in station work and of those not connected with stations. The same thing is true in nearly all sections of the country and in nearly all population groups, with the exception of some of the groups in the Middle Atlantic division, the East North Central, and one group in the Pacific division.

A comparison in detail of infant-welfare work by municipal and by private agencies, and by municipal cooperating with private agencies, in cities of 10,000 population and over is shown in Table V.

TABLE V.-Infant-welfare work carried on through stations and through nurses not connected with stations, and prenatal work, distributed according to character of agencies and divisions, 1915.

GENERAL TABLES.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.-Absence of entry in any of the columns indicates that a positive statement has been received that at the time of the inquiry no intant-welfare work was being carried on.

Reference to a footnote "No information supplied," indicates that no response has been received to the Children's Bureau inquiries.

Reference to a footnote "Work reported. Detailed information not available," indicates that the agency stated upon the preliminary schedule that some work was carried on but did not fill out the supplemental schedules asking for detailed information.

TABLE 1.-Infant-welfare work by municipal and private agencies in

1 No information supplied.

2 Under 10,000 population. Joint population of Texarkana, Ark., and Texarkana, Tex., 15,445.

3 Overhead expenses included in city tax budget. City health department and Certified Milk and Baby Hygiene Committee, Association of Collegiate Alumnæ, cooperate.