From 1929 to 1930 the total puerperal mortality rate in the County of Lancashire has been substantially higher than the rate for England and Wales In 1920 the Lancashire rate was 4.98, in 1923 it had fallen to its lowest level, 4.43, in 1926 it reached its highest level, 6.70, and In 1930 the figure was 6.19. The Minister of Health draws attention to the fact that the highest rates are found in sparsely populated rural areas e. g., Wales and Westmorland, or in Counties with a large industrial population such as Lancashire and the West Riding. He also publishes a table giving those County Boroughs which have had an average maternal mortality rate of over 5 per 1,000 live births for the seven years 1923-29 inclusive. There 18 of them. Eight of them are In Lancashire, 7 are in Yorkshire and only one is in the South.