The death rate from pulmonary tuberculosis, "consumption" or "phthisis", at this time was lower in New Zealand than in Britain, at 8 per 10,000 population compared to 13 per 10,000 in Britain.3 While the death rate in New Zealand as in Britain was declining, around the turn of the century there were still more deaths from phthisis in New Zealand than from any other cause.4 The control of the di...