STATISTICAL RETURNS OF THE LUNATIC ASYLUMS
3
a dhoby room for soiled and clean linen. The old dhobies' room being now used
as a night room for section 11 (Indian Civil Males). In Calicut the new office
building was completed and occupied during the year 1918, and in 1919 minor
works such as providing a drain round the servants' quarters, and grated iron
covers for wells outside compound walls, were completed, and in 1920 extension of
the drain in the male ward was completed; but the proposed new works such as
industrial workshops, sanitary latrines, etc., had still to be postponed for want of
funds.
14. The usual annual repairs have been carried out in all the three asylums
and the various buildings were maintained in an efficient state of repairs except
the lamp room.
15. Sanitation.—The dry earth system of conservancy is in vogue in all the
three asylums, the night-soil being trenched and the ground either cultivated or
used as manure subsequently.
16. General hygiene of the insane.—Personal cleanliness of the insane and the
sanitation of the buildings and surroundings is being carefully and regularly
supervised.
17. Drainage.—In Vizagapatam and Calicut the drainage system is satis-
factory. In Madras the drainage scheme to be incorporated with the underground
system of drainage for the city is still under consideration.
18. Water-supply.—In the Madras Asylum, the Red Hills water-supply is
adequate, so also is the water-supply in the Asylum in Vizagapatam which has got
a good tap water-supply. In Calicut the water is from draw wells which is
enough for drinking purposes but quite insufficient for gardening as all the wells
dry up in the hot season.
19. Food and weighment.—The food stuffs supplied were of good quality,
fortnightly weighments were carried out regularly and the results were satisfactory.
20. Clothing.—The asylums supplied sufficient clothing for their use from
their own hand-looms.
21. Industries and employments.—Gardening, growing of vegetables, basket
making, mat making, rope making, coir twisting, dhall cleaning, rice pounding,
weaving of cotton articles, sewing and knitting form the chief remunerative
employments of the insanes. Selected patients are also utilized for assisting the
carpenter, blacksmith, mason, tailor, dhoby, cook and storekeeper.
22. Amusements.—These were various; chief among them were—treats during
festival occasions, such as Christmas, Pongal time, etc. Foot ball, cricket, tennis
and badminton are being now regularly played in the Madras Asylum and several
matches were played with outside teams, the asylum teams winning in some of
them. Some of the patients compete for the Park Fair sports for events specially
reserved for them. By kind permission of the proprietors of the Globe, Welling-
ton and Elphinstone Cinema Companies, some of the patients were allowed to
attend free of charge. By the kindness of Messrs. Oakes & Co., and the Madras
Engineering Company batches of patients were taken for picnics in busses and
these were much appreciated by the patients. In Calicut also well behaved
patients were sent to witness dramas, bioscopes, sports, etc. In Calicut a special
feature of this year was the experiment made by employing a keeper to teach the
three " R's " to a selected number of patients, and some were made to learn by
heart passages in English poetry and also poems in Malayalam. " This method of
training,'' says the Superintendent of the Calicut Asylum, " appears to be very
commendable inasmuch as it affords both work and recreation to the patients and
requires encouragement."
23. Statistics of health and treatment of the sick.—The daily average sick of
the three asylums was 70.73 in 1920, 81.05 in 1919 and 99.31 in 1918. The
mean of the triennium being 83.69 as compared with 88.33 of the previous
triennium showing a decrease of 4.64. The principal diseases treated were dysen-
tery, influenza, diarrhœa, tubercle of the lung, all other general diseases.