( 2 )
6. The waste land to the south-east of the gate of the Asylum has now been almost
entirely reclaimed, the crop raised off it realizing Rs. 44. The work of reclaiming this§
land appears to suit the lunatics and to be very beneficial to their health.
7. The management of the Asylum during the year has been very successful: several old
and apparently incurable cases have yielded to Dr. FAIRWEATHER's cure and skill, and the
mental condition of many others has improved.
8. The conduct of the establishment is favorably reported on by the Superintendent.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DELHI LUNATIC ASYLUM FOR THE YEAR 1879, BY SURGEON-MAJOR
J. FAIRWEATHER, M. D., SUPERINTENDENT.
Population.
1. Ninety lunatics remained from the previous year ; 26 were admitted, or only
half the number of the preceding year ; 2 were re-admitted
making a total of 118 for the year. Of these 20 were
discharged cured, 6 were made over to their friends improved, and 1 not improved, 16 died,
2 escaped, and 73 remained at the end of the year.
Recoveries.
2. The proportion of recoveries is satisfactory, and it is to be remarked that some : old
unpromising chronic cases were among the number. One
of these, a woman named Shahzadi, had been 8 years in
the Asylum, and another, named Chandu, had been in for 6 years, both of them labouring under
chronic mania. The old man Lachman, who used to entertain the other lunatics with his
musical performances and his abusive tongue, and who had been 4 years in the Asylum,
gradually calmed down, lost his taste both for music and abuse, and became quite sane. He
was discharged on the 30th June 1879.
General health and mortality.
3. Although the mortality has only been a little less than it was last year, it is some
what remarkable that the lunatics have, on the whole, had
better health and been less in hospital than they have been
for several years past. This is seen by the daily average sick in hospital which is not half
what it was last year. A glance at table No, 8 shows the reason of this, for while the
admissions from malarious fevers were 130 in the previous year, they have only been 13 in
this. The absence of these fevers also accounts for the comparative rarity of such diseases as
anæmia, debility, diarrhoea and dysentery, which are generally the sequela of intermittent
fevers. For this remarkable immunity from malarious fevers, I am unable to assign a proper
cause, for the whole city and neighbourhood has suffered almost as severely from malarious
fevers as they did the previous year: so much so indeed that the crops remained uncut in,
many places by reason of the universal sickness. Moreover, the jail, which is close to the
Asylum, and which uses the same well water, has had almost as heavy a sick list as, while it
has had a far heavier mortality than, it had even the previous year.
The health of the lunatics has not only differed from that of the prisoners by the almost
complete immunity from malarious fevers, but by the total absence of the sloughing ulcers
which have caused such a dreadful mortality in the jail. The only reason which can be
assigned for this is that the lunatics are better fed than the prisoners.
These sloughing ulcers have not been confined to the prisoners in jail, but have also been
common among the free population ; they have, however, been observed to be confined almost
entirely to the poor and unfed classes of the community.
The cause of the heavy mortality among the lunatics, while at the same time their general,
health was better than it had been for several years, is accounted for by the prevalence of
peculiarly fatal forms of disease, such as pneumonia, pleurisy, meningitis, apoplexy
dropsy, &c.