21
the population may be ascertained with some degree of accuracy, and I beg to recommend the
following for your consideration.
3. Each vaccinator employed should be appointed to a certain defined circle and be held
responsible for the vaccination within that circle.
The amount of population which it would be advisable to place under one vaccinator would
depend very much on its density. In a fairly populous tract of country, one vaccinator to from
50,000 to 60,000 people would be a fair proportion. No vaccination circle should comprise an
area of more than 300 or 350 square miles.
4. Taking the district of Nágpúr, I would sub-divide it as follows:—
The total population of the district under registration amounts to 558,119. The towns of
Kámthí and Nágpúr are provided for by their Municipalities, deducting their population,
leaves the district 421,528, for which arrangements would be made as follows:
Tahsil.
Nágpúr...
...
Rámtek...
...
Kátol...
...
Umrer...
...
Number of villages.
555
562
501
679
2,297
Population.
74,523
120,427
116,247
115,281
426,478
Number of Vaccinators.
2
2
2
2
8
Circles at
Kalmeswar and Hmgní.
Rámtek and Khápá.
Kátol and Narkher.
Umrer and Kúhí.
On this arrangement eight vaccinators would be required for the district. In the Nágpúr
tahsíl the population under each vaccinator would be rather small; but the villages are nume-
rous and the whole area would be too much for one. In the other tahsils the average popula-
tion of the circles would be something less than 60,000. Each vaccination circle would com-
prise the villages that report to certain station-houses and out-posts, and a list of the vil-
lages contained within the several circles and showing the population of each would be made
out and a copy furnished to the vaccinator and to this office. The vaccinators should not be
moved from the circles to which they are appointed, except under urgent necessity.
5. It is possible that the circles as above arranged may prove too wide, but we can only
learn this by experience; and how much good and reliable work can be expected from one
vaccinator is a point on which information is much required.
6. The vaccinators would furnish weekly and monthly Returns in the form at present in
use. They might be sent through the Police with the returns of vital statistics and copies
forwarded to this office.
7. The vaccinators should practice arm to arm vaccination as much as possible, and to
facilitate this they should fix days for vaccinating at the principal towns and bazar villages
within their circles, and the people of the surrounding villages should be enjoined to bring in
their children for vaccination on the appointed day. The vaccinator would go to a bázár vil-
lage on a bázár day and operate on the children of the place, on the next bazar day he would
return and inspect the children he had operated on, and from them, vaccinate all that might be
brought in from the surrounding villages.
8. As regards the Nágpúr district, the duties of the Civil Surgeon render it almost im-
possible for him to bestow much of his time on the supervision of vaccine operations in the
district, but he will carefully supervise the operation within the city and keep up the supply
of lymph, and he will occasionally visit the larger towns in the district and ascertain that the
work is going on, but for the supervision of the district vaccination it will be necessary to rely
mainly on a Native Superintendent, and the greatest obstacle to carrying out local vaccination
with efficiency is the difficulty of obtaining reliable Native Superintendents. I do not think any
at present attached to the vaccine establishment are to be relied on, and the Superintendent
sent down from the Nort-West turned out so badly that I am not disposed to apply in that
quarter again. I must endeavour to find some Native Doctor qualified for the work, and I
would fix his pay at Rs. 80 a month, inclusive of travelling allowance.
9. To the vaccinators I would give the same rates of pay all the year through and fix
the rates at Rs. 15, 12, and 10. Two of the eight vaccinators would be on the higher rate,
three on each of the lower rates.