11
The experiment was successful, and children were successfully vaccinated
with lymph taken from the young buffalo. Regarding this point the Civil Sur-
geon writes : "I therefore got a buffalo vaccinated. The vesicles developed
and came to maturity and scabbed in the same way as in the calf, and there was
no clinical difference in their development or in that of the vesicles raised from
the lymph in children. As a first experiment 40 children were vaccinated on
one arm from the calf and on the other from the buffalo, and there was no differ-
ence between the development of the vesicles. Children also vaccinated from
the buffalo alone showed no difference from those done with calf or human lymph
This was naturally to have been expected from the zoological affinity of the cow
and buffalo." Doctor Center did not try to persuade people to accept animal
lymph, but having explained to them its advantages, he left them to decide for
themselves. He even put a price on this method of vaccination, stating at the same
time that it would be done gratuitously to those who pleaded poverty. On this
subject he says : "Instead of taking the course of offering animal vaccination
gratuitously and making attempts to persuade people to come for it I adopted
the opposite policy. Excessive zeal in the former line leads to an intuitive sus-
picion, in the ignorant, that there is some ulterior object. The. price of each
vaccination was fixed at one rupee, for those who could afford to pay, and the
money was paid by the well-to-do people, at the ordinary vaccination place, before
the common people. It was given out that any one who pleaded poverty could
have it done gratuitously. In this way Rs. 70-8-0 were received which nearly
covered the cost, chiefly from Europeans, of course, but Rs. 10 were received
from Hindús and Rs. 9-8-0 from Muhammadans. Of Hindús 322 were vaccinated,
of Muhammadans 677, of Europeans 115, and of sweepers 145. This is a very
good result for work still in an experimental stage. The success has been in
great measure due to the skill and tact of Dr. Brij Lal Ghose, who is well
known in the city."
The plan adopted by the
Civil Surgeon of Gujrát.
23. In the rural circles of Gujrát, Doctor Mulroney was very successful
with his animal lymph operations. He states in his report
that 14,1.44 Muhammadan children were vaccinated with
calf lymph, but not a single Hindú child, it being considered advisable not to do
Hindú children with animal lymph. Either the Hindús of the city of
Gujrát
are more prejudiced than those living in Lahore, or the same tact was not dis-
played by the vaccination staff; in any case Doctor Mulroney was not successful
in his attempts to introduce animal lymph vaccination into Gujrát city. He
vaccinated 40 Muhammadan children in the city with calf lymph, but the opposi-
tion shown by the Hindús became so serious, that he had to give up calf lymph
and resort to ordinary arm to arm vaccination. He found it difficult to continue
vaccination in any form, only a few Hindú children were done by the ordinary
arm to arm method, and the majority of the children in the city of Gujrát
remained unprotected at the end of the vaccinating season. The manner in which
he carried on operations in the rural circles of the district, and the reason why
Hindús came to object to Muhammadan children being vaccinated with animal
lymph, in some of the Municipal towns, are given in the following extract from
his report : "So as not to cause any delay in work, and to vaccinate both Hindús
and Muhammadans at one time in the same locality, the vaccinator on coming to
a village would start lymph in a calf from a calf previously vaccinated, and at the
same time vaccinate a Hindú child with lymph either from a child's arm direct, or
from glasses; the former to supply lymph for the Muhammadans the latter
for the Hindús. In this way vaccination progressed satisfactorily without
a hitch throughout the district, and in all the large towns and villages, except
Jalálpur, Gujrát and Kunjah. In these three places the Hindú element tried
their utmost to prevent the Muhammadans from using the direct calf method,
because they knew that, if the Muhammadans did adopt the arm to arm method,
they, the Hindús, would have to allow lymph to be taken from their children
to vaccinate other Hindú children. This they strongly objected to, and would
not, on any acccount, allow lymph to be taken from their children. In previ-
ous years the lymph for the Hindús was taken from the children of Muhamma-
dans and low castes, but since one of the conditions attached to the direct calf
method, is that no lymph will be taken from the children, as the supply is
kept up by passing it from calf to calf, and the Muhammadans having a strong
aversion to the lymph being taken from their children, they, the Muhammadans