19
from the matured vesicles they show, meets with the greatest opposition—an opposition that
oftener than not becomes a sturdy and determined refusal, and thus the vaccinator has the
mortification of seeing some of his best lymph lost to him without the least hope of recover-
ing it. I know of no means save one to meet this difficulty. Reasoning with the people or
trusting to time to develope a better knowledge of the subject will not, I think, be the
means of attaining the desired end, for those who can reason about the matter are the people
who most sturdily and effectively oppose the giving of their children as vaccinifers, and
those who by their enlightenment and education may be already credited with a knowledge
far beyond such prejudice would not simply listen for a moment to any proposition of the
sort being made to them. Already, from what I have seen in this Circle, I have formed the
conclusion that the Vaccinators have just as much as they can do to keep their lymph going,
and even to do this is difficult enough, it will be readily admitted, I should say, when it is
taken into account the very narrow limit into which the field for their selection becomes
curtailed by this prejudice.
Returns.
10. Of the total number of persons primarily vaccinated, viz., 62,524 arranged accord-
ing to sex, 32,336 or 51.7 per cent. are males, and 30,188
or 48.3 per cent. are females. These figures approximate
very closely, but still, I do not think they represent correctly the relative proportions the
sexes bear to each other in reality. Female children, more especially those of the well
classes, are not, as a rule, so readily brought forward to the vaccinator when making his rounds,
as the males. Arranged according to caste the percentages show a very wide difference—
thus 88.6 per cent, are Hindás, 2.9 are Musalmans, 1.9 Christians, .002 Pársís, and 6.5 Out-
castes or Mahárs. The number being, respectively, 55,408, 1,863, 1,158, 12 and 4,083. The
Pársí population of the towns and villages contained within the limits of this Circle is not
very great, and those amongst them who do avail themselves of vaccination usually have
it performed at the Dispensaries. Taking, however, both the Táluká and the Dispensary
Returns together, the number of this class vaccinated amounts to 34, a figure that is too
small to leave any doubt of vaccinations being unpopular amongst the Pársís. There is a
considerable Musalman population in this Circle, but vaccination seems to make little way
amongst them—in fact, it has been retrograding for the past two years. The figures 1,863
represent but a very small part of what they ought to be, were vaccination but received
amongst them with a tithe of the popularity it receives amongst the Hindás. The Chris-
tian population is very small, and the numbers on the returns, viz., 1,158 (if taken together
with those the Dispensary Returns exhibit 116) will show a fair amount of protection amongst
them. Examined as to age, the returns show that 14,415 or 23.05 per cent. of those
vaccinated were under one year, while 48,109 or 76.95 per cent. were over one year. These
figures are, I think, correct; for I take, when making my inspections, every possible means
to see that they are so, and I always instruct the Vaccinators to ascertain the ages with as
much accuracy as they can when entering in the names. They, however, go far to prove
that infantile operations possess no popularity as yet, and that the people are not alive to
the great advantage of having their children vaccinated during infancy. There is, however,
another explanation of this preponderance of the operations performed " over 1 year," and
that is that there still exists an immense amount of arrears of work to be cleared off, to
which the Vaccinators are at present addressing themselves in preference to combating the
present existing prejudice against having infants vaccinated. When these arrears get cleared
off somewhat, and at the present rate of progress, I am in hopes they will, before very long,
be able to turn their attention more to this subject, and then infantile operations will no
doubt become more universal.
Of a total number of 63,533 primary operations, 60,129 were successful, or a percentage
of 96.4, almost the same percentage as that attained in 1870-71—a fact which shows how
slightly the lymph has varied within the past two years.