55
severely from illness, and was able to do little or nothing for nearly three months.
The returns of both were accurate, their lymph good, and cicatrices large and well
formed. This satisfactory state of affairs might be looked for, as Rajpeepla, or, at
least, the part of it in which the Vaccinators usually work, is populous ; the people,
comparatively speaking, highly civilized; and vaccination is carried on without difficulty.
As an example of this, I may mention that on visiting one of the villages—a large
one—1 found that the Patel had collected all the unprotected children—about 50 in
number, and varying in age from one to two years—for the purpose of having them
vaccinated. In most of the Native States it would have taken a month to collect that
number of children.
16. Towards the end of December I met the Superintendent General of Vaccina-
tion at Juggreea, and accompanied him through Rajpeepla, Sunkaira Mewas, Halole,
Kalole, to Godra, and re-inspected the work of the six Assistant Vaccinators in these
districts.
17. From the 12 th to the 17 th January I travelled through Barrea to Dohud,
again inspecting the work of Assistant Vaccinator Mahasook Kuddojee, and also the
work of Jebhae Kashiram, one of the Assistants appointed in November. Both had
been working well and diligently with very good lymph, and the cicatrices were large
and characteristic in appearance. I remained at head-quarters until the 30th, and from
then till the 20th February travelled through the Dohud and Jhalode districts, re-
inspecting the work of General Nos. 253 and 279. Nothing could be better than the
work of the former ; and that of the latter was also decidedly good, but I regret to say
there were some errors in his returns. In three different villages I found that a
young child had been unsuccessfully vaccinated and entered as a successful
vaccination. I have constantly endeavoured to detect this kind of error in the
returns, but had never previously met with it. During this visit I made a careful
inspection of his work in 39 villages, and found everything correct, with the exception
of these three entries. He is a good operator and knows his district well; and as he
could have no motive in only making three untruthful entries, I thought they were entered
by mistake, and let him off with a fine. During my previous visit I accompanied the
Vaccinator to the village of Gurraroo, where the people had. year after year, refused to
have their children vaccinated, and after some trouble succeeded in overcoming their
scruples. On this occasion I found that all the children, 75 in number, had been
vaccinated.
Prospects of Vaccination.
18. In the Punch Mahals, I believe, there will be a decrease in the number of
primary vaccinations next year, because the Vac-
cinators during the past four years have on an
average vaccinated yearly 4½ per cent. of the entire population, and thus cleared off
most of the arrears of work. It is true that few adults have been vaccinated, but,
as the great majority have suffered at some time or other from small-pox, vaccination
performed on them will come under the heading of re-vaccination. In the Native
States steady progress has been made for four years, and next year there will be a