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depôt , and issued to a large number of persons for experimental purposes.
Glycerised lymph was not as a rule successful, but lanoline lymph was decidedly
so. Glycerised lymph seems unsuitable to India for the following reasons:—
(1) The inherent objections to a fluid medicine when the compound
is, as in this case, not a solution, but a mechanical mixture—
the denser particles sink to the bottom, and the different strata
are of different composition and concentration.
(2) Glycerine is a nutritive medium for the growth of putrefactive
and other germs, and, being fluid, the germs soon pervade it
throughout; and as a fact this preparation in India soon
becomes putrid and septically dangerous.
(3) The preparation loses its activity very much sooner than does
lanoline paste.
(4) The preparation is in appearance so repulsively like ichorous
purulent "matter," that this of itself is one of the strongest
objections to its use.
The preparation of glycerised lymph has for the above reasons been
entirely discontinued in both the Calcutta and Darjeeling depôts.
Lanoline, on the other hand, has proved to be very successful, and is
undoubtedly the one mode which is pre-eminently indicated as a preservative
and diluent of lymph for India. It has all the advantages of a solid excipient,
the non-possession of which as above renders glycerine so objectionable. Lano-
line is a medium unfavourable to the growth of germs, and any extraneous
germs, putrefactive or other, alighting on the lanoline preparation do not tend
to penetrate within. The preparation in appearance is not at all offensive,
and its certainty of action and great keeping powers when properly prepared
according to Dr. King's instructions are beyond question. The results of
the experiments tried with the lanoline lymph prepared during the year
under report in the Calcutta Animal Vaccination Depôt will be found in the
appendix attached to this report. It will be seen that in the majority of cases
they were highly satisfactory. As to the dilution of lanoline paste, from two
to four parts of lanoline to one of the original weight of lymph pulp (it loses
weight in trituration) have been found sufficient, further dilution rendering it
too weak for lengthy keeping. For making the linear incisions on the calf,
Dr. King's pattern of calf scarifier with a long handle is used, and is found to
be a great improvement over the ordinary lancet, as the hand is less liable
to cramp during the tedious process of scarification.
Animal Vaccination Depôt at
Darjeeling.
18. During the year under report the long-talked-of Animal Vaccination
Depôt at Darjeeling was established under the
supervision of Surgeon-Major Waddell, the Super-
intendent of Vaccination, Darjeeling Circle, and is
now in full working order. The following is an account of its early working.
Operations were started on the 21st November 1891, when the first calf was
vaccinated as an experiment with the remains of some very old Madras lanoline
paste collected on the 23rd March 1891, and therefore eight months old. This
proved, as was expected, unsuccessful. On the 29th November another calf
was vaccinated directly from the arm of a healthy child, whose lymph was 120
hours old, and this lymph was continued on from calf to calf, reinforced with
humanized. lymph on nearly every occasion. In this way 31 calves were
vaccinated up till the 31st March 1892. The mode of vaccination was, by lines
2½ inches long, surrounded by an outer ring of "points." At first the calves
were vaccinated in very few lines and " points," so as not to disturb them much,
as it was advisable to avoid alarming the owners at the outset, as severe fever
in the cattle would have frightened off the owners, and so cut off the source
of calf-supply. Thus only a minimum of lymph was manufactured sufficient
to make different kinds of lymph preparation for experimental use, and ordinary
tube lymph for issue on indent to those officers applying for the same. In this
way 965 tubes of stored tube lymph were issued to the following officers and
were reported to have been found active in most cases :—
Darjeeling Railway Doctor.
Civil Surgeon of Kohima.
Civil Medical Officer, Dinajpur.