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13. Acting on the instructions conveyed in letter No. 4655 of the Junior Secre-
tary to Government, "North-Western Provinces, I wrote at once to Bombay, and,
through the kindness of Mr. Anunta Chandroba, was favoured, on 4th January,
with six tubes of the animal vaccine lymph in use there, which is the same as that
procured by Dr. Blane from Mr. Warlomont. The day after its arrival, I vaccinated
a heifer of about six months old with the supply. Up to the fifth day there was no
symptom, either local or constitutional, of the system being influenced by the presence
of the virus, and I began to regret having used all my stock on one animal. On the
sixth day, however, a few vesicles began to form, and from these I took as much lymph
as I could collect, and vaccinated another healthy calf. As early as the fourth day
strong fever set in, and on the fifth day this calf was so ill that it had to be carried on
a charpoy the greater part of the march. This fever was accompanied by a large
crop of vesicles, but I did not think it advisable to operate on the human subject with
lymph which had caused so much constitutional disturbance to a healthy heifer. Ac-
cordingly, with part of the lymph taken from this animal, I vaccinated a third calf.
This case running a more normal course I was enabled to vaccinate two children with
the virus taken on the seventh day. On only one of these did a vesicle appear, and it was
in no way remarkable for size or development, nor was it accompanied by any marked
febrile symptom. With lymph I had taken from the calf on the sixth day, I inoculated
another heifer and a young buffalo. The former was successful, but the latter showed
no result. I continued to experiment until the middle of February, when an unsuccess-
ful case put a stop to my operations. From my experience I have not been able to
detect any difference between the eruption produced on the animal from animal vac-
cine and that resulting from retro-vaccination ; while the effect of the former on the
human subject was less satisfactory than that caused by the usual humanized lymph.
But in making such experiments I labour under great disadvantage, as, owing to
my daily marching, it is impossible for me to watch to the end the individuals operated
on, while I find I cannot sufficiently rely on the judgment of the vaccinator regard-
ing the character of the eruption produced. Other difficulties with which I have to
contend, owing to Hindoo prejudices, are the procuring of animals, and, when procured,
obtaining the assistance necessary to perform the operation. This I have to do as
best I can by having the animal held down, under a tree, instead of having him com-
fortably secured on the operating table used for the purpose by regular experimenters
or animal vaccine. The method recommended for operating on animals is to make
with the lancet a large number of punctures and incisions, and insert in each a little
of the lymph. This plan is tedious and difficult of performance on an animal held down
by hand. I have therefore found it more expedient to draw with considerable force a
large, strong, four-pointed vaccine-needle along the shaven surface, on either side of
the teats, a distance of three to four inches ; and then, after inserting the lymph in
these lines, to cross them at intervals with the same instrument, thus forming at each
crossing sixteen points of intersection, equivalent to the same number of punctures
with the lancet.
14. The chief, if not the only, reason why animal vaccine has become so deservedly
popular in Bombay is on account of the deficiency of a good supply of lymph in
that presidency, for, as they say, that was " the burden of their annual reports."
Having no such range of hills, they cannot, as we do, replenish the stock from opera-
tions carried on there during the hot months. There being no such urgent reason
here for change, or even increase of the present supply, I think any attempt to intro-
duce animal vaccination into this division, considering the prejudices of the Hindoos,
would soon prove detrimental to the progress of vaccination.
Apart from this, the supposed advantages derived from animal vaccination are
now believed to be very doubtful. After a very fair trial, the leading authorities at
Home have decidedly expressed their opinion against its introduction. Consequent
on a special report on the subject presented last year by Dr. Ballard, the English