The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-11-29
CAUSES Of INSANITY.
INTERESTING STATISTICS ON THE
LUNATiC ASYLUM.

An Uapub is1ed Pbrrtra OF the Report
of the Board OF -ee nts of Thi- InStiru-
tion-The Appropriation Ask for
Next Year.
Only a part of the annual report of
the regents of the State lunatic asylum
was ontllsned last week Manv por.
tions f the report yet unpublished are
of deep interest to the pu"ltc
For tne fscal year 1893 "a the fellow
ing appropriation for thr ln>t,runon IS
asked IF t,r L -sisluture: FDr maln-
tenance, 500 0OO; mileage aud perdIem
of regents, 81 800; sanitary improve
mHnts, $1,000. aad detail OF cnuvlcts,
80 500. 1t appears thar in 1SS9 tn
Legislature appropriated SolO for the
education of feeble-minded children.
This money was drawn out OF tue
State treasury and placed IN bauk and
never USED. Pc: MISSION is asked TO
use the money for Sanitary purposes IN
addition to the a,nount named.
During tie year closed Sl5 new pa.
tients ware admitted, 160 white and
l55 colored. The whole number under
treatment was 1,109. The total dis.
charges, including deaths, numbered
$50. Of those discharged u, or "a per
cent on admissions, were discharged
recovered; II much improved; % in
proved and 13 unlmproved. The Gus
tom of sending out patients on proba-
ton whenever their condition Jus Ines
it has been continued as IN former
years. By this method 133 patients
have been sent out during tue year and
80 were brought over from last year,
making total of l62. OF this NUN
Der, one white woman was returned as
relapsed and 81 are still out on trial.
Twelve patients eloped. In sumo in
stances this was due to carelessness of
attendants, who were promptly dis
charged.
The number of deaths was II more
than last year and the same as the pre-
vious year. Our large mortality is due
to the causes which have been dwelt
upon at length in former reports, pull
monary tuberculosis leading the list.
Thirteen patients died Of general para
lysis, II of senlle exhaustion, 8 from
epilepsy, Z from exhaustion from acute
mania and Z from acute melsncho!ia;
of general tuberculosis and exhaustion
from chronic mania, 6 each.
IMPROVEMENTS.
Speaking of the Improvements
which have been made the report says:
The sanitary condition of the asylum
has been improved by placing doors,
either Slated or screened with heavy
wire, through the old asylum, and In
the white female wards and some OF
the male wards of the new asylum.
The water closets In the new asylum
have been ventilated by additional
windows. Four new water closets
have been added 10 the end section for
the department for white men. The
pantry sinks have been trapped and
ventilated. The furnaces have all un-
dergone repairs. Six wards in the new
asylum have been painted. Adjoining
the kitchen a special house has been
built for washing and preparing vege
tables. A new sewing room was h.ted
up for white women at the old asVlum.
A well ventilated building for soiled
clothes from the female wards of the
new asylum has been erected.
OCCUPATION AND ADJUSTMENTS.
A carefully prepared esG'.nate shows
that q daily average OF about forty
per cent, of our patients are engaged
In some useful occupation. The work
shops, sewing rooms and farm not only
provide employment for the patients,
but their work in these departments
serve to reduce very materially the ex-
penses of the institution.
ho MI r.,
of employing some able-bodied patients
at brick making was attempted with
partial success. About $4,000 brick
we're made. Owing to the inferior
quality of the clay and the primitive
methods employed, only second rate
brick we're made. The result OF the
experiment shows, however, what can
be done by employing denented pa-
tients for q tew hours a day. With
good clay and some machinery better
results could be expected.
FARM.
The report Of the farm by TIE stew
art, Mr.. J. w. Bunch, is here aith ap.
pended. While the results on the
whole are not so satisfactory as they
were last year, yet considering The un-
favorable seasons they are at least
creditable.
The estimated market value of the
products of thu farm for the year is
S26,492 03, and the cost OF labor, fertil-
izers, &C., was S11.5 $50 OF, thus giving a
profit of 14903 02, OF SS5.16 per acre for
the It's acres under cultivation.
The oat and corn crops were short.
yielding 1,400 bushels of oats and $500
bushels of corn. The supply of vege-
tables during the summer was suffi-
cient for the needs of the institution.
The farm supplied 1,175 bushels of
corn, which was ground On the prem
ises, thus providing nearly all the meal
used for the patients. The tabulated
statement of the yield of milk from the
dairy shows that 1878 quarts were
supplied, which at market value of
cents per quart amounts to S9,577.O4.
This excellent showing from The dairy
Is due to the food value of ensilage, of
which large stock was put up last
year and used for the herd winter and
summer. The supply on ensilsge for
this year has been nearly doubled,
about 800 tons being now IN the pits.
DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE.
For some years the sewage of the
institution has been emptied by way
of Smiths branch into Broad River.
Since April all the sewage of the insti-
tuition has beer used to irrigate twen-
ty acres of the asylum farm. The sys-
tenn of surface irrigation has been en-
ployed, because the elevated location
Of the main sewer and the sand char.
acter of the soil seemed especially fav-
orable to this methed. 1t is estimated
that daily average of $4,000 gallons