7
18. The system of punch-marking railway tickets issued at stations in
infected areas with the object of facilitating the surveillance of travellers from
such areas has remained in force during the period under review, but it is
now impracticable to secure the observation of travellers at the places of their
-destination and the punch-marking system is doing no good in the Punjab, while
it gives subordinate Railway officials opportunities of harassing and blackmailing
travellers. The Government of India has under consideration the question of
discontinuing the system.
19. The Lieutenant-Governor in 1902 came to the conclusion that conveni-
ence and advantage would result from the employment of steam disinfectors
at inspection posts and large towns, and it was finally decided to purchase
10 machines of the Bowman pattern. There was unfortunately some delay
in carrying out the orders in this matter, but all the machines were received
in the Punjab by the end of March 1903. They have proved most useful
at inspection posts, but their advantages are not yet sufficiently appreciated
in the large towns to which they have been sent, and His Honour trusts
that every endeavour will be made to popularise them.
20.    Some attention was paid during the years under review to  measures
intended for the killing-off of rats.   The people are opposed to such measures, and
no successful method has yet been devised for   wholesale  rat  destruction.    The
Lieutenant-Governor has now decided that it is undesirable to incur any consider-
able expenditure in further experiments.
21.    The distinctive feature of the plague measures  adopted  in   1902-03
was an  attempt to protect the people by very extensive anti-plague inoculations.
This attempt was decided on in consideration of the success which had  attended
inoculations in  the Punjab  during previous epidemics.    Inoculations were intro-
duced into the Province directly after the  plague  broke  out.    In   1897-98   and
1898-99  they  were  confined  to  the  limited areas in the districts of Jullundur
and Hoshiárpur which were then infected, and the numbers inoculated  were  not
large,  being  3,918  in   1897-98 and 9,184 in the following year.    But under the
plague  system  then  in force  a  close  watch  was  kept  on  the results of the
inoculations  and  accurate  statistics. were  obtained   regarding   them.     These
statistics as  a whole  and individual instances of immunity conferred by inocu-
lation indicated its value as a  prophylactic.    The Punjab  figures  for   1897-98
were   passed  under review  by  the Indian Plague Commission, but though they
were   not   regarded  as  conclusive they   as  well  as  other   evidence   collect-
ed   outside   the  Punjab  led   the Commission   to recommend  inoculation as  a
valuable plague measure.    In 1899-1900 inoculation was again  offered to  the
inhabitants  of  infected  villages,  which  were   still  confined   to Jullundur  and
Hoshiárpur.    30,829 persons were inoculated during the epidemic of  the   spring
of 1900 and chiefly in evacuation  camps  among  the  people of  infected places.
These  inoculations  also  were shown   to  be  beneficial  by   statistics  collected
regarding them  and  particularly by  their  results  in  individual instances such
as  those  of   disinfecting  gangs  and  of   the  villages  of   Nawashahr, Khatkar
Kalán, Kahma and Mangowál.    The plague-infected  tract was  still limited  in
area and the people were willing to co-operate in an attempt to deal with   plague
by inoculation, and in the summer of 1900 endeavours  were made   to  inoculate
the whole of the people of the tract in   question  in  the  hope  that   this  would
prevent a recrudescence.    The proportion of the people inoculated was remark-
ably large.    From the end of May to the end of September, and mainly in June,
July and August 1900, 231,970 persons were inoculated.    Of   the  total   number
inoculated in 1899-1900  222,244  were  residents  of   the  infected  tract  which
had an area of   500  square   miles  and  a  population   of  345,220.    The  hope,
however, that inoculation  would stamp out  plague  was  not  realised.    Plague
re-appeared in the spring of 1901.    It is, nevertheless, remarkable  that the  first
cases  of  the 1900-01 epidemic were reported outside   the inoculated  area,  and
there  is  reason  to  believe  that    inoculation    considerably    delayed   the re-
appearance  of    plague   in  this  area and  that  it  very  favourably influenced
the severity  of  the disease  there  when  it  did  re-appear.    On this re-appear-
ance inoculation was again offered to the people.    In Jullundur and Hoshiarpur