OF THE PROVINCE OF ASSAM.                                                         5

The number of vacci-
nations actually in-
spected by Civil
Medical Officers during
the operating season is
shown in Statement V.

                                                            STATEMENT V.

                            Showing the number of vaccinations actually inspected by the Civil
                                    Surgeons and the number of these found successful during
                                                            the year 1881-82.

                              † Many inspections made but number not recorded.

9. On reference to Statement No. V. on the margin, the number of vaccinations
actually inspected by
Civil Medical Officers
during the vaccination
season will be found
figured for each district
in the Province. This
inspection work con-
trasts most favourably
with that of any pre-
vious year, and, as
compared with 1880-81,
when the work in only
four districts was record-
ed, numbering a total
of 2,515 inspections, we
now find that inspections
during the season under
review were made in every district, making a total of 5,048. The only one exception
to this statement is the district of Lakhimpur, in which "many inspections were
made, but the number not recorded;" and, as the then Officiating Civil Surgeon
has been transferred to the Umballa Division, the information as to actual numbers
cannot be obtained. The greatest number of vaccinations inspected is recorded by
the Medical Officer in the Gáro Hills, then come in relative order Nowgong, Sibságar,
Darrang, and Cachar. But the highest percentage of successful cases actually verified
by inspection is shown in the Darrang district at 96.82, in the Gáro Hills 94.18,
in the Khási Hills 94.11. The average total percentage of successful cases verified
by inspection, in a total of 5,048 vaccinations, figures at 87.20 for the whole
Province. If this success of 87.20 per cent. may be accepted as a fair representation
over the total work by the dispensary staff and vaccinators during the past season,
and I see no reason why it should be rejected, then the work so far as it has gone is far
from being destitute of success, and by no means compares very unfavourably with vacci-
nation carried on in districts of other provinces, where the agency of vaccination is
efficiently organised, and the work closely supervised by Superintendents of Vaccination.

The vaccination work on tea-gardens, with
recommendations to managers for improving
it.

10. The following statement, No. VI., shows the total vaccination work performed
during the past season by tea-garden agency on tea-gardens,
so far as the returns have been received by the district
officers who collect them. I may at once observe that the
statement, though incomplete, is of much value, as it opens to enquiry how far the
tea-garden population is protected against small-pox by vaccination, and it further shows
the amount of vaccination work done by tea-garden agency. It was late in the season
before the form was issued to tea-garden managers, and, although very simple, it
appears to have been in many instances quite misunderstood, and the outcome, to say
the least of it, of many useless and purposeless remarks. It is, however, very satisfactory
to observe that on some gardens great interest is shown in vaccination, as, e.g., by
Mr. Bell in the Kámrúp district, and again by Mr. Aitchison in Cachar.

                                                  Statement VI. showing the vaccination work among the garden population performed by Government
                                                                                                    and tea-garden agency during 1881-82.

It should be brought home to tea-garden proprietors and managers the unquestion-
able desirability of thoroughly carrying out vaccination work on their own gardens, by their
own agency, and by themselves securing vaccine lymph of good quality for that purpose.
Government vaccination agency is quite inadequate to the task of doing it for them; nor