Reports of American Institutions for the Insane
Aut. IV.? :Author: S. TUNY EAKLE.
(From the American Journal of Medical Science. Edited by Isaac Hays, M.D.) The American reader who wishes to obtain a knowledge of insanity, its nature, its causes, and its proper treatment, without personal observation in an hospital, can hardly do better than procure a series of the Reports by Dr Ray. We always shrink from them when preparing our notices, because of the labour inquired in the effort to do justice to both the author and our readers, and at the same time confine ourselves within justifiable limits.
Men. Women. Total. Patients in the Butler Hospital, Dec. 31, 1853. . G3 73 130 Admitted in course of the year 31 49 SO Whole number 9-1 122 21G Discharged, including deaths 40 45 85 Remaining December 31, 1854 54 77 131 Of those discharged, there were cured … 40 Died … 19 1. Of the Butler Hospital, for 1854. 2. Of the Bloomingdale Asylum, for 1854. 3. Of the New York State Lunatic Asylum, for 1854. 4. Of the New Jersey State Lunatic Hospital, for 1S54. 5. Of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, for 1S51. 6. Of the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital, for 1854. 7. Of the Maine Insane Hospital, for the years 1854 and 18o.>. 8. Of the New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane, for tlio years 18o4and 18oj. 9. Of the Vermont Asylum for the Insane, for the years 18^4 and 1800. 10. Of the Massachusetts Lunatic Hospital, Worcester, for the years ISoi and 1855. ?oro
Of the Boston Lunatic Asylum, for tho year 18 j?. , 1Q?,
Of the New York City Lunatic Asylum, for the years 1854 and 1855.
Of the Maryland Hospital for the Insane, for the years lboJ, 18^4, and
Of the Mount Hope Institution, for the years 1854 and 1855.
Of the Western Lunatic Asylum, Virginia, for the years 1854 and 1855.
Of the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum, or tho years 13u3 and ISjj.
REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. 2G3 The department for females has been so much crowded, that applicants for admission have been rejected. Patients admitted from 1818 to 1851, both inclusive . G63 Discharged, recovered 211 Died 121
The deaths are “equivalent to about 15 per cent, of the ave- rage resident number of patients* one year with another.” “In 1850, when dysentery was very prevalent in this region, we had our share of it; but this year we had only a few cases, none of them being severe, and not more than three continuing beyond the third day. With these two exceptions, and that of an occasional influenza, we have been entirely exempt from epi- demic disease.”
” It is a noteworthy fact, that in most if not all our hospitals the mortality has been steadily increasing of late years.” We have made no investigations in regard to that which is here asserted.
11 Premature removals” is still one burden of complaint in the Reports from many of the institutions. ” It is one of the disheartening experiences of our calling,” says Dr Ray, ” to be so often obliged to see a patient removed just at the moment when it seemed as if our efforts to promote his recovery were about to be rewarded with success, though a longer perseverance would have been followed by no very obvious deprivations? none, certainly, which a year or two of restored health would not have fully repaired. Few things are more calculated to lower our estimate of human nature than this balancing of reason, God’s greatest gift to man, vAtk a paltry sum of money. . _ . Few of our patients who fail to recover within five or six months are allowed to remain longer. It is concluded that everything has been done that we can do, and that the time has come for another experiment. And yet it appears, from one of Esquirol’s tables, that in the French hospitals less than one-half of the recoveries occur within the first year. … I have no hesitation in saying that many of the incurables that form so large a share of the inmates of our hospitals, have been made so by the interference of well-meaning but injudicious friends.” From a very accurate exposition of the secret?if secret it may have been?in which lies the superior advantage of hospital over domestic treatment, we make an extract which will impart a sufficient idea of the whole :?
” Insanity implies the existence of bodily derangement, and therefore is a suitable object of medical treatment, which, of * We regard this as the only accurate basis upon which to compute thcmoitality in any public institution.
course, would be more skilfully applied by men who are devoting their whole time and attention to this affection, than by those who observe it only on a very limited scale. But it also implies derangement of the ideas, hallucinations of the senses, perversion of the moral sentiments?all which, though the result of physical disorder, are, so far as their outward mani- festations are concerned, in some degree under the control of others, and by such control?in a way not very well understood ?the morbid process may be arrested. Now, it is the moral management prevalent in the hospitals of our time which so strongly distinguishes them from those of any former period, and determines, in a great measure, the amount of good which they accomplish… . It is one of their merits, indeed, that this management works so easily, and substitutes so quietly its own arrangements for the suggestions of disease, that the un- initiated observer finds it difficult to appreciate its real value, and thus often mistakes the character of its results. He sees the patient taking no medicine, perhaps; calm in his discourse and movements; readily complying with the wishes of others, and engaging, it may be, in some form of work or amusement; and he adopts the conclusion, which no opinion of the physician can shake, that the patient has recovered, or, at any rate, is so much better that he would do equally well at home, or in a private family. He can scarcely be made to believe that what he wit- nesses is chiefly the result of that special management peculiar to a modern hospital for the insane?of architectural arrange- ments which restrain without annoyance; of systematic regula- rity in the daily routine of life; of gentle manners, judicious firmness, vigilant, enlightened, and conscientious supervision. Now, these qualities are not a matter of accident, nor are they the growth of a day. They are the elaborated result of a pro- found study of the mental constitution, both in health and disease ; of extensive inquiry into the various arts concerned in the erection and practical working of an extensive establishment, and of an organization of the service best calculated to effect its designed object.”
” The peculiar restlessness of the insane, which impels them to roam about regardless of time , and occasion, at the risk of their own safety and the peace of society, and which finds no sufficient restriction in the arrangements of an ordinary dwelling, short of confinement in a small apartment, is effectually con- trolled in an hospital; while the range of ample galleries and airing-courts prevents that control from being oppressive and unhealthy. Their fitful humours, their wild caprices, their im- pulsive movements, their angry looks, are met by the steady and straightforward will of attendants who have learned to per- form their duty unbiassed by fear or favour. Having no object of their own to serve, imbibing the spirit of kindness which prevails around them, deterred from improper practices by a vigilant supervision, and aided by suitable architectural contri- vances, they are enabled to manage their charge with the least possible degree of annoyance. Thus withdrawn from outward excitements, and especially from the persons and scenes con- nected with his mental disorder, the patient naturally becomes calmer, his mind opens to better suggestions, and finally seeks for repose in amusement or labour. And thus it happens that in many cases but little more is necessary to conduct the morbid process to a successful issue, besides giving the constitution a iair chance to exert its restorative powers unembarrassed by adverse influences.”
In the Report of the Bloomingdale Asylum, Dr Brown gives the following statistics :? Men. “Women. Total. Patients in tlie Asylum, January 1, 1854 … 50 08 124 Admitted in course of the year 58 61 122 Whole number Ill 132 216 Discharged, including deaths 61 55 119 Remaining December 31, 1851 50 77 127 Of those discharged, there were cured 22 20 4S Died 10 10 20
Causes of Death.?Old age, 6 ; exhaustive mania, 4; phthisis pulmonalis, 3 ; general paralysis, 3 ; epilepsy, 2 ; marasmus, 2 ; apoplexy, 1 ; disease of kidneys, 1 ; suicide, 1 ; use of opium, 1 ; ” exhaustion from a suicidal attempt previous to admission,” 1. Of the six who died from old age, the youngest was 70, and one had reached the age of 95, preserving a remarkable degree of intellectual activity and genial humour within a few days of his departure.
“The insane, as a class,” remarks Dr Brown, “are unsound alike in mind and body. They inherit tlie multiform varieties of scrofula, and among them abound the Protean forms of ner- vous diseases, hysteria, chorea, neuralgia, and epilepsy. Some are victims to depraved appetites, unrestrained by an enlightened and vigorous will, and suffer the torments of alcoholic poison, which lias paralyzed alike their physical energies and their moral sense. Cardiac, hepatic, renal, and uterine affections are common among them, excite and shape their delusions, and generally shorten their lives. Their sensations being enfeebled or per- verted, they disregard extremes of heat and cold, and become indifferent to danger ; but while the mind may betray no indi- cation of pain, their bodies suffer like those of sane men. Neglect of hygienic laws, and resistance to the regimen or habits imposed by others for tlieir benefit, beget inevitable evils. Ob- stinate derangements of the digestive and assimilative organs are induced by prolonged abstinence, or excessive and unmasti- cated food ; the circulation is languid from muscular inactivity ; the extremities are cold and livid : slight abrasions of the skin become alarming ulcers ; and serious visceral disease insidiously establishes itself, too often successfully resisting medical art. These patients become prematurely old ; their intellectual per- ceptions and moral emotions disappear with healthy sensation ; they sicken and die, often without an intimation of suffering, or an expression of concern.
“On the other hand, a remarkable exemption from prevailing epidemics is sometimes vouchsafed to these unfortunates. Thus, while cholera prevailed to a considerable extent in the neigh- bourhood of the Asylum during the past summer (1853), 110 instance of this disease occurred within our enclosure, and the whole household was preserved, in an unusual degree, from all affections of a similar character.”
The long-desired improvement in the buildings of this insti- tution has at length been accomplished by the enlargement of the “lodges,” and the introduction into them of a sj’stem of forced ventilation, and heating by hot water. The beneficial effects of these have soon become apparent. “Quiet and sensi- tive patients have been effectually relieved of the annoying presence of the disorderly and noisy, and at the same time the latter have been permitted a degree of liberty formerly incom- patible with the comfort of their associates.”
In the means for ministering to all the physical comforts of its patients, the Bloomingdale Asylum has now but few equals in this country.
Dr N. D. Benedict resigned the office of superintendent of the New York State Lunatic Asylum in June, 1854, and was succeeded by Dr John P. Gray, who for some years had been connected with the institution as assistant physician. The report of the latter contains a large amount of interesting matter, from which we shall extract that which appears to be of the greatest value.
Men. Women. Total. Patients in the Asylum, November 30,1853 . .239 207 44G Admitted in the course of the fiscal year … 101 199 390 Whole number 130 40C 830 Discharged, including deaths 201 182 3SG Remaining November 30, 1851 22G 221 150 Of those discharged, there were cured …. 98 GG 1G1 Died ‘ 29 3G G5 I Causes of Death.?Phthisis pulmonalis 15, exhaustion from REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. 267 acute or periodic mania 11, exhaustion of chronic mania 5, old age and protracted mental disease 4, general paralysis 4, epi- lepsy 4, suicide 4, erysipelas 4. apoplexy 2, hemorrhoids 2, disease of liver 1, pneumonia 1, typhoid fever 1, chorea ], not stated 7.
” In December last (1853), a case of smallpox occurred, which, though isolated as much as possible, was followed by others, and m the two months following we had twenty-three cases. By great precautions, the disease was confined entirely to the male department.”
In the spring and summer of 1853, ” the domestics engaged in the kitchens were seized with typhoid fever. We attributed this to the decayed state of the floors and timbers of the basement, and the decomposing impurities beneath.” These causes being removed, there were no more cases of the disease.
One hundred and eight applicants for admission were rejected, and fifty-one patients discharged, for the purpose of receiving more recent and curable cases.
” During the past, as in former years, we have had many un- happy instances of injudicious haste in bringing patients to the asylum. One lady was admitted five days after her confinement; another before the burial of the child whose death was the immediate exciting cause of her disease, and many who were far too ill to travel.”
“Thirty-four patients (eleven males and twenty-three females), have been admitted during the year with strong suicidal propen- sities. In several of these cases the ancestors had committed suicide, in two of them for three generations. In one male, it was impulsive; he was also homicidal, and left home at his own request, because he felt that the inclination to destroy his children, whom he loved tenderly, was gradually strengthening, while his power of resistance was growing weaker.
” All the epileptics (10) admitted, and the cases (6) of general paralysis, had either epileptic or intemperate ancestors.” Of the 390 patients received, the disease was directly heredi- tary in the numbers and manner shown in the subjoined table :? Men. AVomen. Total.
From the paternal branch of the family . 30 20 50 From the maternal brauch 16 30 4G From both paternal and maternal branches 8 9 17 Total 54 59 113 Collateral predisposition manifested in the insanity of brothers, sistei’s, or cousins .10 19 29 Numbers in which there was a family pre- disposition G4 7S 142 Thus, in 28’97 per cent, of the cases the disease was here- ditary ; and in 3641 per cent, there were relatives insane. A larger number received the predisposition from the father than from the mother. This does not accord with the result of the researches of Dr Baillarger, of Paris, which showed, as has been formerly mentioned in our notices, that, so far as the data which he had collected were concerned, a large majority received it from the mother.
” In one case included in the preceding table, the maternal great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, and two aunts, and the paternal grandfather, uncle, and two sisters, and one brother, have been insane. In another, the maternal grandmother, two uncles, and mother, the paternal grandfather and uncle, and two brothers, have suffered from attacks of insanity.
Improper cases received.?Typhoid fever, 1 ; chorea, 1; phthisis, 1 ; drunkards, 8; feigned insanity, to escape imprison- ment, 2. Several, also, placed under the head of subacute mania, were simply cases in which there was mental prostration with tranquil delirium, the result of grave organic diseases. It is well known that when the brain and heart are seriously in- volved, there may be more or less prostration of the intellectual faculties; and when the lungs are implicated, often a state of exaltation not amounting to insanity. These persons were in such a feeble bodily state that we could not refuse them, although improper cases for admission, fearing they might die on their return home, as some lived in distant parts of the State. Most of them never left their beds after reception ; some died in a few days, and others lingered for several weeks. A patient received from one of the county poor-houses ” had been for more than a year chained to the floor of his cell, and destitute of clothing and bedding, because his habits were destructive and filthy. He had lain upon straw, which was changed two or three times a week, and the person who attended him ‘ always carried a cow-hide, because he always attacked him, and he could only control him by whipping him.’ This man is now quiet and comfortable. Application has recently been made for the return of another, who, the superintendent of the poor states, ‘ has been in chains for months, and is in the most filthy and wretched condition.’”
Dr Smith, of the Missouri Asylum, in his lleport for 1854, discusses the question of the propriety of establishing separate asylums for the incurable insane, and, after giving his reasons for condemning the plan, says :?” I rejoice in the reflection that America has never been disgraced by one, and I trust that period will never occur.” We, also, are opposed to such special institutions, but an asylum for incurables is not necessarily a disgrace to any nation. Some of those upon tlie continent of Europe stand, confessedly, in the foremost rank of establish- ments for the insane, and we have seen several of them which would not suffer in comparison with some of our asylums for both curables and incurables. Indeed, of the fifty-six ‘public institutions for the insane which it has been our lot to visit, the very worst, with but a single exception, is in one of the original thirteen United States of America.
If our country has not been disgraced by an asylum erected particularly for the incurable insane, has she not been, is she not still disgraced by something even more objectionable ? Read the several memorials of Miss Dix, embodying the results of her observations of the insane and their manner of treatment in the poor-houses, prisons, cellars, and specially-constructed cells in several of our states ! Go to the numerous jjoor-liouses, which have been, and still are, in effect, asylums for the incurable insane, with all the objectionable and none of the redeeming qualities of those to which Dr Smith objects, and learn what is there to be learned. Or, simply, read the above extract from the report of Dr Gray, and we may then ascertain whether our course, in the treatment of those who are alienate of reason, is such as to exempt us from reproach.
For ourselves, rather than allow the incurables to remain, as they are this day, we would rejoice to see them collected, to- morrow morning, into purely technical ” asylums for the in- curable.” The establishments once in operation, the Argus eyes of trustees, of the Association of Medical Superintendents of Asylums for the Insane, of the communities in which they might be placed, and last, though far from least, of Miss Dix, so long as Heaven shall bless her with life and health, would watch them with a vigilance sufficient to prevent a large proportion of the abuses now heaped upon the unfortunate persons who would become the inmates of them.
Patients admitted from January 1G, 1843, to Dec. 1, 1S54 4,313 Discharged, recovered 1,789 Died 511
“The Opal is still edited and published by the patients, and its proceeds devoted to their comfort and amusement. The profits of the last year, with the avails of a fair held by the ladies, amounted to four hundred dollars, which has been ex- pended for books, improvements in the greenhouse, and in amusements. The Opal now receives about three hundred periodicals and newspapers in exchange.”
The number of patients in the New Jersey State Lunatic Hospital, at Trenton, is as follows:? 270 REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. Men. “Women. Total. Number of patients 1st Jan., 185-1 . 98 107 205 Admitted in course of the year . . 5G G7 123 Whole number 154 174 328 Discharged, including deaths … 4G GO 115 Remaining at the close of the year . 108 105 213 Of those discharged, there were cured . 25 32 57 Died 11 12 23 Causes of Death. ? Consumption 4, general exhaustion 8, dysentery 8, epilepsy 1, apoplexy 1, asphyxia 1, congestion of the brain 1.
” During the months of August and September, a number of cases of dysentery occurred, several of which proved fatal. ” Besides the Museum and Reading Room,” remarks Dr. Buttolph, ” as a means of occupying and amusing the members of our household, wre are now engaged in the erection of a cali- stheneum, or exercise room, twenty by sixty feet in extent, for the use of the female patients ; also, a ten-pin alley for the men. Both these structures are being erected by aid of contributions from various benevolent individuals, and will form very valuable means of promoting both physical health and mental tranquillity.” The calistheneum is within the inclosed grounds for the women, and its estimated cost is one thousand dollars. Messrs. Morris, Tasker, & Morris, of Philadelphia, have contributed a “self- regulating hot-water furnace” with which to heat it, and several gentlemen, mostly in Newark, have given money to the amount of 675 dollars.
The laudable benevolence of many of our fellow-citizens is rapidly bringing some of the public establishments for the in- sane into a proper condition in regard to the facilities for curative treatment. As one extreme is often followed by its opposite, it may, perhaps, ere long, become a question whether there is not a danger that the desolation, the barrenness, and the wretched- ness of the mad-house of the past, will be followed, in the Hos- pital for Mental Disorders of the future, by an objectionable and deleterious luxury.
Two additional wings to the Trenton Asylum are in progress. The house has been so much crowded by the number of patients during the year, that their proper classification has, at times, been impracticable. But a small part of the report of Dr. Buttolph is devoted to subjects which would particularly interest our readers.
” That which the skeleton is to him whose general form it represents, when in his prime of manhood,” such must be our notice of the report for 1854, of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the insane.
We must fully coincide with. Dr Kirkbride in his remarks, that ” because entire accuracy in every point may not be attained, it can hardly be urged as an excuse for not attempting to ap- proach it; nor is it a sound reason for omitting all statistics, that wrong inferences and unfair comparisons have occasionally been made from some that were not entirely reliable. … I have never been able to discover a sound reason why tables of care- fully recorded facts, or even of the opinions of intelligent physi- cians in reference to insanity, should not be just as important and reliable as if made in regard to other diseases.” Men. Women. Total.
Patients in the Hospital Dec. 31, 1S53 112 123 235 Admitted in course of the year . . 178 Whole number 413 ? Discharged, including deaths … 190 Remaining, December 31, 1851…117 10G 223 Of those discharged, there were cured . 98 Died 15 11 26 Causes of Death.?Phthisis pulmonalis G, acute mania 5, softening of the brain 4, epilepsy 1, paralysis 1, chronic bron- chitis 1, acute inflammation of the bowels 1, dysentery 1, diarrhoea 1, pneumonia 1, acute dementia 1, disease of heart J, liydrothorax ], old age 1. ” There has been little acute disease of any kind?except of the brain?and no tendency to any of the summer or autumnal epidemics which prevailed in many parts of the country.” The hospital lias been full throughout the year, often crowded, and as many as fifty applicants for admission were not received. Men. Women. Total.
Patients admitted since the opening of the hospital 1384 1192 257G Discharged, cured CGI 574 1235 Died 157 114 . 271 From two of the tables given in the report we derive the following in reference to the relative proportion of the different forms of mental disorder, and of their comparative curability :? Admitted. Cured. Per cent. Mania 1273 738 57.97 Melancholia G28 324 51.58 Monomania 358 147 41.00 Dementia 30G 25 8.17 Delirium 11 1 9.09 Of the 223 cases still remaining in the hospital, some will un- doubtedly be restored to health, modifving, somewhat, these results. The greater proportion of the annual reports of a public institu- tion for the insane, pass, in each successive year, into the hands of a new set of readers. For this reason we have ever approved of the plan of entering into a more or less detailed account of the moral treatment in every report. To the constant reader this may become monotonous, hut that effect is as nothing in com- parison with the influence for good upon the minds of the people in regard to the true nature of these institutions, which cannot fail to be produced by such a course. In but few of the reports from our hospitals is so much space customarily devoted as in those of Dr Kirkbride.
During nine months of the year, three entertainments in each week are given to the patients. ” One evening is now devoted to scientific lectures, another to the exhibition of dissolving views, with interesting explanations of the scenery or pictures shown, and interspersed with music; and the third to music alone.” On the other evenings of the week the teachers read to the patients in the wards. ” The interest in these readings has been increased by the introduction of some pleasant exhibitions and music. The value of all this class of means can hardly be properly estimated by those who have not made a systematic trial of them, using them not, at long intervals, as a rare gratification, but frequently, as a regular part of the treatment As a general rule, the more varied the pursuits of the patients, the more steadily they are kept employed in some way, the more comfort- able they will be found to be, the better their general health and appearance, the more easily they may be managed, the less noise and excitement there will be in the wards, and the more efficient and valuable will be the services of those who are en^aued hi O O their care. No money expended in a hospital for the insane is better applied than when judiciously used in promoting these various objects.”
A carriage-road 011 the pleasure-grounds for the men, similar to that on those for the women, is in progress. These roads will liave a combined extent of a mile and three-quarters, and will be bordered with trees through most of the distance.
The Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, in view of the necessity for further accommodations, have determined to erect another establishment upon a tract of land containing seventy acres, immediately west of the pleasure-grounds of the present hospital buildings, ” a site that cannot be surpassed for general adaptation and natural advantages, in a single tract, secured from encroachments by special legislative enactments.” It is intended that it shall have ” fixtures and arrangements of so superior a kind as, with the present buildings, to put our city (Philadelphia), in this respect, far in advance of any other 011 this continent, and to give to those who are mentally diseased advan- REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. 273 tages nowhere surpassed.” The estimated cost is 250,000 dollars, and the buildings will be commenced when 150,000 dollars shall have been subscribed.
The report contains an elaborate memoir of Jacob G. Morris, late a Trustee of the Institution, who was on board the steamer ” Arctic” at the time of her loss, and met, with so many others, an untimely death. As institutions for the insane have rarely, if ever, received such attention and sacrifice from a trustee or manager, we should fail of justice were we to omit the following extracts:?
“Possessed of an ample fortune, and with a truly benevolent heart, the activity, energy, and sound sense of Jacob G. Morris, made him a desirable manager in the charitable institutions abounding in our city. …. He made it a rule to expend all his income, whatever it might be ; and as his own habits were in no way extravagant, a large portion of it was devoted to deeds of charity He was strictly conscientious, and whatever he believed right he carried out steadily and fearlessly, without regard to what others might think of his course He was elected manager of the Pennsylvania Hospital in September, 1844, and from that time took an active interest in all its depart- ments. He was always ready to perform any services that were assigned him He was a frequent visitor among our patients, and was always joyfully received The slightest wish made by a patient, especially of the gentler sex, he rarely failed to esteem it a duty to gratify; and it was surprising what an amount of labour he would often undergo to enable him to effect it. It differed little with him whether it was to procure a toy for a child, patterns or materials for ladies’ fancy work, a piano for a ward, a collection of books for the library, curiosities for the museum, or funds for some greater undertaking; he entered on the task with an equal zeal, and with an earnestness and hearty good-will, which never left a doubt of success. Rarely did he fail in anything he undertook ; and his own gratification at such a result quite equalled that of those who were immediately benefited.
“He placed on our walls several valuable oil-paintings, and purchased expressly for the museum a large collection of curiosi- ties ; besides making numerous presents of a useful or ornamental character.” …. When it was decided to erect the new hospital, as above-mentioned, ” he at once offered 1000 dollars as his first contribution to the work, and devoted no small portion of the little time that elapsed before his departure for Europe, in calling attention to its importance and soliciting subscriptions in aid of the object In every part of his travels he visited all the institutions for the insane worthy of note, and collected every- thing that he thought might be useful in our new undertaking. In the very last letter I received from him, this subject was earnestly dwelt upon, and, although anxious to be at home, he declared his willingness to return to Europe at any time as one of a commission to visit the best foreign institutions, defraying his own expenses, and contributing liberally to those of his asso- ciate.” Truly, the Pennsylvania Hospital has met with a great, it is to be feared an irreparable, loss ! The report of Dr Curwen, of the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital, furnishes the following statistics .? Men. Women. Total.
Patients in the Hospital December 31, 1853 . 99 83 182 Admitted in course of the year 93 51 141 Whole number 192 134 32G Discharged, including deaths G5 47 112 Remaining, December 31, 1854 127 87 214 Of those discharged, there were cured .. 29 Died 22 Causes of Death.?Exhaustion of chronic mania 10, general paralysis 4, peritonitis 2, bilious fever 2, inflammation of brain 2, consumption J, dysentery 1. “In common with the surrounding section of country, our household was visited, during the latter part of summer and through the autumn, with intermittent and remittent fevers, in many cases of a very obstinate form, and of a very irregular character. The diseases were clearly attributable to an epidemic constitution of the atmosphere, as most of those attacked were, as far as possible, removed from the usual exciting causes of those diseases.
In discussing the etiology of mental disorders, Dr Curwen maintains that no exciting cause will produce insanity, unless the nervous system be in a favourable condition for its development, and that that which is often assigned as the cause in individual cases, as, for example, the reading of the Bible, is rather the effect of previous mental depression dependent upon the abnormal condition of the body.
” In those who are natives of other countries, a different class of causes, to a certain extent, acts. The disappointment of their hopes, so fondly cherished and often so rudely crushed, the entire change of climate and mode of life, the difficulty of obtaining employment and support for their families, with the too frequent resort to intoxicating drinks, all contribute their share to bring on that condition of the system which ends in insanity; and the natural elasticity of the system appears to be so far destroyed that, in a large majority ot cases, it never fully regains its former tone and vigour.
REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. 275 By the report of Dr Harlow, of the Maine State Asylum, it appears that at that institution, on the 30th of November, 1853, the number of Patients was Admitted in course of the year . . Whole number Discharged, including deaths Remaining, November 30,1854 . Of those discharged there were cured Died Men. Women. Total. 61 58 119 57 53 110 118 111 229 5G 58 114 G2 53 115 2G 23 49 1G 16 32 Causes of Death.?Dysentery 16; general paralysis 5; consumption 2; old age 2; marasmus 2; serous apoplexy 1; congestion of brain 1 ; typhoid fever 1; gangrene 1; epilepsy 1. “About the 1st of August,” says the report, “an epidemic diarrhceal dysentery broke out in our wards, and for three months little else than the sick and dying occupied our attention. There was scarcely an individual connected with the hospital family who escaped the ravages of the disease. Officers, attendants, nurses, and assistants shared alike with the patients in the attack. Just in the midst of the epidemic, when it would seem the services of the superintendent and steward were most needed, we were prostrated and unable to perform our duties. Having no medical assistant, we were obliged to call in a neighbouring physician to attend the patients. For- tunately, the trustees were able to procure the valuable services of ex-Governor Hubbard, who was formerly, for several years, a member of their board, and who has always felt and taken a deep interest in the hospital. He visited us daily for four weeks, and attended upon all the sick in the house till we were able to attend to our duties.” Of ninety persons attacked by this epidemic, seventeen, of whom sixteen were patients, and one, a female attendant, died.
The number of patients admitted, since the first opening of the hospital for their reception, is 1430. Discharged, 1316, of whom 590 had recovered. Died 175.
To avoid the labour and the inconveniences attendant upon the return of patients who, on the supposition of recovery, have left the hospital with the formalities of a regular discharge, but who, after a few days, either suffer a relapse or give evidence of imperfect restoration, Dr Harlow has adopted the plan pursued at some of the European hospitals, of discharging all in regard to whom he has ” doubts of their fitness, on trial, for a period of two weeks.”
Of 1200 patients who have been in the hospital, 586 had insane relatives. It is not stated whether these 1200 were so many persons, or merely so many cases, including a con- siderable number of re-admissions of the same person?conditions which materially affect the percentage.
In some remarks upon the deleterious effects of a forced early intellectual education, Dr H. remarks that he “was most forcibly struck, in reading an account of a class of students who graduated at one of our New England Colleges, in 1827. It was found that of this class, numbering twenty-three, all but two had survived the lapse of a quarter of a century ; and it was also found that nearly every member of the class had arrived at adult age before entering college, thus escaping that premature excite- ment and development of the intellect which paves the way to mental disease, and furnishes tenants for many an early grave.” At the date of this report an additional wing for females was in course of construction.
In the report for 1855 we are informed that the new wing is completed, and occupied. The original design is thus finished, and the hospital can now accommodate two hundred and fifty patients.
Men. Women. Total. Patients in the Hospital, Nov. 30, 1851 … 01 51 115* Admitted in course of the year GO 02 128 Whole number 130 113 213 Discharged, including deaths 41 11 88 llemaining, November 30, 1855 80 00 155 Of those discharged, there were cured …. 41 Died 19 Deaths from general paralysis 5, epilepsy 3, chronic diarrhoea 3, tubercular consumption 2, congestion of the brain 3, old age, nephritis, and typhoid fever, 3 each. ” The propensity,” says Dr Harlow,” that exists in the minds of many of the friends of our patients, to remove them from the hospital too soon after they have been admitted, continues to bo an evil which we should be glad to see eradicated. AVe are happy to say, however, that the evil appears to be growing less from year to year.”
Patients admitted since the Hospital was opened . . 1559 Discharged recovered 031 Died . 193 ” Owing to the two epidemics, and the great calamity by fire, with which the hospital has been visited since its existence, the bill of mortality is larger than (that of) some similar institutions.” * The number assigned to each sex does not correspond with that of the report of the preceding year.
Basing liis calculation upon the results obtained by the com- mission which took the census of the insane and the idiots in Massachusetts, in 185-1, Dr Harlow concludes that, in Maine, there are 1365 lunatics and 560 idiots. “The question arises,” he remarks, “where are all these 1365 lunatics, and what is their condition? Some are cared for at home by their friends, either chained or caged, if unmanageable, and some 150 are in the hospital, while by far the largest proportion of them are at the various Almshouses in the State, many of them caged^and chained, because they can be kept a few cents less per week than it costs at the hospital/’ Where is that other ” Maine Law ?”
At the New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane, on the 31sfc of May, 1853, the number of Men. Women. Total. Patients was 70 73 143 Admitted in the course of the year . 72 69 141 Whole number 142 142 284 Discharged, including deaths … 67 56* 123 [Remaining, May 31st, 1S54 … 77 84 161 Of those discharged, there were cured 34 29 63 Died 7 7 14
” During the whole year our household has enjoyed remarkable physical health. We have been entirely exempt from epidemics of all sorts, and acute disease has been almost unknown. Clean- liness, regularity of life, and a most healthful location have been the chief causes of this desirable state of things. The deaths which have occurred, with a single exception, were of those who for a long time were considered incurably insane, and who at last were literally worn out by the continued and unremitting force of their malady.
” Through the whole year our female halls have been full, and often crowded, and our male halls at all times crowded/’ This condition ” prevents a proper classification of patients, and seriously interferes with all curative measures.” Dr Tyler there- fore recommends that an additional wing be erected.
” We can in almost no case infallibly pronounce a person incurably insane ; certainly the records for the year show the recovery of some whose improvement seemed impossible, and whose present condition, among their friends, and in perfect health and soundness of mind, seems a miracle.
” The house is now lighted with gas, and we not only find its use more convenient, comfortable, and cleanly than oil, but its * These numbers are quoted from the report. But if 67 men and 56 women were discharged, the number remaining would be 75 and 86, instead of /7 -and 84. brilliant light a curative means, in making our previously lialf- lighted halls cheerful and pleasant.” Report for 1855 : Men. Women. Total. Patients 011 the 31st of May, 1854 . 77 84 1G1 Admitted in course of the year … 45 40 85 Whole number 122 124 24G Discharged, including deaths … 50 41 91 Remaining, May 31, 1855 …. 72 83 155 Among the patients who were discharged recovered, Dr Tyler says there was ” a man of intelligence and education who was for nearly eleven years an inmate of this institution/’ The asylum is rapidly becoming filled with incurables. But about one-half of the applicants for admission can be received. The doctor recommends that an additional wing be erected. A building for the violent patients is in progress. From the answers to circulars sent to every city and town in New Hampshire, and from other sources, Dr Tyler ascertains that there are thirty-five insane persons belonging to the State who ” are supported by their friends or guardians in hospitals in other States; and that there are now resident in the State more than 550 insane persons, only 155 of whom are in this asylum. Of the remainder, many are kindly and comfortably taken care of at home, or with friends, or at almshouses ; but others are chained, and caged, and sadly neglected ; in filth, and exposure to the inclemencies of the weather. Some instances of cruelty and neglect have lately come to our knowledge, that, if known, would startle the neighbourhoods in which they have occurred.” Whole number of patients from the opening of the Asylum 12S4 Discharged cured 547 Died US At the Vermont Asylum for the Insane, on the 1st of August, 1853, the number of Men. Women. Total. Patients was 183 189 372 Admitted in course of the year … 77 8G 103 Whole number 2(30 275 535 Discharged, including deaths … 72 74 146 Of whom there were recovered … SO Died 40
It appears that a large number of the patients at this Asylum are employed on the farm, in the garden, and in the workshop. Dr Rockwell also encourages them to join in “all amusements which require exercise of the body as well as diversion of the mind, and especially riding, walking, playing billiards, ten-pins, quoits, and the like.” He would “rather they would play chess, draughts, cards, and such like games than do nothing.” REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. 279 Men. Women. Total. Patients, August 1st, 1854 … .188 201 389 Admitted in course of the year … 78 86 164 Whole number 266 287 553 Discharged, including deaths … 159 llemaining, August 1st, 1855 … 394 Of those discharged, there were recovered 79 Died 52 Whole number of patients since the opening of the Asylum 2393 Discharged, recovered 1127
The unusually large number of deaths during the last year, is accounted for, in part, by the prevalence of a severe and fatal form of dysenterj’, which appeared among the patients in the early part of summer, and continued with unabated severity throughout that season. The number of attacks is not men- tioned, neither is that of the cases in which it proved fatal. Warned by the two epidemics which have been mentioned, the directing authorities of the institution have ordered the construc- tion of two infirmaries, one for either sex, wherewith, in the event of a future similar invasion of disease, the invalid patients can be isolated from the others. These apartments have been com- menced.
The State Lunatic Hospital of Massachusetts, at Worcester, has for several years been greatly, almost unjustifiably crowded with inmates. It, its officers, and its patients have at length obtained some relief. The inconvenient and unwholesome con- dition of things has been changed for the better. Another State Hospital has been erected at Taunton. To this, on the 7th of April, 1854, ” and on each of the five succeeding Fridays, a car load of patients” were transferred from the hospital at Worcester. The number thus removed was 210. No accident occurred in this rarely-paralleled migration.. ” The patients were mostly of a very orderly class, and they were gratified with the ride. ISnot- withstanding this great abstraction from its wards, the hospital was left ” quite full, but not crowded,” and it became possible to abandon the use of a number of cells and improperly-contrived rooms which had long been tenanted by patients. Men. Women. Total.
Patients in the Hospital, Dec. 1, 1853 266 254 520 Admitted in course of the year …125 174 299 Whole number 391 428 819 Discharged, including deaths … 198 210 43S Remaining, Nov. 30, 1854 …. 193 1SS 381 Of those discharged, there were cured 45 77 122 Died … 7 15 19 34
Causes of Death.?Marasmus 5 ; consumption 4 ; lung fevei 4, 2S0 REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. maniacal exhaustion 7; apoplexy and palsy 3 ; epilepsy 2 ; ery- sipelas 2; suicide, dropsy, chronic dysentery, diarrhoea, conges- tive fever, asthma, and jaundice, 1 each.
In connexion with the causes of insanity, Dr Chandler makes the following remarks :?” Probably in no part of the world are the causes of insanity more numerous and more active than among the population of Massachusetts. Here the mind, and body too, are often worked to the extreme point of endurance. Here wealth and station are the results of well-directed efforts; and the general diffusion of intelligence among the people stimu- lates a vast many of them to compete successfully for these prizes. But in the contest, where so many strive, not a few break down. The results on their minds may not, perhaps, be any less dis- astrous, whether wealth and station are obtained, or not. The true balance of the mind is disturbed by prosperity as well as by adversity. It is only in a sound body that the manifestations of the mind are sane and entirely healthy. As a people, we cannot boast of the highest standard of physical health, although we may of general intelligence, enterprise, and hard work.”
In the course of the year 1855, very important improvements were made in this establishment. Not the least of these was the introduction of the ajiparatus for heating by steam, and that for ventilating by mechanical power. Relieved, by the hospital at Taunton, of its great excess of patients, and brought by im- provements, more nearly into conformity with the idea of the times, this institution may still, for a long number of years, con- tinue its career of usefulness. Indeed, it seems that Dr Chandler is unwilling to acknowledge that it has ever merited the impres- sion which has been made upon the public mind in regard to it. ” Whatever,” he remarks, ” may have been said against this hospital?and most of what has been said about its defects, has been so said as an excuse to make it still, better?it lias always afforded, and does now, with all the progress made in others, a residence as comfortable and as cheering, and as healthful to the patient, as any similar institution in this country.”
In this expression we believe Dr Chandler is mainly correct. The only exception suggested relates to the hygienic condition of the building. It can hardly be assumed that, with its compa- ratively low ceilings, and its imperfect ventilation, it can be so healthful, other things being equal, as some of the similar edifices more recently erected. For the impression which has gone abroad in regard to it, the Board of Trustees who have the control of it are chiefly responsible. They drew the picture of its defects; and if their painted grapes bear such a resemblance to reality that the birds have pecked at them, truly it is not the birds that should bear the blame. All who have visited the REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. 2S1 hospital are well aware that the picture was a sketch of the shady side alone, and that another, drawn from the sunny side, might be made as attractive as the first was repulsive.
From its earliest years we have been a not unfrequent visitor to this hospital, and in this place we feel bound to acknowledge our belief, that from its origin, it has been not only well, but very well managed. We would shun invidious distinctions?we shall make none ; yet justice demands from us the expression, that there is no institution in the country at which we could, at any time, have placed a friend with greater confidence that all his necessities would be supplied; that his comforts would be care- fully ministered to ; that he would be shielded from abuse ; and that his restoration would be wrought for with watchful care, with constant assiduity, and with that skill which is the result of a good professional knowledge, combined with practical expe- rience.
” We avail ourselves of this occasion,” write the trustees, in their report, ” to bear testimony to the fidelity and signal ability with which Dr Chandler has discharged the duties of his posi- tion, and to the great success which has attended his labours during the whole period of his superintendence.”
Dr Chandler has resigned his office, and Dr Merrick Bemis, for some years one of the assistant physicians of the hospital, has been appointed as his successor.
Men. Women. Total. Patients in the Hospital Dec. 1,1S51 193 188 381 Admitted in the course of the year . SG 113 199 Whole number admitted in the course of the year 279 301 5SO Discharged, including’ deaths … Ill 133 2-11 Remaining, Xov. 30, 1855 …. 108 1GS 330 Of those discharged, there were cured 50 59 109 Died 13 14 27 Admitted from Jan. 18,1S33, to Xov. 30, 1855 2151 2505 495G Discharged, recovered 10S9 1195 2281 Died . 28 L 272 553 Of this aggregate number of deaths, 8/ are attributed to marasmus; to?” consumption 67; apoplexy and palsy 59 ; ma- niacal exhaustion 59 ; epilepsy 50 ; suicide 22 ; lung fever 22 ; disease of the brain 21 ; disease of the heart 20 ; diarrhoea 19 ) erysipelas 17 ; old age 11; typhus fever 11 ; dysenteric fever 10; dropsy 10 ; inflammation of the bowels 8 ; haemorrhage 6 ; cholera morbus 5; chronic dysentery 5 ; gastric fever 5; cholera 4; mor- tification of the limbs 3 ; from intemperance 3 ; bronchitis J; congestive fever 3 ; hydrothorax 3; convulsions 2; asthma -, disease of the bladder 2 ; cancer 2 ; jaundice 2 ; land scuivy , 282 REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. concussion of the brain 1 ; fright 1 ; rupture 1; pleurisy 1 ; chorea 1.”
In reference to the salubrity of the hospital, this schedule of the mortality among almost five thousand patients, in the course of a period but little less than twenty-three years, is well worthy of a careful perusal. Its testimony is more reliable than that of individual opinion ; more forcible than arguments deduced from theories of architectural construction. The almost entire exemption from fatal epidemics, from severe endemic fevers, and from other acute diseases, to which it bears record, will find but few parallels in any other institution of the kind in any quarter of the globe.
Under the table of “Causes,” we find the following re- marks :?
” Spiritualism of the present day is of the last (moral) class of causes. This singular mental phenomenon has for some years engaged a part of the minds in this vicinity, and some few cases have been brought to us, the past as well as previous years, aris- ing, it was supposed, from investigating its phenomena, and from believing in its supposed truthful revelations of the future state of existence. If it was true that this process of investigation did really open to the mind any knowledge of the world to come, not revealed to us by the Scriptures?which many of its votaries assert and believe?then it would be a cause calculated in the highest degree to engage, excite, and disturb the mind. But it has been said by those best prepared to investigate closely, that the responses through the mediums contain no ideas of this or the next world, that were not then, or had not previously been, in the mind of some one present. It may be a new faculty of the mind, but its field of operation lies this side of the grave.”
In regard to moral treatment, Dr Chandler writes as follows : ?” We recognise the principle of giving the largest liberty, and the greatest freedom from restraint, in each case, consistent with the security of the individual and safety of the community… . About one-half of our patients perform some kind of labour, more or less useful. For plain work, the patients are ready and very efficient. One day this autumn the patients, with one hired man, dug, took off the tops, and put into the cart, 480 bushels of carrots. Some are ingenious mechanics. Two have assisted the carpenters most of the season. One gentleman has made all the soft soap?350 barrels a year?and some of the bar soap, for five or six years. He has gathered the materials, made and distributed, and attended to the economical use of it. No one can make better soap than he. Two have made our baskets for years, and have supplied themselves, in part, with clothing. One female has made pantaloons and vests to supply the demand in our family. The females make the shirts, and knit the stockings ; they wash and mend; tliey cook, and they help about all our domestic affairs Whip-lash braiding … is the best employment I can think of to introduce among our patients in-doors.”
The Report for the fiscal year ending with the month of No- vember, 1852, is the latest which we have seen from the Boston Lunatic Asylum :?
Men. Women. Total. Patients at the beginning of the year . 100 141 211 Admitted in course of the year … 11 11 52 Whole number Ill 152 203 Discharged, including deaths … 31 15 19 Remaining at end of year …. 107 137 211 Of those discharged, were cured 17 5 22 Died 11 8 22 Causes of Death.?Consumption, 8 ; debility, 3 ; general paralysis, 3; epilepsy, 2 ; chronic mania, 2; smallpox, 1 ; “Asiatic diarrlirea,” 1 ; old age, 1 ; marasmus, 1. ” It is a noticeable fact,” writes Dr Walker, ” that no death from dysentery has occurred. This disease has prevailed exten- sively among us for several successive years, always bringing with it great suffering and ceaseless anxiety. Early in August it appeared in a very violent form, bringing several of our house- hold rapidly to the verge of the grave. Fires were immediately lighted in the furnaces morning and evening, so that when the patients were rising and retiring a current of warm air should be passing through the halls and bedrooms The most un- promising cases speedily began to amend, and at the time when the disease usually raged the most fiercely, not a case was under treatment.”
The Report for 1851, from this institution, contained a brief but interesting account of the case of an Irish boy, among the patients. This account was, in whole or in part, transferred to our notices. The Report before us states that the boy has left the institution “giving promise of future usefulness.” New York City Lunatic Asylum, on Black well’s Island :? Men. “Women. Total.
Number of patients on the 1st of Ja- nuary, 1S51 -32 310 512 Admitted in course of the year …221 2(32 186 Whole number 156 572 102S Discharged, including deaths…. .211 202 473 Remaining, December 31, 1S51 . . 215 310 555 Of those discharged, there were cured .. .. 186 Died 190 284 REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. Among the cases cured, there were four of delirium tremens. Of the cases admitted, nine were improper subjects for the insti- tution.
Causes of Death,?Cholera, 83 ; consumption, 34 ; paralysis gendrale, 19; typhomania, 9 ; ” debilitas,” 9 ; epilepsy, 8 ; congestion of brain, 7 ; dysentery, 3 ; chronic diarrhoea, 3 ; old age, 2; typhus fever, pneumonia, erysipelas, hydrocephalus, albuminuria, suicide by suspension, injuries of head, injuries from fall, ” submersion/’ peritonitis, gastroscirrhus, pericarditis, ascites, 1 each.
Dr Ranney gives the following account of the cholera, by which, as will have been perceived, nearly one-half of the morta- lity was occasioned :? ‘?’The epidemic commenced on the 22nd of July, and termi- nated on the 22nd of August. An attendant, however, was attacked on the lltli of September, and died in twelve hours. Four of the other attendants had cholera of a severe form ; but all recovered. It seemed more violent and proved more fatal than in 1849, and nearly the same class was affected?viz., those n whom the constitution was greatly impaired from chronic disease, and the mind reduced to the most hopeless state. Fre- quently, the first warning was complete collapse, characterized by blueness of the skin, coldness of the surface, and loss of pulse. Cramps were less common than in 1849. If diarrhoea occurred, as a premonitory symptom, it was readily checked by medicine. ” Chronic diarrhoea has become much less frequently a cause (of death) since the introduction of Croton water on the island.” Of the 486 patients admitted in the course of the year, only 97 were natives of the United States. Of the foreigners, 241 were from Ireland, 91 from Germany, 21 from England, and 9 from Scotland; the remainder were from various countries. 100 were supported by the Commission of Emigration, and all these were emigrants of the preceding five years.
” A large proportion of the recent emigrants recover, the derangement of mind being generally produced by privations on ship-board, and the changes necessarily incident on arriving in a strange land. Their exposures and sufferings are occasionally very great in crossing the Atlantic, and, in a few, the aberration of intellect has seemed to depend entirely on the want of sufficient nourishment. A poor German boy was admitted last March, who had just arrived in New York. His suffering from starvation had been so great as to obliterate from his memory all know- ledge of having crossed the ocean, and he fancied himself in his fatherland ! He would implore me, in the strongest terms, to allow him to go on his journey, as in a few hours he would meet his father and mother, who were anxiously awaiting his return.
Then a change would come over him, and he would imagine that he was detained as a culprit. He would plead his innocence with feeling eloquence, and in the most melting terms. These delusions were so firmly fixed that he would listen to no expla- nation, and the only effectual quietus was the liberal and con- stant supply of nutriment. His thirst fully equalled his appetite for food. I subsequently learned that he was a native of the Grand Dukedom of Baden, and that he had been seventy days in making the voyage from Bremen to New York. In two weeks the delusion disappeared, and he became fully conscious of his condition. In two months his mind was perfectly restored, when he left the asylum, as noted for excessive fat- ness as he had jDreviously been for his emaciated and meagre appearance.”
We rejoice to learn, as we do from the report for 1855, that one of the foulest blots which has rested upon the practical psychiatry of our country, has at length been effaced. ” The most decided improvement ever made in this asylum,” remarks Dr Eanney, ” has been consummated the past year. I refer to the entire removal of prisoners, not only from their immediate connexion with the insane, but from the institution.
“From 1826 to 1847, the work of the asylum was performed, and the principal charge of its inmates taken by persons trans- ferred from the different penal institutions on the island. At the commencement of the year last named, six of that class were employed in each of the halls, and between fifty and sixty en- gaged as domestics about the building. One-fourth of the whole number at the asylum being convicts, the institution differed little, in its tuotclIc, from a prison. It was urged upon the com- mon council, ‘ that the same individuals who were committed in the city as criminals, and required an armed keeper in the penitentiarv were sent here to take charge of a class who require the most mild and soothing treatment/ But the memorials sent, soliciting a change in the system, produced no effect. And be it remembered that no action was taken upon the sub- ject until after the asylum had ceased to be one of the footballs of partisan politics, by that worthy act of the State Legislature, which wrested the government of the Almshouse Department of the City of New York from the municipal authorities, and vested it in a’ Board of Governors selected in equal, or nearly equal numbers, from the two most prominent political parties of the da}-. The change commenced in 1850, when prisoners were re- moved from three of the halls for patients, and has gradually progressed to its final completion.
Men. Women. Total. Patients in the Asylum Dec. 31, 1854 2-15 310 555 Admitted in course of the year . . 1G3 20S 371 Whole number 408 5IS 92G Discharged, including deaths …. 170 183 353 Remaining, December 31,1855 . . 238 335 573 Of those discharged, there were cured . 200 Died 100 The disease of six patients, recorded among the cured, was delirium tremens.
Deaths from consumption 29 ; paralysie g^ndrale 18 ; epilepsy 7 ; chronic diarrhoea 7 ; typhomania (i ; old age o ; congestion of brain 5 ; hemiplegia 3 ; anasarca 3 ; inflammation of brain 2 ; apoplexy 2 ; typhus fever 2 ; hypertrophy of heart 2 ; pneu- monia 2 ; bronchitis, pleurisy, hydrothorax, ascites, erysipelas, scorbutus, and accidental drowning, 1 each.
So long as the circumstances controlling the population of this institution shall continue such as they are at the present time, so long must its annual records present a large bill of mortality. It is, in fact, the receptacle of the offscourings of the civilized world. Of the 371 patients received in 1855, onl}r 78 were natives of the United States, while 293 were foreigners. Of the latter, 288 were Europeans. Ireland was represented by 17S ; the German States, including Austria and Prussia, by G8 ; Eng- land by 19; and eight of the other nations by smaller numbers. Some of these came with broken constitutions, many of them under the depressing influence of disappointed hopes, many with the typhoid effects of the voyage by sea still upon them, and some labouring under a combinat ion of two or more of these vultures to vitality. There are also other causes, perhaps of minor importance, but still of sufficient magnitude to swell the sum of forces tend- ing to a fatal issue.
The moral treatment at this institution is gradually becoming broader, more systematic, and more effective. Musical concerts, or parties, have been held from two to three times in each week. ” New Year’s Day, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christ- mas, were appropriately observed. The oration delivered by one of the inmates, on the Fourth, is a creditable production. The reading of the Declaration of Independence, the music, and the original ode, would compare favourably with the usual ceremonies on similar occasions. About three hundred and fifty patients joined in the celebration.
” One of the most pleasant and interesting of our amusements has been the holding of ‘ Moot Courts.’ Many could directly participate in these, either as plaintiff, defendant, counsel, judge, or juryman. The minor offences alone were tried by this supreme court of Black-well’s Island. The judge, noted for benevolence and wealth, and preferring to pay the damages rather than have any one suffer from the uncertainty of the law, gave decisions? unlike those of the city courts?satisfactory to both parties.” The reports by Dr Fonerden, of the Maryland Hospital for the Insane, are very brief, limited almost exclusively to a short account of the changes in the patients resident, and to such sub- jects appertaining to the management of the hospital as are of merely local interest. The statistics of those now under review, are condensed into the subjoined table :?
Patients on the 1st of January . Admitted in course of the year . Whole number Discharged, including deaths . Remaining, December 31 Recovered Died 1853. I M. I W. .Tot. 68 62130 29[ 21| 50 97i 831S0 40: 23! 63 57 60 117 8| 3 11 7i 2 9 1851. M. W. 57 60 23 23 80 83 24 20, 56 63 10 7 5 3 Tot. 117 46 163 44 1855. ! AGGBEGATE. 119 59 17 13 8 13 W. Tot. M. I 70: 94 189,162 63119 68 28 9l . 68,103 1211 ?| 26’ 31 17’ 25 W. Tot. 62130 72 166 134:296. 72175 23! 54 9: 34
Previously to the year 1855, some cases of mania ct rpotu were received atr this institution ; but we are informed by the report for 1850, that such cases are not enumerated in the tabular accounts of the insane.
From the report of Dr Stokes, Physician to the Mount Hope Institution, near Baltimore, Ave extract the subjoined numerical results for 1854 :? Men. Women. Total. Patients on the 1st of Jan., 1854 . 45 87 132 Admitted in course of the year 54 51 105 Whole number in course of the year . 98 139 237 Discharged, including deaths … 41 48 89 Remaining January 1, 1855 5G 91 147* Of those discharged, there were cured 19 18 37 Died 7 8 15 Causes of Death.?Acute mania, 2 ; apoplexy, 1 ; Bright s disease, 2 ; epileptic convulsions, 2; puerperal mania, 2 ; ex- haustive mania, 3 ; phthisis, 2 ; ” gradual senile decline/’ 1. ” Erysipelas and dysentery prevailed to a considerable extent during the summer, but in no case did they prove fatal.
All these figures are given as they are in the report, without an attempt to
harmonize them. Of men, there were 45 at the beginning of the year, and 54 admitted ; yet the total is made 98. Of the women, the two items and the aggre- gate similarly disagree. It is stated, in general, that 41 males and 48 females were discharged; yet, immediately afterwards, in giving the details of cures, improvement, deaths, &c., the number of males is made 42, and that of females 47- NO. VI.?NEW SEMES. U ” During the entire year the institution has been rather more than comfortably filled.
From the remarks upon “premature removals/’ we make the following extract: ” Those practically familiar with the habitudes of the insane, and the motives and influences under which they act, know full well that many, who are violent, noisy, and out- rageous whilst under the care of their friends, become calm and docile when subjected to the mild but firm discipline and moral treatment of an asylum. Such a change does not indicate a cessation, or even (in some instances) the mitigation of disease ; it merely shows that it is held under control by the varied in- fluences brought to bear on it… . Many of our inmates who are peaceful and contented, cheerfully occupied throughout the day, entering with pleasure into the amusements and recreations afforded them, or rambling at will in the grounds of the asylum, would become unhappy and unmanageable if restored to the exciting cause of their malady.”
We proceed to the report for the year 1855 :? Men. Women. Total. Patients on the 1st of January … 56 91 147 Admitted in the course of the year . . 49 46 95 “Whole number in the course of the year 105 137 242 Discharged, including deaths …. 59 61 120 Remaining, Jan. 1, 1856 ….. 46 76 122 Of those discharged, there were cured .19 7 26 Died 7 7 14
Of the patients who were discharged improved, or unimproved, forty-six belonged to the district of Columbia, and, being sup- ported by the national government, were transferred to the Government Hospital for the Insane, near Washington. Upon the subject of injudicious visits to patients, by their friends, Dr Stokes says: ?” It is astonishing with what a reck- less and criminal disregard of the most earnest representations of the injury likely to be inflicted, this course is persisted in. Thus it is that the patients’ mental health and future happiness are often jeoparded by the indiscreet action of those most interested in their recovery. Strange to relate, after informing them that such a step is calculated to entail chronic insanity upon the patient for life; that its certain effect will be to protract the disorder, and thus increase and prolong the trouble and expense of his maintenance, many instances have occurred during the past year wherein they have obstinately persisted in their insane course.”
The following case is related in the observations upon epileptic mania: ” In a case now under treatment the person, whose attacks seldom amount to spasms, or even a distortion of the REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. 289 features, but in whom the loss of consciousness is complete for the time, would really seem to possess two natures. His life presents two decidedly distinct phases; the one embracing a period of a week preceding or following the attacks, during which he is suspicious, timid, apprehensive of plots to destroy him, malicious and vindictive. He is then irritable and imperious, violent and gloomy. In the other phase, in a manner normal, his character manifests itself under an entirely different aspect, exhibiting the capacities of a man in possession of good sense, and free from all extravagance.”
In four cases, the abuse of opiates is alleged as the cause of the mental aberration. ” Opium,” remarks Dr S., ” is much more used by females than by males, and there exists abundant proof that the vicious habit of this indulgence prevails much more extensively than is supposed. From two to four ounces of laudanum a day is by no means an unfrequent allowance.” Among the facilities, and the adopted plans for moral treat- ment mentioned in this report, are books, music, embroidery, excursions, a saddle-pony, musical reunions, dancing, games, and newspapers. In the report for 1844, it is mentioned that the anniversaries of the Fourth of July and Christmas are appropri- ately observed.
The report by Dr Stribling, of the Western Lunatic Asylum, Virginia, extends over two fiscal years :? Men. Women. Total.
Patients in the Asylum, Oct. 1, 1S53 . 217 1G0 377 Admitted in the course of two years . 90 63 153 Whole number 307 223 530 Discharged, including deaths … 81 G1 142 Remaining, September 30th, 1855 . . 226 162 388 Of those discharged, there were cured . 32 30 62 Died 36 22 5S Whole number of patients admitted from July 1, 1836 801 537 1338 Discharged, cured 302 214 516 Died 186 109 295
Since the last preceding report the Asylum has been so much crowded with patients that 141 applicants were rejected. Hence Dr Stribling requests the Board of Directors to ” again invoke the attention of the General Assembly to the subject of founding another asylum for the insane,” and expresses his confirmed opinion that if another institution of the kind be determined upon, it should be placed in that part of the State which is west of the Alleghany mountains. Dr Stribling has frequently been called from his hospital duties, by subpoena, to act as an expert in courts of law. ” The
Board of Directors, perceiving the evil likely to result therefrom to the interests of the asylum, presented the subject, in their report for 1843, to the legislature, and asked, ‘that this officer “be released from obligation of obeying such mandates, and that he be allowed, as some other officers of the Commonwealth, to give his testimony or opinion in the usual form of deposition.’ The suggestion was promptly acted upon, and a law passed to that effect.” Subsequently, upon receiving a subpoena in a criminal case, he refused, under this law, to obey it. The question of the constitutionality of the law, so far as relates to criminal trials, was thereupon discussed before Judge Fulton, and he, in the language of Dr Stribling, ” sent his officer with an attachment to coerce my attendance. The attachment was not executed, only because, under the advice of learned and able counsel, I became satisfied that, in this case, at least, ‘ prudence was the better part of valour.
Now, in our humble opinion, Dr Stribling and his Board of Directors were wrong in the premises. We think that no super- intendent of an institution should be exempt from obedience to a subpoena, in any case, either criminal or civil, in which his opinion as an expert is important to the issue. We have few experts of the kind. They are, almost without exception, con- nected with the institutions for the insane. Those institutions have, or ought to have, competent assistant physicians. Thus, we believe that a Lw releasing the superintendents from duty before legal tribunals, would be more seriously detrimental to the cause of justice, and to the welfare of society, than useful to the in- mates of the institutions over which they preside. From the few statistics of the reports of the State Lunatic Asylum of South Carolina, we select the following :? 1853. IS 55.
Men. Women. Total. > Men. Women. Total. Patients at the beginning of the year 135 174 Admitted in the course of the year 40 35 75 G2 Whole number in the course of the year . . 210 23G Discharged, including deaths 38 G5 Remaining at the end of the year 91 81 172 8G 85 171 Discharged cured 22 18 Died 9 31
In regard to the mortality in 1855, Dr Trezevant says: ” We have lost 31 patients; 15 of these, from their enfeebled state, would have died under any circumstances, but their death was hurried on by the improper accommodations of the house, ami REPORTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE. 291 the unwholesome condition of the yard. The rest suffered from bowel complaint, then prevailing, and were the victims of our want of proper ventilation and arrangements In dry- seasons the mortality is about five per cent., but in wet it has been equal to about one in three. In the present year the bowel affections commenced with the rainy season, continued whilst it lasted, and ceased when the earth was no longer saturated with moisture.”
We have carefully perused the reports before us, and find therein but little which comes within the scope of our notices, while that little is upon subjects already fully laid before our readers. The chief burthen of the reports from this institution, for several years past, consists of an exposition of the imperfections of the Asylum, and the necessity of a new one. The building is old, and imperfect in its architectural construction and arrange- ments. Its grounds are too limited, and are immediately sur- rounded by dwelling-houses of citizens of Columbia. It appears that one or more of its wards are so damp as seriously to affect the health of the inmates. The whole is so much crowded that, -as stated in one of the reports, there are fifty patients more than can be properly accommodated. The heating and ventilation are bad. There are no proper arrangements of baths and water- closets. In short, judging from the reports, the whole establish- ment stands but as a representative of the past. It is acknowledged as such by the Regents, the Physician, and the Superintendent. This has been granted for years. The question, therefore, has been?What shall be done ? We have exposition after exposi- tion of the defects. We have suggestions for erecting additional buildings to those which now exist. We have propositions to erect an entirely new establishment upon the lands now occupied. We have argument upon argument to prove that a new structure should be erected more remote from the town. And yet the question is?What shall be done ? There is a liberal appropria- tion yet unexpended. Different models have been presented for the new edifice. One of these is preferred and highly extolled by one party, but rejected and condemned in the strongest terms by another. And still, alas ! still the question is?What shall be done? And the relic of the past, with “all its imperfections on its head,” continues unmolested, and its inmates rejoice in the comforts of antiquity, because the powers that be cannot agree upon a substitute.
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