1859 Annual Report
PUBLIC DOCUMENT … No. 25.
Fourth Annual Report
of
The Trustees
of the
State Lunatic Hospital,
at Northampton.
October, 1859.
Boston:
William White, Printer to the State.
1859
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Fourth Annual Report
Of the
TRUSTEES OF THE THIRD HOSPITAL FOR INSANE,
AT NORTHAMPTON
To His Excellency the Governor and the Honorable Council:
The Board of Trustees of the Hospital for the Insane, at Northampton, in compliance with the statute, would respectfully submit the following Report.
Since the opening of the institution, a little more than one year ago, three hundred and twenty-one persons have partaken of its benefits. Two hundred and twenty-eight were admitted before the date of the last Report, the greater part from the other hospitals, and ninety-three have been admitted during the year now closed. Of those, forty-five were males and forty-eight were females. Sixty-one have been discharged during the year. Eighteen males and fifteen females were sufficiently well to return to their usual business, and take their place as useful members of society; and nine males and nine females were more or less improved at the time of their discharge. Seven males and twelve females have died. These deaths, however, were from chronic diseases, and do not show any cause of disease existing in or about the hospital. On the contrary, them almost entire absence of other varieties of sickness rather tends to show a very healthy condition of the patients, when their peculiar state is considered.
The Trustees are happy in the belief that the hospital has a most healthy location, and that every thing is done to secure the good condition of the patients in this respect. They have always been well pleased to observe the cleanliness maintained in every department, and the sweetness and purity of the air in the corridors and sleeping-rooms, believing that the health, and also the good order which prevail are to a considerable degree to be attributed to this cause. The quiet and orderly deportment of the patients is no doubt also owing largely to the mild and rational treatment they receive. They have been, so far, no straps or other apparatus used in the treatment of any patient, excepting in two cases where it was necessary for a while to confine the hands for the purpose of keeping in place some surgical appliances. It is also gratifying to know that no patient is allowed to pine in solitary confinement for that sympathy which his disease peculiarly entitles him to receive. There is no patient in the house who does not have the benefit of exercise in the open air in pleasant walks or rides in suitable weather, and the Trustees believe no effort is spared to relieve the tedious monotony of confinement. The deprivation of liberty to which these unfortunate persons are necessarily subjected, is in itself so great an affliction as to require the most constant exercise of humanity and benevolence to invent and carry out plans and means for its alleviation.
From the Superintendent’s report herewith submitted, it will be seen that the building and all the apparatus seem to be well adapted to their purpose so far as exigencies have occurred to try them during the first year of their use. There was in the severe weather of the last winter, some want of heat felt at times, but after the alterations which have been made in the steam pipes, it I possible it will not be longer felt. The expense of heating is felt to be large, but the heating of so large a building with rooms twelve feet high, if at the same time properly ventilated, must be expensive; for this there is no remedy.
A hospital without any provision for the out-of-door exercise of the patients would be regarded as incomplete in its appointments, and such a want could not fail to be felt disadvantageously. Therefore the farm connected with this institution is highly valued, not only because of the crops of hay and vegetables which are already of considerable importance and value, but because it affords the best and most healthful form of exercise for many of the patients.
Beside the labor necessarily expended upon the crops, there has been much work done in making permanent improvements on the land, by draining and making productive the rougher parts of the farm. The value of the crops this year is estimated at over five thousand dollars, as by a schedule annexed, while the increased value of the land on account of the permanent improvements, would pay a large part of the cost of carrying on the farm.
There is great need of a good barn, as the old buildings now in use are neither large enough nor in sufficiently good repair to afford the required protection to the cattle and crops, and much inconvenience is felt on this account. It would be desirable and economical to increase the number of cows, but with the present small accommodations, this cannot be done. So great is the inconvenience felt to be, and so urgent the necessity of better accommodations, that an appropriation for building a suitable barn and accompanying out-buildings will be asked of the legislature.
Some labor has been bestowed on grading and ornamenting the grounds, and they have been considerably improved in many respects. That part of the ground lying upon the road, and the hill near the entrance, remain in their rough condition, until a suitable fence and gateway can be procured. The grounds are entirely uninclosed, and much inconvenience is experienced on this account.
Petition was made to the last legislature for means to purchase a few small lots of land, with houses upon them, which occupy a very inconvenient position with respect to the kitchen garden, and which, for several reasons, it is desirable the institution should have control of. If these lots could be purchased, the fence upon the front line could be made straight, and inconvenient neighbors removed. Although the petition for means to purchase was not granted, the Trustees will feel obliged to renew it at the coming session of the legislature, with the hope of better success, and with this, will also petition for means to build a suitable fence on three sides of the farm, with a gateway at the entrance to the avenue.
The expenditures of the institution have been most carefully guarded, and the accounts of the Treasurer will show a small balance of cash unexpended. The action of last legislature, however, in reducing the rate of compensation for the care of the State paupers, and throwing the burden of the salaries upon the treasury of the institution, it is feared will not permit us to show so favorable an account at the close of the next year. Were the hospital crowded with patients, the result might be different, but this condition will not probably exist for some years, unless the exigencies of the other institutions should require another removal of patients for their relief.
The interests of such an establishment as this, the home of so large a family of sufferers, appear strongly to the feelings of all, and make it especially incumbent on those in any way connected with the administration of its affairs to be vigilant and faithful to the trust. With this feeling, the Trustees have maintained a close supervision of its affairs, and, by frequent visits, have satisfied themselves that all was being done that could contribute to the accomplishment of its beneficent ends.
At the close of the year the institution lost the services of Dr. A. W. Thompson, who had acceptably performed the duties of Assistant-Physician from the opening, and the vacancy thus created has been filled by the appointment of Dr. C. K. Bartlett, formerly of Charlestown.
A list of the salaried officers of the institution, with the amount of their salaries, is here given:
Physician and Superintendent – Dr. William Henry Prince. Salary, $1,600.
Assistant-Physician – Dr. C. K. Bartlett. Salary, $500.
Clerk —-. Salary, $500.
Treasurer – Eliphalet Trask. Salary, $300.
Engineer —-. Salary, $600.
Farmer – Asa Wright. Salary, $600.
The Inventories of property and of the products of the farm are hereto appended.
All which is respectfully submitted.
ELIPHALET TRASK.
CHARLES SMITH.
FRANKLIN RIPLEY.
WALTER LAUGHLIN.
EDW’D DICKINSON.
Inventory of Stock and Supplies on hand September 30, 1859.
| Live stock on farm, | $2,400.00 |
| Produce on farm, | 3,670.20 |
| Carriages and agricultural implements, | 1,175.25 |
| Machinery and mechanical fixtures*, | 4,991.78 |
| Beds and bedding for inmates, | 8,896.72 |
| Other furniture for inmates, | 14,905.46 |
| Personal property of the State in the Superintendent’s department, | 520.00 |
| Ready made clothing, | 126.20 |
| Dry goods, | 159.74 |
| Provisions and groceries, | 654.70 |
| Drugs and medicines, | 250.00 |
| Fuel, | 1,200.00 |
| Library, | 250.00 |
| $39,200.05 |
*Under this head are included four boilers, a steam engine, a Worthington pump, a water-heater, and the mechanical fixtures in the laundry.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT.
To the Board of Trustees of the State Hospital for the Insane at Northampton:
GENTLEMEN, — In compliance with the by-laws of the institution the Superintendent presents his second annual report.
A kind Providence has brought us through that most trying period in the history of a new institution, its first year, without accident to detract from the gratification with which we may look upon its results, and has crowned our efforts with a measure of success highly satisfactory.
Death, it is true, has not spared us. We have lost our full proportion of patients by disease, but in most cases this termination was the inevitable result of long continued disease in constitutions shattered and broken down by years of suffering. Our duty was merely to postpone the fatal end, and soothe as we might, the last stages of life.
Dysentery and fever of the severer forms have been strangers to our halls, and the few cases of acute disease which have come under treatment have yielded readily to remedies. There has been no death from acute disease originating in the house. The healthfulness of the location — our exposure to purifying winds — the dryness of the soil — the efficient system of ventilation and drainage, and the strict attention paid to the laws of health have preserved them from those diseases to which the mental and bodily condition of a great majority of the patients would naturally make them susceptible.
There is but a small increase in the number of patients over last year, the number discharged and dead having nearly equalled the number admitted. Remote from the metropolis and the great centres of business, situated in the midst of a rather scattered farming population, the institution will not fill so rapidly as those differently located, and it is to be hoped that, for many years to come it may continue to afford all the accommodation our Commonwealth will need for that unfortunate class of its population which seeks relief within our walls.
A year’s experience shows the adaptation of the building and the various fixtures and apparatus to the ends for which they were designed. Their completeness not only leaves comparatively little to be desired, in addition, but experience in their use assures us that no very important alterations or repairs can be necessary for many years to come, to render them and keep them in every respect equal to the demands of an enlightened philanthropy. Those to whose hands are confided the erection and preparation of a hospital for the insane, at the present day, would scarcely be justified in the opinion of the pubic, unless in the plans and arrangements, a decided advance were made over the older institutions. More correct and enlighten views of the demands of this unfortunate class of our fellow beings, and of their proper treatment, are prevailing more and more extensively, and legislative bodies will not fail to see that in order to secure the best accommodations and treatment, the necessary expenditures must be on a liberal scale—that liberality is, in fact, economy. The result of the generous policy of the Commonwealth toward this institution is the possession of a hospital which, in the convenience of its general arrangements, and the adaptation of its various parts to their purposes is probably second to no other,—creditable alike to the generous public to which it owes its existence and to the wisdom of those who so ingeniously planned and fitted it to its ends. It would, however, be unreasonable to expect that, in a work of such extent, involving such a multitude of details of great diversity, every thing desirable had been at once brought together, and in such perfection that experience in its use would fail to suggest an addition or an improvement.
The last winter was entered upon with some anxiety as to the power and efficiency of our untried heating apparatus to do all that might be required of it, foreseeing the great discomfort and inconvenience to which we should be subjected by failure in any part. During the greater part of the season, however, we found ourselves well supplied with heat in every part of the building. A temperature between 60 and 70 degrees was maintained in the lower story, while at the same time, in the upper one, 70 to 80 degrees was a frequent range in ordinary weather. There were periods, however, when the external temperature sank far below zero, and a smart breeze forced the air into every crevice, when it was impossible to preserve a comfortable degree of heat in the lower story for any great length of time. The experience is sufficient to show that under ordinary circumstances the heating apparatus is powerful enough, but that under extremely low temperatures, accompanied, as is often the case here, with violent winds, some increase in the quantity of steam generated, or some change in the arrangement of distributing pipes will probably be necessary. Some alterations have been made during the summer, which, it is hoped, will have the effect of removing the inconvenience alluded to; but another winter’s experience will better enable us to judge whether any more important change in or addition to the apparatus will be needed.
The ventilation of the house is quite successful. We have at all times a constant current of fresh air passing through the halls, and corridors, and rooms, adding much to the health and comfort of the inmates. There is sometimes an unequal distribution from causes which are somewhat obscure, but depending probably on the varying direction and force of the wind as much as on any other circumstance. This, however, being but temporary, and existing to no great extent, is not a source of much or frequent inconvenience. Usually the purity of the air in the different parts of the building is remarkable even in those wards where it is least to be expected, their healthiness, comfort, and quiet attributable to this cause enables us to appreciate the great advantage we enjoy in this particular
On the 30th September, 1858, the date of the last report, there were two hundred and twenty patients remaining in the hospital, of whom ninety-three were males and one hundred and twenty-seven were females.
Since then ninety-three patients, of whom forty-five are males and forty-eight are females, have been admitted. Eighty, of whom forty are males and forty are females, have been discharged, or have died, leaving ninety-eight males and one hundred and thirty-five females at the present time.
The whole number therefore, under treatment during the year is three hundred and thirteen. These facts are presented in the following table:
Table No. 1,
Showing the Number and Sex of all Patients admitted, discharged, died and remaining.
| Male. | Female. | Total. | |
| Number of patients remaining, Sept. 30, 1858, | 93 | 127 | 220 |
| admitted since, | 45 | 48 | 93 |
| under treatment during the year, | 138 | 175 | 313 |
| discharged during the year, | 33 | 28 | 61 |
| died during the year, | 7 | 12 | 19 |
| remaining Sept. 30, 1859 | 98 | 135 | 233 |
The excess in the number of females remains large, and has in fact increased since the last report, although of the new admissions the females exceed males by only three in ninety-three.
Of the whole number discharged, eighteen males and fifteen females have recovered: nine males and nine females were improved; and in six males and four females there had been no change for the better.
Quite a large proportion of those who have left the hospital during the year have been recorded as “stationary,” or “improved.” Two principal causes contribute to this result. On the opening of the hospital, its first patients were received from the older institutions, in which many of them had passed several years, and fallen into hopeless dementia. Thus of the 228 admitted before the last report, ninety-nine, or a littler over forty-three per cent. had been insane for periods varying from two to twenty years, and were most of them in a hopeless condition. Of the whole number admitted, only thirteen, about one-half of one per cent., had been insane less than one year. The chances for recovery are well known to decrease very much and progressively, as the duration of the disease increases, especially after the first year. Therefore the chances for forty-three per cent., nearly one-half or our number, were small and diminishing.
In addition to this, there were reported last year ninety-eight cases, the duration of which could not be ascertained. Definite information concerning them cannot be obtained, but a large part of them present all the appearance of cases of long duration. Two-thirds of these, or twenty-eight per cent. of the whole, should be added to the number of those the duration of whose disease had, at the time of their admission, exceeded the period at which treatment is most beneficial. This would make a total of seventy-one per cent. Of the whole number of those admitted prior to the date of the last report, whose chances for recovery were small and growing constantly less.
The other cause alluded to above is in fact the foreign lunatic paupers who are not dangerous and not likely to be cured by longer residence in a hospital, are removed and otherwise provided for by the Board of Alien Commissioners. Fourteen patients have been removed by this board during the year, and are recorded—a few as “improved,” the greater part as “stationary.”
Table No 2,
Showing the last Residence of all Patients admitted this year.
| COUNTIES. | Male. | Female. | Total. |
| Hampshire County, | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| Hampden County, | 12 | 10 | 22 |
| Franklin County, | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| Berkshire County, | 9 | 3 | 12 |
| Middlesex County, | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Worcester County, | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Norfolk County, | – | 1 | 1 |
| Suffolk County, | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Essex County, | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Other States, | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Totals, | 45 | 48 | 93 |
Table No. 3,
Showing the Ages of all admitted during the year.
| AGES. | Male. | Female. | Total. |
| Between 10 and 20, | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 20 and 30, | 13 | 10 | 23 |
| 30 and 40, | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| 40 and 50, | 10 | 12 | 22 |
| 50 and 60, | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| 60 and 70, | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Over 70, | – | 2 | 2 |
| Unknown, | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Totals, | 45 | 48 | 93 |
Table No. 4,
Showing the Nativity of all Patients admitted.
| NATIVITY. | Male. | Female. | Total. |
| American, | 36 | 41 | 77 |
| Irish, | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| German, | 2 | – | 2 |
| English, | – | 1 | 1 |
| Totals, | 45 | 48 | 93 |
Table No. 5,
Showing the supposed Causes of Insanity.
| SUPPOSED CAUSES. | Male. | Female. | Total. |
| Ill Health, | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Death of friends, | – | 6 | 6 |
| Intemperance, | 3 | – | 3 |
| Pecuniary embarrassment, | 4 | – | 4 |
| Domestic trouble, | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Epilepsy, | 2 | – | 2 |
| Masturbation, | 2 | – | 2 |
| Jealousy, | 1 | – | 1 |
| Puerperal, | – | 3 | 3 |
| Suppression, | – | 1 | 1 |
| Religious excitement, | – | 1 | 1 |
| Hard labor, | – | 1 | 1 |
| Disappointed affection, | 1 | – | 1 |
| Unknown, | 27 | 25 | 52 |
| Totals, | 45 | 48 | 93 |
Table No. 6,
Showing the Ages at which Insanity appeared.
| AGES. | Male. | Female. | Total. |
| Between 10 and 20, | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 20 and 30, | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| 30 and 40, | 12 | 10 | 22 |
| 40 and 50, | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| 50 and 60, | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 60 and 70, | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Unknown, | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Totals, | 45 | 48 | 93 |
Table No. 7,
Showing the Duration of the Disease before admission.
| DURATION OF DISEASE. | Male. | Female. | Total. |
| Less than one year, | 17 | 19 | 36 |
| From 1 to 2 years, | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 2 to 5, | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| 5 to 10, | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| 10 to 15, | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 15 to 20, | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 20 to 25, | – | 1 | 1 |
| 25 to 30, | – | 3 | 3 |
| Unknown, | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Totals, | 45 | 48 | 93 |
Table No. 8,
Showing the Civil Condition of all Patients admitted.
| CIVIL CONDITION. | Male. | Female. | Total. |
| Married, | 20 | 18 | 38 |
| Widowed, | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Single, | 23 | 23 | 46 |
| Totals, | 45 | 48 | 93 |
Table No. 9,
Shows the Occupations of the Male Patients.
| Farmers, | 18 |
| Laborers, | 9 |
| Students, | 2 |
| Clergymen, | 2 |
| Machinists, | 2 |
| Bookkeeper, | 1 |
| Shoemaker, | 1 |
| Whipmaker, | 1 |
| Bookbinder, | 1 |
| Tailor, | 1 |
| Peddler, | 1 |
| Mason, | 1 |
| Carpenter, | 1 |
| Clerk, | 1 |
| Miller, | 1 |
| Blacksmith, | 1 |
| No occupation, | 1 |
| Total, | 45 |
Table No. 10
Showing the Causes of Death in those deceased.
| CAUSES OF DEATH. | Male. | Female. | Total. |
| Phthysis, | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| Maniacal exhaustion, | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Epilepsy, | – | 1 | 1 |
| Disease of heart, | – | 1 | 1 |
| Anaemia, | – | 1 | 1 |
| Totals, | 7 | 12 | 19 |
Table No. 11,
Shows the Proportion of Commitments.
| Committed by Governor, | 2 |
| Courts, | 48 |
| Friends, | 43 |
| Total, | 93 |
Table No. 12,
Shows by who the Patients will probably be Supported.
| Supported by State, | 18 |
| Towns, | 25 |
| Friends, | 50 |
| Total, | 93 |
At its last session the legislature appropriated the sum of two hundred dollars for the purchase of books and pictures for the hospital. This amount has been expended as designed, and the pictures now ornament the halls and parlors, imparting to them a cheerful and pleasant air, and affording a never-failing source of interest to their occupants. The addition thus made to our library is a very timely increase of our means of profitable amusement and occupation.
The importance of innocent amusement of every kind in the treatment of the insane is everywhere felt, and all possible means of relieving the monotony of hospital life, which are innocent and not too exciting, are welcome. To this end, books, pictures, games of different kinds, music, dancing, and various exhibitions, all conduce. Nothing would furnish our male patients with a more suitable and useful amusement than a bowling alley, and it is hoped the means for building one may be obtained at no distant day.
During the winter and spring a singing exercise in the chapel gave great pleasure to a large proportion of the patients, and about once a month a social gathering in the large centre hall, with music and dancing, has been a source of great enjoyment to many, and of undoubted benefit to some.
The usual religious exercises in the chapel have been regularly enjoyed. In the evening the service is by the Superintendent, and on the Sabbath a regular service is performed by one of the clergymen of the village, who officiate in rotation. This method is found to be attended with satisfactory results. The insane do not always lose their preference for one over another of the various forms in which the great vital truths of religion may be presented to them, and their gratification in this respect is secured by the arrangement adopted here. The meetings are attended by a large portion of the patients to their very great benefit. Any impropriety of conduct from want of self-control is a rare exception to the quiet and good behavior which generally prevail. Beside the evening exercises above referred to, the assistant-physician has given a series of interesting readings, consisting of selections from the popular authors, which have furnished a highly gratifying entertainment.
Regular daily occupation of a useful kind will always continue, however, to furnish to those capable of it more real benefit that any mere amusement. Many of the female patients find constant employment in knitting, and in making and repairing garments in the sewing-room. Others, both male and female, are occupied about the laundry and kitchen, the dining rooms, halls and passages, and find at the same time health and recreation, beside rendering really valuable assistance. A large number of the men are regularly employed on the farm and grounds. In fact a large share of the labor is performed by them. It is one of the principal advantages of the farm to the institution that it affords the means of healthful occupation to so large a number who would otherwise be obliged to pass a great part of every day in the halls. The value of this regular daily exercise out of doors can hardly be overrated. Without it it is difficult to secure or maintain health of body or mind.
Prominent among the causes of insanity are many forms of deranged functions which appear in the “tables” under the common designation of “ill health.” These cases are, to a great extent, due to long continued violations of the common laws of health, especially to the neglect of actual out-of-door exercise. Sedentary habits and employments to which females give themselves up, or to which they are forced by circumstances, by depriving their muscles of the necessary amount of exercise, disturb the balance between the muscular and nervous systems, and lay the foundations of those disordered states of the system, which, in many cases, eventually result in a morbid condition of the mind.
The seeds of the disease, too, are often sown in the earlier years of life, by that vicious system of education which stimulates the growing and susceptible brain beyond its healthy action, and at the same time by long confinement in overheated and crowded school-rooms, deprives the sufferers, during so many hours of the day, of the pure, healthful atmosphere, of which, at that tender age, they stand so much in need. Many a child passes six hours of the day in a close and overheated room, the atmosphere of which is loaded with materials the most deleterious to health. They leave the room jaded and depressed by the influences to which they have been subjected, not even now to refresh themselves by invigorating sports and healthful exercises, but to prepare at home the task for tomorrow, and this done, to retire, too often, for an uneasy and unrefreshing night’s sleep to an apartment from which the pure air is studiously excluded, and in which the foul product of respiration is as carefully retained. The child passes on to adult age with a constitution already enfeebled by his previous habits. With an absorbing interest in and devotion to the cares and excitements of business, he enters on some one, or many in succession, of the various commercial speculations of the day, or on the no less exciting struggle for professional or political distinction. Without regard to the effect of such a course upon the health, with no thought of rest or relaxation, or perhaps seeking relief and amusement in questionable or even vicious indulgences, he rushes on until the overtaxed powers fail, nature asserts the supremacy of her laws, and the sufferer pays the penalty of an unsound mind in an unsound body.
Females, it is true, after the period of childhood, are not exposed to the same causes of deranged health, nor to the same strong mental stimulus. Many of the habits and customs, however, of our advancing civilization, are not merely unfavorable to the acquisition and preservation of a desirable soundness and vigor of constitution, but are directly instrumental in producing various forms of nervous derangement, which not unfrequently terminate in confirmed mental disease.
The farm has been under the same efficient management as during the previous year, and has afforded the means of healthful and useful employment to many of the patients. From it we have also drawn a bountiful supply of vegetables and fruits for the use of the household and the farm stock. Several acres of unproductive land have been brought under cultivation and made to give good crops; and other pieces, the produce of which has for many years been nearly worthless, have been brought into good condition, and will now add materially to our resources.
Several hundred fruit and ornamental trees have been planted, and the greater part of them show promising signs of vigor. One hundred and thirty rods of substantial stone drain have been laid, to the great improvement of the land, increasing considerably the quantity capable of remunerative cultivation.
The contents of the sewer are now carried, by means of proper conductors, to the meadow, and are made to flow over the grass land and upon heaps of muck and compost, thus affording a large quantity of valuable enriching material very much needed upon the exhausted soil. There being no collar under the barn, and the accommodations for cattle very limited, this material from the sewer becomes of great importance to the farm.
One of our principal needs is a new barn of capacity sufficient for housing the crops and cattle necessary to supply the wants of the house and the farm. The old buildings now occupied are exceedingly dilapidated, and are entirely too small for the purpose. The deterioration and actual waste of fodder by being stacked out with no protection from the weather—the difficulty of obtaining a satisfactory performance of the necessary labor in the present crowded, inconvenient, and uncomfortable buildings, make us regret their insufficiency, and hope that our wants, in this respect, will not be allowed to remain long unsupplied.
The farm and grounds still remain uninclosed. No fence separates them from the highway, and the public have free ingress and egress at all points, and use the privilege without stint. It is, of course, very desirable that means should be obtained for building a suitable fence upon at least two sides of the farm, with a substantial gateway upon the public road.
A great amount of labor has been expended on the grounds, and they have been farther improved by grading and planting. Between one and two hundred shade trees have been set and are now in good condition. The groves have been partially cleared of under-growth and paths opened through them; seats and swings have been erected, and they have been made pleasant resorts of the walking parties. A schedule of the products of the farm is subjoined.
Reference to the Treasurer’s account will show that the expenses have been kept within the receipts, and a cash balance remains in the treasury. This result has been obtained only by the exercise, in every department, of the most rigid economy consistent with the proper administration of the affairs of the institution, and by denying ourselves every thing not considered absolutely essential to the comfort and proper treatment of the inmates. We enter upon a new year, you are aware, under circumstances, in some respects less favorable that those under which this result has been obtained. The legislature at its last session not only reduced the price paid for the support of the State paupers, but passed a law obliging the hospitals to pay from their receipts those salaries which had previously been drawn from the State treasury, thus not only diminishing our income, but materially increasing our expenses. The close of the next financial year may therefore very probably show an excess of expenditures over receipts.
I have again the pleasure of acknowledging our indebtedness to kind friends for contributions to our means of amusing and entertaining the patients. To Dr. L. V. Bell we are under obligations for a large number of flowering bulbs and glasses; to A. W. Thayer, Esq., of Northampton, for books and maps; to Dr. S. A. Fisk, for plants and an addition to the library; to the Hon. Edward Dickinson, of Amherst, for valuable books; to Samuel W. Collins, Esq., for a large and valuable addition to the library, and for pictures; to Mr. Henry Dickinson, Moses White, Esq., Samuel Wells, Esq., and Hon. Charles Dewey, of Northampton, and to Joseph Breck, Esq., of Boston, for plants for the garden; to J. H. Butler, Esq., Charles White, Esq., J. D. Whitney, Esq., J. R. Trumbull, Esq., E. J. Cornell, Esq., Silas M. Smith, Esq., Messrs. Bridgeman & Childs, J. D. Whitney, Jr., Esq., Wm. B. Hale, Esq., Thomas Borland, Esq., Justin Thayer, Esq., C. Fairbanks, Esq., Messrs. Wood & Kingsley, H. Bright, Esq., J. S. Lathrop, Esq., S. T. Spaulding, Esq., for valuable additions to the library.
To Miss D. L. Dix, the untiring and devoted friend of the insane, we are indebted for a large number of pictures.
To T. P. Huntington, Esq., of Hadley, we are under obligations for several hundred strawberry plants, and to Mr. James Squier, of Montgomery, for a hundred and fifty currant bushes, and to other ladies and gentlemen for the kind interest they have in various ways shown in the institution.
To you, gentlemen, I would express my thanks for you untiring devotion to every interest of the institution, and for the kind and considerate support I have ever received at your hands.
To Dr A. W. Thompson, who has zealously and efficiently performed the duties of assistant-physician during the year now closed, I would acknowledge my obligations. He has resigned his situation to engage in general practice, and takes with him upon his retirement the good wishes of all with whom he has been associated. Dr. C. K. Bartlett, formerly of Charlestown, has been appointed to the vacancy. The other resident officers deserve my thanks for the manner in which their duties have been performed.
The experience of the year now closed afford abundant cause of gratitude to Him who has brought us safely and successful through its trials and duties. May He grant an equal blessing on the labors of the coming year.
WM. HENRY PRINCE.
Northampton, September 30, 1859.
INVENTORY
Of Stock, Tools, and Produce of Farm, from October 1, 1858, to September 30, 1859.
| 4 horses, | $700.00 |
| 4 oxen, | 400.00 |
| 8 cows, | 450.00 |
| 3 heifers, | 180.00 |
| 17 fat hogs, | 340.00 |
| 7 store hogs, | 100.00 |
| 50 shores and pigs, | 200.00 |
| live poultry, | 30.00 |
| 1 team wagon, | 85.00 |
| 1 horse rack, | 20.00 |
| 1 extra rack, | 10.00 |
| 2 top buggy wagons, | 180.00 |
| 1 buggy wagon, | 40.00 |
| 1 business wagon, | 25.00 |
| 1 horse cart, | 30.00 |
| 2 ox carts, | 70.00 |
| 1 double sled, | 40.00 |
| 1 single sled, | 30.00 |
| 2 ox sleds, | 10.00 |
| 4 ox yokes, | 16.00 |
| 11 harnesses, | 230.00 |
| 8 robes and blankets, | 24.00 |
| 1 horse rake, | 5.00 |
| 25 hand rakes, | 6.25 |
| 20 hoes, | 6.00 |
| 15 shovels, | 10.00 |
| 10 manure forks, | 7.50 |
| 4 spades, | 3.00 |
| 9 chains, | 18.00 |
| 4 bog hoes, | 2.00 |
| 5 small chains, | 2.50 |
| 8 picks, | 4.00 |
| 6 crow bars, | 9.00 |
| 8 wheelbarrows, | 8.00 |
| 1 corn-sheller, | 10.00 |
| 5 ploughs, | 40.00 |
| 3 harrows, | 18.00 |
| 2 cultivators, | 10.00 |
| 10 axes, | $5.00 |
| hay forks, | 5.00 |
| scythes and snaths, | 10.00 |
| carpenter’s tools, | 50.00 |
| ice tools, | 10.00 |
| baskets and measures, | 5.00 |
| plane pick, | 5.00 |
| seed and corn planters, | 20.00 |
| hay cutters, | 20.00 |
| 2 grain cradles, | 6.00 |
| drills and scrapers, | 10.00 |
| grindstones, | 10.00 |
| 1 ox roller, | 20.00 |
| $3,575.25 |
Products
| 38 tons hay, | $456.00 |
| 10 “ rowen, | 120.00 |
| 6 “ swamp hay, | 36.00 |
| 10 “ straw, | 80.00 |
| 600 bushels corn, | 600.00 |
| 150 “ oats, | 75.00 |
| 150 “ rye, | 150.00 |
| 20 “ buckwheat, | 15.00 |
| 20 “ brown seed, | 10.00 |
| 800 pounds broom brush, | 64.00 |
| 12 tons corn fodder, | 60.00 |
| 500 bushels turnips, | 100.00 |
| 500 “ sugar beets, | 150.00 |
| 1000 “ carrots, | 300.00 |
| 500 “ mangel-wurzel, | 150.00 |
| 4000 heads cabbage, | 120.00 |
| 40 barrels apples, | 80.00 |
| 3 “ cider, | 10.00 |
| 4 tones winter squash, | 120.00 |
| 10 “ pumpkins, | 20.00 |
| 1 ½ “ melons, | 30.00 |
| 40 bushels beans, | $80.00 |
| 1200 “ potatoes, | 600.00 |
| 60 “ onions, | 45.00 |
| other vegetables, | 250.00 |
| 4189 gallons milk, | 837.80 |
| 50 dozen eggs, | 10.00 |
| 15 bushels sweet corn, | 20.00 |
| 20 “ peas, | 20.00 |
| 30 bushels tomatoes, | $30.00 |
| 25 “ cucumbers, | 25.00 |
| 300 tons ice, | 600.00 |
| $5,263.80 | |
| Cash from sales, | 1,185.95 |
| $6,449.75 |
TREASURER’S REPORT
To the Trustees of the State Lunatic Hospital:
I herewith submit the following statement of the receipts and expenditures of the Treasurer, for the year ending September 30, 1859.
RECEIPTS.
| Balance in hands of Treasurer Sept. 30, 1858, | $2,095.58 |
| Received for support of patients, | 26,212.55 |
| for animals and products of farm sold, | 1,185.95 |
| borrowed from banks, | 11,500.00 |
| for sundries sold, | 582.53 |
| for State Treas’r on acc’t of appropr’n, | 6,000.00 |
| $47.576.61 |
PAYMENTS.
| For provisions and supplies, | $20,157.04 |
| on account of farm, | 4,364.90 |
| wages, | 6,484.51 |
| repairs, | 1,535.76 |
| paid banks, | 11,500.00 |
| contingencies, | 1,948.03 |
| improvements, | 155.15 |
| Balance in hands of Treasurer, | 1,431.22 |
| $47,576.61 |
Eliphalet Trask, Treasurer.
We the subscribers, certify that the above accounts of the Treasurer of the Lunatic Hospital at Northampton have been examined by the subscribers and found well kept, properly vouched, with a result as above.
Franklin Ripley,
Charles Smith,
Committee.
October 19, 1859
Citation
Prince, W. H., Trask, E., Smith, C., Ripley, F., Laughlin, W., & Dickinson, E. (1859). 1859 State Lunatic Hospital at Northampton Annual Report (Annual Report No. 4). Northampton State Hospital. Retrieved from https://northamptonstatehospital.org/1859/10/19/1859-annual-report/
Northampton State Hospital Annual Reports originally scanned and published online by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Special Collection and University Archives.