Treatment of the Insane in Peru. 373 



The best managed hospital apparently is that of Santa 

 Anna, the wards of which are roomy, light, and airy, and 

 make up about 350 beds. On the other hand, a portion of 

 the above hospital set apart for those mentally afflicted, as 

 also the regular Lunatic Asylum [casa de Locos), were in a 

 state of filth and neglect, that are a positive disgrace to the 

 present century. It is, in fact, a singular consideration that 

 in every quarter of the globe men have only now begun to 

 bethink them of their duties to those unhappy fellow-creatures, 

 whose wretched lot should have commanded their most active 

 sympathies ! The reform of hospitals, and even of prisons 

 and penitentiaries, had long been carried out in Europe, be- 

 fore asylums especially designed for the treatment of lunatics 

 were projected. I must not, however, omit to add, in justice 

 to the philanthropic society (Sociadad de Beneficiencia), to whose 

 management the whole of the hospitals and poor-houses of 

 the capital are intrusted, that a new Lunatic Asylum was 

 in course of construction, the cost of which will amount to 

 85,000 dollars (about £17,800). 



The Hospital de los Locos (Hospital for the Lisane) in the 

 Cercado is all on the ground-floor, with chambers used at 

 once for sitting-room, dining-room, and bed-chamber, but 

 with accommodation for about 200 patients. Twenty of the 

 cells are set apart exclusively for refractory patients. The 

 institution is in charge of Dr. Ulloa, one of the most skilful 



getting wet-nurses, this is to be attributed far more to the love of the mothers for 

 their children than to strict morahty among the mass of the population. 



