vi
of the 10th N. I. I am glad to notice that Barda Choki has been abandoned.
Surat appears to be an exceedingly malarious station; the 17th N. I. had no less
than 684 admissions from fever there during the past year ; while in 1874, at
Poona, a reputed malarious : station too—the number was 390. On the other hand,
the fever admissions in the 26th N. I., transferred from Surat to Poona at the
end of 1875, fell from 600 at the former to 318 at the latter station. The gene
-ral health of the 17th, judged by the total treated for all diseases, has deteriorated,
while that of the 26th has improved. Surgeon-Major Brown in his report men
-tions, however, some other causes, besides malaria, which assist in keeping up a
high rate of sickness in the 17th. The move from Aden to Belgaum has caused
an improvement in the health of the 2nd Grenadiers; the reverse has happened
in the case of the 6th N. I., transferred from Belgaum to Aden. The change
from Ahmedabad to Kolhápur has produced a notable improvement in the health
of the 3rd N. I., the total number treated having fallen from 1,246 to 567. The
above examples well show to what an extent the amount of sickness is influenced
by climate.
22. The chief movements that took place were the completion of the reliefs
begun in the latter part of 1875, the march to Delhi of
two regiments of infantry and one of cavalry, and the
expedition beyond the Sind Frontier, in which three Sind regiments took part ;
many of the ordinary annual reliefs were postponed on account of the famine in
the Deccan.
23. In all the divisions the arrangements for the cleanliness of the regimental
lines have been carefully carried out ; there has been
no over-crowding ; the ventilation, conservancy, and
general sanitary state have been attended to as fully as the numerous more or
less permanently faulty conditions of the lines will admit of. The improvement
most urgently needed is proper drainage. There is little doubt that were a
complete system of drainage carried out in the lines and cantonments, the present
amount of sickness from malaria would be surprisingly lessened. In the Presi
-dency division the lines of the 20th N. I. at Bombay are objectionable in many
respects, especially as regards locality and drainage. The nearness of the Sona
-pore outlet drain to the lines of the 21st is also objectionable. With the remarks
made on this subject by the medical officer, in paragraph 7 of his report, I quite
agree. The lines in the Poona division are, as a rule, favourably reported on. Various
improvements are, however, still needed. At most of the stations in the Northern
division the lines are unfavourably noticed by the medical officer and the Deputy
Surgeon-General. In too many instances, particularly in the Mhow division, the
drainage is very defective, the huts are small and badly built, and dampness is much
complained of. The lines of the 18th N. I. at Deesa are condemned as utterly
bad. Those at Rájkot are the best in the Northern Division. The new lines
promised for the 22nd at Baroda have not yet been built. In Sind the lines are
said to be in fair condition. At Jacobabad the huts are, from special local cir
-cumstances, more or less damp.
24. As a rule, the water-supply is pronounced by the medical officers to be good
and abundant. But few samples have been examined.
The necessity which exists for a full and complete
standard analysis of the water used at the military stations of this Presidency
has been more than once brought to the notice of Government within the last
year. That in many cases the water-supply needs improvement is but too evident,
and it is hardly necessary to repeat that no rational measures of improvement can
be undertaken until the varying conditions of the water itself and of its source
are in each case thoroughly investigated. I beg to draw special attention to an
account of the water-supply at Asirghar, given in the report of the medical
officer in charge of the station. The improvement in the supply at Dharwar has
resulted in materially lessening the frequency of guinea-worm in the 12th N. I.
Lines.
Water-supply.