2
At Secunderabad, No. 6 range of the married quarters of the 1st British Infantry Regiment
was converted into a general female hospital for the women and children of the two Infantry
Regiments and the Artillery, while No. 7 range was allotted as a contagious disease ward for
the same persons.
A new hospital is in course of construction at Tonghoo on an improved site . and will
probably be open for use early in 1886.
Guard Rooms and Cells.— No changes were reported in these buildings throughout
the year.
LATRINES AND CONSERVANCY.—The latrines at Fort St. George are badly ventilated and too
far from the barracks, so that men attacked with diarrhœa at night find it difficult to reach
them. The latrines at Kamptee were complained of because the soldiers would not take the
trouble of using the dry earth, especially at night, and consequently in the damp muggy
weather there was an unpleasant smell about them, and the Medical officer in charge of the
Station hospital thought that men going to them in the early morning might contract the
seeds of disease such as enteric. Cinerators were constructed at this station during the year
for the destruction of sweepings, &c., of the bazaars. This complaint about the men not using
the dry earth is not confined to Kamptee.
Baths and Lavatories.—These are, generally speaking, on a liberal scale at all the stations.
DRAINAGE.—The drainage of Bellary is defective in consequence of the dead level of the
station. There is a cesspit at each end of the hospital into which its waste water flows and
Deputy Surgeon-General Tarrant has recommended that they should be closed and one exca
-vated about eighty yards in rear of the building. His recommendation has been approved of,
but the work is delayed for want of funds. The unsatisfactory state of the drainage of the
town of Secunderabad was reported on last year and there has been no improvement hitherto in
this respect. There is too much wet cultivation also close to the cantonment.
Lighting is by kerosine lamps and has given satisfaction.
Water-supply.—That for the Barracks and Station Hospital, Fort St. George, was obtained
as usual from wells about two miles off being brought by pipes. It was reported on as bad for
drinking purposes by the Chemical Analyst towards the latter part of the year, chiefly because
of the quantity of albuminoid ammonia present. As cholera appeared in the neighbourhood, it
was considered advisable to boil as well as filter it. The year 1884 began in Bangalore with
but a scanty supply of water in the tanks from which drinking water is taken, and as only
13.25 inches of rain fell during the first nine months of the year compared with an average of
about 26 inches, the supply continued scanty and bad all through the year. It was boiled as
well as filtered before issue, but it must be always a source of grave danger. Nothing has yet
been done beyond making surveys and elaborating schemes towards improvement in the supply.
At Bellary also the water-supply was a source of anxiety, the rain-fall for the year at that
station having been only seven inches, the average being about 19. The water at Cannanore
is obtained from wells and is ordinarily very good, but about the beginning of the south-west
monsoon the water from the two much-used wells near the sea contains too much chlorine as if
from percolation of sea-water through the laterite. When this is the case, the water from these
wells is condemned.
Cooking and Rations.—In consequence of the want of water, vegetables were not so good
and abundant as usual in Bangalore. At Bellary there is great want of variety in the vege
-table ration which is stated to consist of potatoes and onions only. New cook-houses for the
European Regiment at Kamptee were opened during the year. They are built on the Bengal
standard plan and serve their purpose well. Fruits and vegetables are fairly abundant at this
station and the administrative officer reports that " no diseases of a scorbutic character occur
here." The beef has been reported tough at some stations, but on the whole the quality of the
rations has been considered good, and the cooking is such as to please the soldier.
Canteen.—Surgeon-General Madden inspected Port Blair in the Andamans towards the
close of the year and found that two men were in the habit of sleeping in the canteen there.
Having represented the matter in the proper quarter, the practice was put a stop to. The beer
and porter supplied at Wellington and Bangalore are manufactured on the Nìlgiris. They are
not liked by the men so well as the English malt liquor, but their quality is improving. A
Barrack Committee have recommended the enlargement of the canteen at Kamptee, and as the
alteration will not cost much, there is a prospect of its being made at an early date.
Coffee-shops— These institutions are universally approved of, supplying as they do a great
variety of useful articles at moderate rates.
Clothing has been generally approved of.
Duties and Exercise.—The duties have in no case been reported excessive. Games of
various kinds are encouraged as much as possible.
OOTACAMUND,
(Signed)
J. IRVINE, M.D.,
12th August 1885.
Surgeon-General, Her Majesty's Forces.