12
MILITARY DEPARTMENT, 13TH OCTOBER 1880, No. 6462.
Married Quarters.—Each quarter contains two rooms of fair size, with accessory accommo-
dation. The floors are flagged with soft porous stone which absorbs water, and the material is
objectionable in the rains.
Water.—The water is derived from wells ; it is plentiful and good.
Rations.—The rations were good. Mutton was issued twice a-week ; vegetables however
were scarce, and in consequence an equivalent of dhall was issued on two days a-week, in lieu
of 4oz. of mixed vegetables.
Canteen.—The stores issued were of good quality.
The clothing and bedding were satisfactory. The duties were not injurious. There is a
gymnasium ; the men played cricket, badminton and fives. There is a reading room. A little
gardening was done. There were regimental workshops.
Hospital.—The floors being flagged with a porous stone absorb and retain damp, other-
wise both the main building and the accessory accommodation are reported to be good.
MALAPURAM.
A company of Infantry was stationed here.
Barracks. —The cantonment is on the flat summit of an irregularly-shaped hill ; the
environs are cleared from brushwood, and the natural drainage is good. The barrack was
burnt down in March ; since then, the men have been lodged temporarily in various makeshift
places, which are stated to have been suitably ventilated, and not to have been crowded. The
lavatory and bath-room arrangements were sufficient, the cooking was satisfactory ; the rations
were good, but more variety in the kinds of vegetables issued was desirable ; the canteen
supplies were good. The water-supply for drinking was taken from a spring in the immediate
vicinity, that for washing, &c., from a well in the barrack compound. The latrines (on the
dry-earth system) were well managed. The duties were light, the men off duty were allowed
out of barracks at all hours—the medical officer states without ill result.
Hospital.—As the hospital was burnt down, the sick were treated in a building used as a
chapel before it gave accommodation for twelve sick, and subsidiary accommodation was added.
The chief sickness of a preventible kind was due to sunstroke, thirteen men marching from
Calicut on the 4th of May suffered from the heat and fatigue ; two of them died.
CALICUT.
The barracks here are at West Hill, half-a-mile from the sea, and three miles from the
town of Calicut ; the sloping ground favors drainage. Part of the men are lodged in an
irregularly-shaped bungalow, formerly a private residence and having six rooms, with a spaci-
ous verandah surrounding the building ; the other part chiefly in a building containing six rooms
divided by a central passage, but a few are placed in a building originally designed for married
quarters. The ventilation is chiefly effected through the doors and windows and by openings
beneath the ridge of the roofs. The rooms were whitewashed during the year.
Lavatories.— There are two buildings for this purpose.
Letrines.—Are on the dry-earth system, the soil being thrown into the sea after use.
Cook House.— The means and appliances are of the native fashion.
Water.— Is taken from a well at the bottom of the hill on which the cantonment stands ;
the wall surrounding it was repaired during the year, the stones at the base being properly
reset to prevent the influx of drainage.
Rations.—Were good, plenty of country vegetables were procurable and fish was cheap.
Canteen. —The supplies were good.
Clothing.— Serge clothing was worn during the rains and throughout the year at night
by men on guard. Charcoal was allowed for fires to dry damp clothing during the rains.
Bedding.—The palliasses were of straw, the bedding was aired in the sun regularly. Duties
were very light, the men had ten nights in bed.
Amusements. —A reading room was provided, a room for a theatre, in which a gymnasium
was also accommodated ; out of doors, the men had skittles, cricket, fives. No restriction was
placed on the men off duty leaving barracks ; they might do so at any hour.
Hospital.—A square bungalow in a good position well exposed to the breeze surrounded
by a deep verandah. The ventilation by door, windows and openings under the eaves.
The health of the men was very good ; venereal diseases caused more than one-third of all
the admissions. One man died of sunstroke when out walking in the heat of the day.
WELLINGTON.
At this Hill station, the Convalescent Depôt for the troops of the Command has been formed.
Barracks. —Consist of six blocks of buildings arranged in an oblong square; each is double-
storied, each story is divided into two large rooms and at either end two smaller ones for non-