72
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BOMBAY.
4. The water supply is derived from wells. Except in three of the wells in the lines, the
quality of the water is good, and the supply plentiful. The
three line wells excepted are now undergoing repairs, as they
were found to be too shallow, and the masonry work was defective. It was on this account
that the water in them was muddy and brackish.
5. Fresh vegetables are supplied to the men occasionally from the regimental garden.
The price of grain is low.
6. The duties are the usual routine work of parades, musketry, and sentry duty, and
are by no means excessive. The average weekly number of
nights in bed during the year was 6½. There is no gymna
- s i u m f o r a t h l e t i c e x e r c i s e , n o r i s t h e r e a n y s u b s t i t u t e . T h e m e n , a s a r u l e , t a k e n o m o r e
exercise than they can help. There is much need for some incentive to healthy physical
exercise, and no doubt a very simply constructed gymnasium would be a great boon in
aiding the physical development of many of the sepoys.
Water supply.
Food.
Duties, exercise, and amusements.
Hospital and its surroundings:
present condition, hygienic or
otherwise.
7. The hospital is well situated and well ventilated,
clean, in good repair, and has ample accommodation. Conser
- v a n c y i s c a r e f u l l y a t t e n d e d t o .
8. Judging from the relatively few admissions into hospital, as well as from the ap
-
pearance and testimony of the sepoys themselves, the general
health of the wing during its stay at Agar has been all that
could be desired. The general physique of the majority of the men is, however, only
middling.
9 . T h e c l i m a t e o f A g a r i s u n d o u b t e d l y g o o d , a n d c o n d u c i v e t o t h e h e a l t h o f n a t i v e
troops; there are no local circumstances which appear to have
any deleterious effect upon health.
10. The average daily strength of the wing from the 8th of March was 245.2; the
admissions into hospital were 109. The greatest number of
patients in hospital on any day during the year was nine, on the
26th May. The months of March and October give the greatest number of admissions; in the
first, probably on account of the fatigue after the march from Delhi; in the second, from an
excess of fever cases. The chief cause of admission was intermittent fever, which gives 43
admissions, or 39 per cent. of the whole, and in the ratio of 17.5 per cent. to the
average strength of the wing. The average period under treatment in hospital of all cases
of intermittent fever was five days. Second in frequency come venereal diseases, which
give nine admissions—five for bubo, three for soft chancre, and one for gonorrhœa. Pulmonary
diseases come third in the order of frequency, giving eight admissions—six for bronchitis and
two for pneumonia. There was one admission from sunstroke, and one from dysentery. The
remaining admissions were for diseases of a less important nature, the majority being for
slight contusions, colic, diarrhœa, and chronic rheumatism.
11. Twenty-six Primary vaccine operations were performed, fourteen of which were
successful.
12. Two subedars and one havildar were sent to the head-quarters of the regiment in
view to their being invalided on account of inability from old
age. Two men were sent on sick certificate, one on account
of the after-effects of sunstroke, and who has now been discharged from the service as
insane; the other from lameness caused by guinea-worm.
I n s p e c t i o n b y D e p u t y S u r g e o n - G e n e r a l W Y L L I E .
Inspected 17th December. Health highly favourable, average daily sick to date 3.5 in
a mean strength of 291.64. No mortality. Hospital buildings, site, and general arrange
-ments all very good, only inconveniently far from the men's quarters. Lines in poor repair,
and less tidy than ordinary, partly through recent rains, and the regimental wells are out of
order. I drew attention to these matters, and learned that steps had already been taken
to clean and repair the latter.
Here there is a flourishing garden, instituted some four years ago, and maintained by
the men, which provides them with vegetables daily at a monthly charge of only six pies per
sepoy.
General health and physique.
Influence of climate or local
circumstances on health.
Details of treated.
Vaccination and re-vaccination.
Invaliding and its causes.