65
NORTHERN DIVISION OF THE ARMY.
The regiment has been stationed in Deesa since the end of 1873 and commence
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ment of 1874. A detachment of 42 of all ranks arrived at head
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quarters from Mount Abu in the month of January.
2. The lines are old, dilapidated, and past repair. The huts are not built on plinths;
on the contrary, the floors are for the most part below the level
of the surrounding ground. The roofs are tiled. Many of them
leak, and the huts are in consequence damp during the rains.
The ventilation is through the doors and roofs. The drainage
of the lines and of the cantonment is surface drainage. The huts are shaded by numerous
fine trees. The bazaar is about 300 yards distant, and its sanitary condition is satisfactory.
New lines are much needed.
3. The trench system of latrine is used. The latrines, two in number, one for each sex,
are situated in the sandy bed of the river in the dry weather,
and on the river bank in the wet weather. This system seems
tolerably well suited to the locality. The lines are kept clean.
Location and movements.
The Lines and their surround
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ings: present condition, hygienic
and otherwise.
Conservancy.
Water supply.
4. There are six wells in the lines, and one in the hospital
compound. The supply is sufficient, and quality fairly good.
5. Owing to the deficient rainfall (only 12 inches and 90 cents for the year), all articles
of consumption have risen in price, and will yet become dearer.
The men, as a rule, appear to me under-fed. As regards cloth
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ing, a lighter dress tor the hot weather would be, as I remarked in my last annual report, of
real benefit to the sepoy.
6. The ordinary garrison duties and escort parties, parades and drills, give the men
abundant exercise. There is no gymnasium, but the men
occasionally compete for prizes in running, jumping, &c.; nei
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ther their duties nor exercise seem to affect the health of the
men prejudicially, whilst athletic amusements in moderation do good.
7. The hospital is well situated, clean, and in excellent repair. Its immediate sur
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roundings are the subsidiary buildings for the hospital estab
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lishment and subordinate medical department, two contagious
diseases wards, a dead-house, and a latrine. The latter is built
of masonry, and is kept clean by the hospital Sweepers, who
remove the excreta into covered receptacles, which are taken away at night in the conservancy
carts. There is ample accommodation in the wards, and there has been no overcrowding.
Ventilation is secured through apertures in the roof and near the ground, as also through the
doors and windows. The water supply, obtained from a well in the compound, is sufficient,
and its quality fairly good.
8. The general health has been very good. The physique of the men is not what I
could wish; 57 recruits have joined during the year, and cer
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tainly I cannot call them fine men, nor likely to become so—
average height 5 feet 6 inches.
9. There were 389 admissions into hospital during the year, including 27 re-admis
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sions, being 115 less than during the previous year. There
were no deaths in hospital. Three men were allowed leave of
absence on medical certificate—one for fever (since dead of bronchitis at Lucknow), one for
debility, and one for iritis. There were 98 admissions from ague, being 15 more than in the
previous year. The cases were for the most part slight, uncomplicated, and yielded readily to
treatment. The principal diseases in order of frequency of admission were as follows:—ague
98; injuries to the lower extremities, including "shoe-bites," 59; cutaneous diseases 41;
rheumatic diseases 32; intestinal diseases 24; diseases of the eye 22, principally conjuncti
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vitis; debility 22; lung diseases 12. There were 9 admissions from syphilis, and 2 from
gonorrhœa. 7 cases of guinea-worm were treated, all of which appear to have been con
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tracted elsewhere than in Deesa.
1 0 . T h e r e w e r e n o d e a t h s i n h o s p i t a l . T h r e e m e n d i e d o u t o f h o s p i t a l : o n e , a P u r d a s e e ,
committed suicide by shooting himself; one died of bronchitis
whilst absent on leave; and the third from starvation whilst
returning from leave of absence.
Food and clothing
.
Duties, exercise, and amuse
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ments: their effects on health.
Hospital and its immediate sur-
roundings: present condition, hy-
gienic and otherwise.
General health and physique.
Details of treated.
Mortality and its causes.
Epidemics.
11. Neither small-pox nor cholera.
17 m