Hospital.
Principal
diseases.
96
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF MADRAS.
Hospital.—It is well suited for its purpose, but is too small. At present there are two tents'
pitched for the accommodation of the sick; it is clean and well drained by natural drainage with
a good water-supply; the only fault one can find is its close proximity to the jungle.
Principal diseases.—The principal disease has been fever of the usual malarious type, next in
order comes rheumatism; both these diseases arise from the station being simply a cleared spot in
the jungle, and until the jungle is cleared no improvement in the men's health can be expected.
The commanding officer does his best to keep down the jungle.
22nd Regiment Native Infantry.
STATION—HOSHUNGABAD.
Arrived from Palamcottah 20th January 1873.
Average strength
..
..
..
..
.. ..
..
.. 677
Do. do. present
..
..
..
..
..
. .
..
.. 652
Admissions
. .
..
..
..
..
..
..
.. 548
Daily sick
..
..
..
.. ..
..
..
..
17
Deaths in hospital
..
..
..
..
.. ..
..
..
5
Do. out of do.
..
..
..
..
..
..
.. ..
3
Pensioned
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
26
Sick leave
..
..
..
..
..
.. ..
..
7
The following return shows the rates of sickness, deaths, and invaliding as
contrasted with previous years:—
Y e a r s .
S t a t i o n s .
Average Strength Present.
Average Strength.
Admissions. Daily Sick. All Deaths. Pensioned. Sick Leave.
1872
Palamcottah
3 4 . 8 9
1.16
.58
5 . 4 0
.43
1873
Hoshungabad
111.22
2.27
.84
.28
.14
1874
Do.
75.14
2.03
.98
3.37
. 7 0
Average
73.75
1.82
.80
3.01
.42
1875
Hoshungabad
8 4 . 0 4
2.60
1.18
3.84
1.03
Surgeon-Major J. J. Heffernan was in medical charge of the head-quarters
of this corps during the year, and reports as follows:—
C limate of
the station.
Natural
features of the
district.
Climate of the station .—Immediately on the setting in of the cold season the number of sick
in hospital and lines began to increase in consequence of the prevalence of fevers, chiefly of the
intermittent type. Climate, however, can hardly be considered as altogether playing the chief part
in the causation of these ailments. Although the cold season throughout the Central Provinces is
for both Europeans and Natives notoriously unhealthy, when there is borne in mind (1) bad
housing, (2) want of proper warm clothing, (3) insufficient and non-nutritive food in many instan-
ces, and the fact that the men and their families generally sleep on thin mats spread on the cold
ground, instead of on charpoys.
Natural features of the district. —The district of Hoshungabad may be generally described as
a long valley of varying breadth, running for some 150 miles between the Nerbudda river on the
north and the Satpura range of hills on the south. The soil consists in the main of the well-
known black basaltic alluvium; there are submontane tracts of red soil and low hills and rocks of
various formations. There are some hundreds of thousands of acres under cultivation, and the
principal crops grown are wheat, gram, jowaree, and till; but, because of the peculiar nature of the
black cotton soil, it is in a great measure devoted to the growth of cold-weather crops. Sudden,
and sometime violent, atmospheric changes are not unfrequent, because of the position of the
district as a long valley or gorge between the two great ranges of the Satpura and Vindhya hills.
The station of Hoshungabad is the head-quarters of the district. It is situated in latitude
20° 40' North and longitude 77° 51' East, about 1,000 feet above sea level, and on the left bank of
the Nerbudda river, which separates it from the Bhopal State; the Vindhya range, which is to the
north, runs parallel with the river, and the old historic city bounds it on the west. The ground
is high with a gentle slope on all sides, and many deep nullahs running into the river, so that its
position must be regarded as favourable.