Under-feed
-ing, bad re
- s u l t s o f .
Troop-mess
-ing in the 7th
Bengal
Cavalry.
Uniform.
Cases of
pneumonia
might possibl
y be lessened by
a sufficiency of
warm undress
clothing.
Exemption of
the Guide
Corps from
pneumonia.
Under-feeding is always, sooner or later, followed by a steady deterioration
of the health of those men who, for the sake of saving a few rupees monthly,
follow the practice; but in unhealthy , climates (such as is the relaxing and
malarious one of Lower Bengal for natives from the upper provinces) under
- f e e d i n g m e a n s s o m e t h i n g m o r e , a n d a i d s t h e c l i m a t e i n r a p i d l y b r i n g i n g
on a condition which some medical officers consider to be true scurvy, while
others consider it to be merely a state of malarious cachexia. There is no
doubt, however, that this deterioration in health, the result of the combined
effect of unfavorable climatic conditions and the use of insufficient or im
- p r o p e r f o o d , r e n d e r s t h e m e n q u i t e u n f i t f o r a c t i v e s e r v i c e o f a n y k i n d ,
and for its cure, change of air and proper dietary are essential. In less severe
cases, a complete exemption from duty with a generous diet, of which animal
food and a spirit ration should form a part, may suffice to restore health. Vege
- t a b l e s w e r e g e n e r a l l y r e a d i l y p r o c u r a b l e i n a l l s t a t i o n s , t h o u g h o c c a s i o n a l l y
they were expensive and thus beyond the sepoys' means.
A system of troop-messing has been introduced into the 7th Regiment,
Bengal Cavalry, and is reported to have worked well. The men of all the troops,
except the 4th, which is composed of high-class Hindoos, eat in a body, and the
advantages claimed for this system are a saving of labor and a saving of
expense, as there is no waste; it is also a check against under-feeding, as each
member of the mess has to pay an equal share of the expenses.
Although, on account of caste prejudices, it may be a difficult, or perhaps
an impossible, matter to interfere in any appreciable way with the dieting of the
sepoy, still the subject is one of most pressing importance, when it is considered
how great is the influence which a sufficiency of good food exerts on his proper
effectiveness. On these grounds it might be worthy of consideration whether
stringent and definite orders, issued regimentally, might not be enforced, which
would compel the native soldier to consume a full ration daily. It appears from
the reports that commanding end medical officers have done all in their power
to secure the issue of supplies of the best quality, and to prevent under-feeding
in their regiments.
36. All the reports tend to prove that the uniform of the native army was
considered to have been well suited for the climate and for the duties the men
had to perform; but it is the opinion of medical officers that the recruits, and
occasionally the sepoys, have not got a proper supply of suitable undress
clothing, the result being that chest and bowel diseases were more prevalent
among such men. The following extracts prove the importance of bestowing
attention on this subject, viz., the medical officer of the 35th Regiment, Native
Infantry, considers that the good health of the men under his charge was in a
great measure attributable to the care bestowed on their clothing. It is stated that
the men of the 2nd Regiment, Native Infantry, were not provided with a suffi
-cient amount of bedding, and that from this cause, chiefly, several cases of rheuma
-tism occurred during the march from Dinapore. The men of the 29th Regiment,
Native Infantry, at Peshawar, were supplied with "posteens," and it was con
-sidered with the effect of lessening the general sickness and the number of
chest diseases. A "posteen" was issued to each recruit of the 27th Regiment,
Native Infantry, and it is said there was a sufficiency of these garments in the
quarter-master's store with which to supply each man when mounting guard
at night.
37. It is well known how prevalent and how fatal pneumonia has been
in regiments at stations in Northern India, and at those along the North-West
-ern Frontier. Medical officers do not appear to be quite agreed as to the
etiology of this disease, nor have I any intention of discussing it in this report;
but, considering the seasons, and the meteorological conditions existing when
these attacks are most prevalent, I consider that if greater attention was paid
to the undress clothing of the men, the result would be a diminution of such
cases, and of the mortality resulting from them.
The medical officer of the Guide Corps, when remarking on the freedom of
the regiment from pneumonia during the past year, states that he attributes it to
the capital clothing and the care that was taken to ensure the men when off
duty being warmly clad; and his experience, gained during some years' service
on the North-Western Frontier, leads him to look on neglect, in respect of
warm undress clothing, as the principal, if not the only, cause of pneumonia.