124MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BENGAL.
Diet.
Clothing.
Duty and
employment.
Exercise, &c.
Marches, &c.
back into the 'wells. The hospital well is uncovered. Clothing is washed in ,the stream, which
rums about 400 yards east of the lines. This stream is also resorted to for bathing:
IX.Diet.—The regiment being recruited .from Oudh, the North-West Provinces and
Behar, the diet of the men is that customary with natives of those parts of the country.
Food supplies of all kinds habitually consumed by them, including vegetables, have through
- o u t t h e y e a r b e e n p r o c u r a b l e a t m o d e r a t e p r i c e s . P a r c h e d g r a m , o r i n w a r m w e a t h e r s u t t o o ,
is a good deal used by the men when on any account they are prevented from cooking their
meals at the usual time. Attacks of dysentery and diarrhœa are often referable to this kind of
diet; but nearly five-sixths of the regiment being Hindoos, owing to caste prejudices its use is
occasionally unavoidable, and all that can be done is to warn the men against taking it unneces
-sarily. As being probably connected with diet, I may under this head refer to the great
frequency of ascarides lumbricoidés in the intestines. There have been no admissions into
hospital for worms; but 35 patients admitted for other diseases voided ascarides lumbricoides
on the administration of . a n t h e l m i n t i c m e d i c i n e s , w h i c h , I n e e d s c a r c e l y s a y , w e r e g i v e n o n l y
When 'there was reason to .suspect the presence of worms. The sepoys, I believe, are not
peculiarly liable 'to suffer from these parasites. They are quite common among the civil popu
-lation. of Bareilly; and when civil Chittagong, of Chittaong, I found them in 70 per cent. of
the dead bodies sent me for examination - by the police. If a similar investigation were made
by Civil surgeons all over the country, a strong argument would probably be found for the
abolition of the salt tax. Chewing tobacco mixed with lime is very common in the regiment.
The practice leads to .a 'congested and swollen state of the gums, such as might, on a cursory
g lance, be mistaken 'for 'the effect of mercury. The gum in front of the lower incisors is first
and -chiefly .affected; and, in this situation especially, ulceration and loosening of the teeth not
unfrequently take place. The effect appears to be produced, partly by topical action, and partly
indirectly through disorder of the digestion. Every opportunity is taken to advise the dis
- c o n t i n u a n c e o f t h e p r a c t i c e .
X
Clothing.—As has been pointed out in several previous reports, the ammunition boots
worn 'by the men are very liable to cause blisters of the feet. Last year, 74 such cases c ame under
notice, of-Which 39 occurred during the march and at the Camp of Exercise, and were treated out
of 'hospital. The remaining 35 were all treated in hospital, the men being detained in every
case till fit for full duty. The average time spent in hospital was nearly eight days. Deep ulcers
had formed in many of 'the cases before admission. Either an improved pattern of boot, or.
'the addition of socks to the outfit is required. Both the cold and hot-weather uniforms are
suitable; and the men are well provided with native clothing.
XI. Duty and employment.—The duties have generally been light and never excessive.
The average number of continuous nights in bed for the year has been 12.9. Sepoys under
16 years' service were practised in running .drill —300 to .1,000 yards—in the cold weather.
No injury resulted.
XII._Exercise,&c.—The great majority of the men, when off duty, appear to take little
exercise beyond what is involved in cleaning arms and accoutrements, cooking, bathing and
an occasional visit to the bazaars. A few engage in wrestling.
XIII.Marches,&c.-As before stated, the regiment marched from Bareilly for the Camp
of Exercise at Delhi on the 17th November, leaving a detachment, including all the sick, in
quarters at Bareilly. With the exception of' a single halt of one day at Gazeeoodeennugger,
an ordi nary march of, on an average, 113/ 4 : mi l es was made dai l y; and t he camp assi gned t o t he
regiment at Delhi was reached the 30th November. On the march, the only cases of
sickness were one of dysentery, one of synovitis, and two slight injuries, besides some 30 cases of
sore feet not
h
requirino. admission to 'hospital nor carriage. The camping grounds were all
clean and dry, though some seemed disadvanta eously situated as regards drainage. One of the
marches,—that from Opheyra to Pilkwah in the Meerut district,—is too long, being 17 miles,
instead of 14 as stated in the route book. The camping,grounds, with the 'exception Of those
of. Rajjubpoor in Moraclabad, and iGhurmooktesur, Opheyra :and .Pilkwah .in ;Meerut district,
are provided with wells. At Futtehgunge the well is ,situated close to a filthy-looking
pond, ;and the water was greenish and bad to the taste; and the .one at Kumora Dhumora
had a depth of only one foot of water, which was quite unfit for use.All the Government
wells are 'placed close to the roadside, where they are likely to be used by travellers, .and all,
excepting those.at , Moradabad and Gunesh Ghât, are too shallow, containing less than four fee
of water, which, on the wells being used, very soon became turbid from mud stirred up from
the bottom. The regimental camp at Delhi was on the eastern side:of the -ridge, about two: miles
north of the Cashmere Gate of the city. The same ground was occupied all the time the
regiment remained at the Camp of Exercise. The :site was, ,elevated.and dry, the subsoil water
being 30 feet below the surface. As a ;precaution :in case of rain, small trenches were dug
round the tents, and the earth excavated piled under the edge of the canvas, so as in some
measure to keep out the wind. Trenches were used as latrines and urinals,in .accordance with
orders published on the subject; and the camp and neighbourhood :were throughout maintained
in, a clean and wholesome condition. The duties were never excessive; but,as the men were
occasionally kept out till after the time for their daily meal, many were in the habit of ,taking
some, gram and goon before going on ;parade. The weather was 'cold at might, but otherwise
favourable, there having been rain, with the exception of a few drops on one occasion; and
the prevailing wind being westerly, from which the camp was to some extent protected by the.
ridge In the :hospital tent, the lowest temperature at sunrise Was :43°, ;and the daily range;
1 7 1