Medical
Officers.
Location and
movements.
Topography,
&c.
Lines and
huts.
OUDH DIVISION.
41st Regiment, Native Infantry—Morar.
I. Medical Officers. —The following Medical Officers have been in charge
73
of the regiment during the
year 1876, viz.:—
Surgeon-Major J. Browne,
M. D., from January 1st to
January 21st ; Surgeon-
Major S. C. Amesbury, M.D.,
from January 22nd to March
10th ; Surgeon-Major J.
Browne, M.D., from March
11th to March 26th ; Sur-
geon G. P. Mackenzie, M. B.,
from. March 27th to July
14th ; Surgeon-Major S. C.
Amesbury, M. D., from July
15th to September 16th ;
Surgeon J. Lewtas, M. B.,
from September 17th to
December 31st. The last-named Officer has compiled the following report :
—
II. Location and movements. —The regiment was stationed in Lucknow from January 1st to
November 7th. During this time it furnished, on alternate weeks, a detachment averaging 116
men for duty at Fort Muchee Bhawun. On November 7th, the regiment started on the march
to Morar to relieve the 9th Regiment Native Infantry, and arrived there on the 27th of
that month. The route taken was that by Cawnpore and Etawah ; the passage of the river
Chumbal being made opposite to Bhind. Whilst at Morar, the regiment has furnished on
alternate weeks a detachment of 35 men for duty at Fortress Gwalior.
III. Topography, &c. —The topography &c.; of Lucknow has been described in the reports
for 1869, page 69, and 1871, page, 120. That of Morar has been described in the reports for
1869, page 37, and 1870, pages 288—291. These and other reports all agree in considering
the low site of cantonments relative to the surrounding country as likely to be a cause of
unhealthiness the sub-soil of the station being rendered moist by percolation from the hills
around. This is true so far as it goes ; but other counter-balancing conditions which tend, on
the contrary, to secure the drainage of the sub-soil, do not seem to have been taken into con-
sideration. I allude to the following : (1). The existence of a running river which has deep
gullies leading down to both banks. This is a most efficient means of drainage for a Considerable
area around. (2). The large number of deep wells is another preventive of this hypothetical
accumulation of water in the sub-soil. (3). The nature of the soil of Morar. As the site
of cantonments is an alluvial deposit, from the surrounding hills, which consist for the most
part of sand-stone resting on granite, its soil is one very favorable to rapid percolation.
Lastly, I may add that from an examination of the sides of tolerably deep cuttings, and
of'the soil turned over in digging operations that have been going on in this neighbourhood,
I have not been able to find any unusual dampness of the sub-soil. I have entered into those
details upon this subject, because it seems of importance in investigating the cause of the
persistent unhealthiness of a station, to eliminate as a preliminary step these conditions which
are not important to the questions at issue.
V. Lines and huts. —These (at Morar) have been described in the reports for 1870,
page 70, and 1874, page 32. But as nothing has been done to remedy the defects there enumer-
ated, it may be well to state summarily what are their objectionable features.
a.—In the first place the cubic space available for each man is so limited as to be probably
incompatible with the vigorous state of health. As the eight long huts provided for the eight
companies which constitute the regiment are all of the same dimensions, it will not be necessary
to give the dimensions of more than one of them in order to arrive at the air space furnished
to each man : those of the huts examined were as follows :—
YEAR.
STATION.
PER CENT. OF STRENGTH.
Admissions. Deaths. Daily sick.
1871
. Baxa Dooar, December
1868, from Agra
.
152.2
2.92
5.95
1872
. Baxa Dooar, December
1868, from Agra
.
104.9
1.4
3.6
1873
. Lucknow, May 1873
.
116.9
.43
4.43
1874
. Ditto ditto .
.
105.1
.28
4.09
1875
. Ditto ditto .
.
78.92
.86
4.33
Average
111.60
1.17
4.48
1876
. Morar, November 1876 .
107.66
.57
3.07
Length
. . .
.
.
. .
.
.
.
.
. 199 feet.
Width
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. 15 „
Height of side wall
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. 6 „
Perpendicular height of triangular roof-space
.
.
.
. . 3¾ „
Thus the entire air-space is 22743.95 cubic feet. Nominally, 85 men would sleep in one of
these huts, but owing to absence from various causes it is unlikely that there will be more than
67 occupants at a time. If we now deduct from the above total air-space 10 cubic feet for the
space taken up by each charpoy and accoutrements, and 3 cubic feet for the air displaced by
each man's body, we obtain for the actual air-space provided for each man 326.46 cubic feet ;
and this amount would be even less were we to take into account the forty-three bulky
stone pillars which run down the middle of the hut and support the roof. This, then, is the first
and most serious defect in the huts provided for the men, that each man gets an air-space
of only 326.46 cubic feet instead of the 1,000 or 1,500 cubic feet which he ought to have.