xiv
Hospital diet.
scarcity, shows that it is not really required as a rule. The troops on service
on the Punjab frontier were also rationed. In both cases complaints are made
that the men have to buy vegetables and extras in addition to the ration ; and
these in Assam are very dear. In the Punjab, scorbutic symptoms appeared in
some of the regiments on service, which were speedily checked by the supply
of fresh vegetables. Hospital dieting presents many difficulties, more especially
in a regiment prostrated by malarious disease, as the 38th Native Infantry at Bar-
rackpore ; but medical officers are doing their best to meet them. The import-
ant duty of inspecting bazars and supplies has been diligently carried out by
medical officers and committees of native officers.
Clothing.
Great-coats.
Undress
clothing.
Valise equip-
ment.
Blistered feet.
Socks.
The native
shoe.
22. No change of consequence has been made in the uniform clothing
of native troops. In the 6th Native Infantry, khakee blouses or overcoats have
been introduced, which are worn on fatigue duties. These no doubt contribute
to cleanliness and neatness, as they must protect the tunics from soiling. In
the 12th Native Infantry each sepoy has been provided with a great-coat, of
English beaver cloth, which is said to be a great improvement upon the old
country article. Woollen great-coats and capes of regulation pattern have also
been furnished for the men of the 23rd Pioneers, 32nd Pioneers, 3rd Punjab
Infantry, and 44th Sylhet Light Infantry. In the Punjab poshteens and c h o g a s
are used as great-coats. They are much liked by medical officers, and the fron-
tier service of the past year put them to a severe test, which they stood well. In
some regiments great-coats are used in addition to these garments. The pre-
valence and fatality of chest diseases in the Punjab render this a matter of
great moment, and it is satisfactory to find that these articles fulfil
their purpose so efficiently. As regards undress clothing, the reports show
that in many cases sepoys are neglectful in protecting themselves suffici-
ently from vicissitudes of weather. This is more conspicuously the case in
regard to Madras regiments coming to serve in the colder latitudes of Bengal ;
regiments moving in course of relief to up-country stations, and corps proceed-
ing to occupy hill stations, such as Buxa and Shillong. Medical officers are
fully alive to the importance of watching the men under such circumstances,
and inducing them to adopt a warmer style of undress clothing, as in the 16th
and 34th Native Infantry, 8th Bengal Cavalry, and 1st Punjab Cavalry.
There is evidence that recruits are now better provided in this respect than
formerly since the sanction of a free kit and the issue of blankets and pillows
for use in hospital. Mention is made in the reports of the 4th and 5th Native
Infantry of the introduction of a new valise equipment for the carriage of am-
munition, &c., which appears to secure the important end of relieving the chest
from constraint, and distributing the weight of those articles which the soldier
has to carry in heavy marching order over the shoulders and loins.
23. The boot question is still in an unsettled and unsatisfactory condition,
and the testimony contained in these reports is of a conflicting and indecisive
description. In some regiments " ammunition" boots are used, in others
native shoes ; and both are praised and condemned. It would serve no good
purpose to analyse the various opinions recorded. If socks were worn with
ammunition boots, and care were taken that these fitted accurately, and if, more-
over, they were regularly greased, as in the Sappers and Miners (p. 96, X),
inefficiency from blistered feet would, I am sure, be very rare. Socks ought to
be laid down as an indispensable article of the sepoy's uniform. In the 9th
Native Infantry I observe each man is provided with two pairs of socks. In
the 11th Native Infantry a cheap description of native sock is used ; but it has
the disadvantage of being very thick, and not capable of being worn with
boots. Surgeon-Major Potter, of the 18th Native Infantry, praises a boot supplied
by Sir William Palliser and Company ; and Colonel Winson mentions that an
additional supply has been ordered, which indicates that the article has been
found suitable. Surgeon Mackay, in his interesting report of the 32nd Pioneers,
recommends a description of shoe worn by the Pathans, to which a legging is
attached.
The quality and build of the article designated as " native shoe" must
vary ; for some officers extol it, and in some regiments the ammunition boot
has been discarded in its favor, while in other cases it is condemned, on the
ground of causing ulcers upon the opposite ankle, or because, in heavy marching,
it comes to pieces and has to be tied on. The substitution of puttees for leggings