The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-10-05

.t,,a,i,n
There nr- clay, gravel, and sand on tL+
spot, with abundance OF small wood that no
on'. viii kuy not more than eight mite. dis
tant SOLDIERS have h,l ttse themselves at ala.
room Town. In the West Indies at III. yrr
mead. The buildings wonld not be- such per
nanant structures as the contractors have pui
together; we should miss the architectural
tacadas C,r the officers quarters ard the
moulded corEiees' described so maliciousIy
by the Tim~s's correspondent: but we should
have seryiceabie huts, which would last for
eight or ten years. There can be bnt little
toubt that the men would he healthier ir
them than in vast barracks. The process OF
Guild ing would supply the kind of exercise
which would amuse as well as instruct, and
me r!an wnntd certainly save morev to tie
State. Considerably more than one half, or
a." per theusana of our soldiers have b.eu
recruited from ihe agricultural population
10 whom the erection Of earthworks and
bindings Of all kinds would be son, what f;,-
miilar. SeriOus eXertiODs, With "a useful re.
suit, Is always more inyigorating in the long
run than exertion which leaves no result ut
III. Work, in short, within rea soma bic linz
Its, Is more healthful than play"
1t is still remembered by many citizens of
Richmond that during the late war with Eng
land the army w"s stationed eight or ten i,il.s
from this city, and built their own hog cabins u
more comfortable building, and of .orrse more
economically constructed than those now built
for the soldiers In regard to food, we iiud some
interesting remarks which are. and ought to
be, familiar to those who are entrusted with
The management OF this important depart
ment. The absurdity of repenishing IL sol.
lier, not according to his natural desires, hut
according to a certain fixed regulation, is
handsomely exposed. AS well may II s,oker
limit his engine to an hundred weight
of Goals day, and expect to get any speed
out of 1t he pleased" The soldier requires
more meat during labor than in idleneSs. in
winter than i'll summer. ill Il cold ciLiate than
hot Salt meat is vastly less nutritious than
fresh, and. in the failure OF lemon Juice, scurvy
aud it~sllied diseases are sure to follow its
Use. Not only should there be good food, but
means of properly preparing it. Until Gen
PEEL came into the British War office, when
cooking ranges and other appliances Were by
his direction introduced into several Of the
barracks, there was but one mode Of prepar-
ing food recognized or provided for. There
were coppers for boiling, but no meat could
be baked. roasted broied. or stewed SAYS
Mr.. BKoWN, the Surgeon Major OF the Guards;
1T is beef and buoiiIi one day. and bouilll
and beef the next. for twenty one wears. The
result is that the soldier does not consume
even the small amount of animal food that is
apportioned to him. L have gone into the
barracks at nine or ten clock at uip t. IN d
l have seen half Il dozen basins of soup not
touche ;: the men would not eat it, says ttl,.
same authority. So much for the bOuilii;
and aS for the beef, Gen Sir r. Airey saws
the men are per fectly sickened of it. | have
seen The meat, after it has been boiled dow n
to shreis, thrown away: the men would not
look at it, One error Is the parent of an
other: as the men cannot eat the same un-
varying mess forever, they send their meat
to the bakers and defray the expense out Of
their vegetable money. This diminutiou Of
their vegetable diet tends to produce diseases
of Scorbn'ic character. The Commis
sioneIs only speak with the universal voice
when they recommend that tho soldiers
shall have the means of roasting, stew
ing, baking, and frying, ~ well IL
Of boiling. Dr. Raltonr, who has the
medical charge Of the boys in the Reyal Mill
tary ASylnm at Chelsea. has ALREADY put the
plan to the test. Formerly the hoye, like the
soldiers. were fed perpetually on boiled mea /;
but of late years they have been treated Ike
the II I of the community, and the result has
been that The mortality has fallen from ~
per thousand to per thousand. The great
rr part OF this improvement il attributed h,
Or. Balfour 10 he greater variety in the foot
and the Haosie oi dressing il. The SysteGa
elfec cd a saving of $3.50 q year, tna boys ea l.
ing the Whole ot their Yictnais with u relish
| wa able 10 Get them iuto good condition ~
distributing the same anonut nf meat over
seven day that they had previously had in
four
Th" French, who, III every department Of
military "w!edse, excel all other nations
have in every h;:rreek cnnveui-nc.s for va
rioa, methods Of preparing food. The men, .
says sir Il. AiEEl, arr Using their slrwp:tnr
all day long; ,hey n,she stews. and IMPROVE
and din t,.rnity thcir diet very much
With reference To clothing the En-. lsh mill
tary authorities are relaxing their ancient still,
cas- and the tight coat. the ri iii stock and the
ugiy shake have given WAY to Il sv4tem which
regards the sol,.ier'S comfort, and learns him to
use his limbs with facility, 50 .iat he can march
without tuinin" and light at his ease. The chief
parts Of the soldiers body which require
attention, as regards health. are the head
and neck The head should be protected
against the extremes Of heat and cold b. every
means that science can devise The shake.
shielding from the sun with IA linen cover, is
deemed insufficient, As to clothing, light gray
WOODEN blouse is considered the most suit
ble garment at present ii Use in India, and G
advantage to health of caring flannel 3
sustained by an Irresistible array of facts.
Vast Improvement, however. has taken
place in the health of British troops of late
years At one time, the mortality in Jamaica
reached the enormous amount of I;,o per thou
sand. This was attributed to the nlarshy To-
cation OF the military posts and TO the raiions
OF salt pork and run, but with removal of
tue cause, it was reduced 10 thirtv-two per
thousand AT Ceylon, the mortality has de-
creased from Il per thousand to ~ per thou-
sand; at st. Helena from ~ To T.: at the ia
maca Islands from = to II at New found
land 81 to IL per Thousand. Tie Indian Elm
pre is the only exception, though even there,
there has been in Bombay II slight decrease.
and in Madras the deaths have fallen from
Is to IL per thousand To tho." who have
looked with deep dependency as well as
grief nron the suilcrings of our own soldiers
by sickness during the past season. we cont
mend the following splendid testimony 10 the
value of sanitary ,cicncc from FLORENCE
NIoHrINGALE, as holding ont the hope tha, bv
the conscientious and intelligent us. of the
same means our Southern army may shake
off altogether the fc.ters of disease.
The barracks and the military ospitaIs -
says Miss Nightingale, "exiet at hone aud in
the colonies US tests of orr sanitary condition
in peace and the histories OF the Penine ular
War, OF Nacheren, and OF the lat. Crimean
expedition. exist as tests OF our sanitary con
dition IN tue state of war. We have mur h
more informant ton On the sanitary history o,
the Cri,nean campaign than we have of III y
other 1t IL Il coiupiete exai., pile history doe.
not afford its equai--of An army, after Il grea
disaster arising from It's uegiects, having bee,
brought into the highest state of health ann
efficiency. 1t IL the whole experiment of n
colossal scale. In all other examples the las
step has been wan ting to compie.s the solu
ton of the NrOhiAta. We hnd In the ii rxf al