Report to the Right Hon. Lord Panmure, G.C.B., &c., Minister at War, of the proceedings of the Sanitary Commission dispatched to the seat of war in the East, 1855-56 / presented to both Houses of Parliament, by command of Her Majesty, March 1857.

  • United Kingdom. Sanitary Commission (1855-1856)
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report to the Right Hon. Lord Panmure, G.C.B., &c., Minister at War, of the proceedings of the Sanitary Commission dispatched to the seat of war in the East, 1855-56 / presented to both Houses of Parliament, by command of Her Majesty, March 1857. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    13/350 (page 13)
    Pages Proceedings of tlie Commissioners—continued . . 64 to 148 Cavalry Division Camps, in the Valley of Karani. 115 Description of the valley; well calculated for vi^inter protection, but became an impassable clay swamp after heavy rain; ground not marshy, but sufficiently wet to emit malaria in hot weather; great prevalence of zymotic dis- eases. Space overcrowded with men and animals; malarious emanations from the ground resulted. Accumulation of stable manure; when burnt, the operation imperfectly carried out. The best mode of disposing of the organic refuse of a fixed camp is the Indian mode of employing a furnace like a lime-kiln. Difficulty of erecting such furnaces in the Crimea; two erected at Scutari in 1856. In the Crimea, those camps where there were large numbers of animals were the most unhealthy; some excess of sickness in the Cavalry and Artillery camps. Sanitary defects of the huts in the Cavalry Division ; foundations not properly prepared or drained; earth raised against the sides; ventilation de- fective. One Cavalry regiment, which was under canvas, had little or no fever. Sanitary Condition of the Camp before Sebastopol . . 119 Camp of the Guards 119 Excellent site, natural drainage good, and the position healthy. Camps of the 3rd and 4th Divisions, and part of the 1st 119 On an elevated position; ample facilities of drainage; open to the free sweep of the winds. In some parts, the' surface was deeply covered with wet retentive clay. Camps on such ground not the most healthy on the plateau, and when cholera first appeared, in May ]855, it seemed to attack them by preference. Camp of the 2nd Division . . . , 220 Not very good, being clayey; in parts it was better. Camp of the Light Division . . . ^ joQ Natural drainage good; the position a healthy one ex- cept the lowest points. ' Camp of the Naval Brigade, under 3rd Division . 120 _ Site good for winter protection, but close to a swampy ravme. Camp removed. The site of the camp before Sebastopol was, with limited exceptions, as healtl.y a district as could have been found withm the whole occupation, but it was, of course.