Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the regulations affecting the sanitary condition of the army, the organization of military hospitals, and the treatment of the sick and wounded ; with evidence and appendix. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty.

Great Britain. Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into the Sanitary Condition of the Army.

Date:: 1858

Credit: Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the regulations affecting the sanitary condition of the army, the organization of military hospitals, and the treatment of the sick and wounded ; with evidence and appendix. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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$Holyrood was nearly cleared, and that this pre- sumed the Esk, about to convey Turkish troops to Eupatoria, must have delivered all her stores between the 26rh ultimo, and the date of Dr. Hall's letter. I liave, &c. (Signed) C. Yokke. The Director General, &c. &c. T. T. Grant, Esq. to the Military Secretary. Admiralty, Siu, 19th February 185o. With reference to your letter of the 17th in- stant, enclosing a copy of a letter from the Director Gener.al of the Army Medical Department, in which he states that he is a])])reliensive, in consequence of a communication recei\ed from Dr. Hall, that the lemon juice shipped in the Holyrood, Esk, and Sydney Hall, had not yet reached Balaklava ; I beg to acquaint you, for the infornnition of the General Commanding in Chief, that it appears, by a return received in this department, dated Balaklava, the 2nd instant, that the Holyrood was nearly cleared, the Sydney Hall half cleared, and the Esk about to convey Turkish troops to Eupatoria ; and it is pre- sumed that the latter steamer must have delivered all her stores between the 26th ultimo, the date of Dr. Hall's letter, and the 2nd instant, when she was being I)repared for troops. I have, &c. (Signed) T. T. Grant. The Military Secretary, &c. &c. No. 115. A. Ciitamitig, Esq. to Dr. Smith. Scutari, Sir, 22d February 18oo. In acknowledging your letter of .5th Fel)ruary, adverting to the mode in which corpses are removed to the dead house in this hospital; I have to observe, that your proposal appears to me more objectionable than the mode now in use, viz., the corpses being de- cently wrapped up in a blanket and carried on a bearer by two orderlies to the place ai)proi)riated for their reception. A coffin or shell would, I conceive, be doul)ly suggesti\ e. The sketcii which Depulylnsjiector General Lawson sent recently of tlie burial ground will show its distance from the General Hospital, and which is, he tells me, 100 yards; of course the hospital wall is nearer. A new burial ground has within a day or two been conceded to us by the Turkish Government at a greater distance, and is now, I believe, being used; its site is pointed out in Mr. Lawson's sketch. Every attention will be given to the proper con- veyance of the l)odies to the grave yard, and that no deleterious eifects may arise from the graves being of insufficient depth or not duly covered over. I have, &c. (Signed) A. Cumminc;, Dr. A. Smith, Inspector General of Hospitals. &c. &c. No. 116. A. Ciimmhig, Esq. to Dr. Smith. Sir, Scutari, 22d February 1855. In reply to your letter of 31st -Januai-y re- specting the huts erected in this barrack square, I have to acquaint you that these were commenced and nearly conq)leted during my absence in the Crimea, and previous to my departure I heard no intention expressed of constructing such buildings. Start Surgeon Cruickshank, in a letter to you dated 11th ultimo, mentions the site and character of them. but he informs me that no reference was made to him until they were in an advanced state. I do not altogether approve of the way in Avhicli these huts have been constructed, nor of the site which they occupy; and I rather think they Avere in- tended when tirst projected for the acconnnodation of the depot, to enahle the remaining barrack accommo- dation to be given up to the hospital purposes. I hope they will not materially interfere with the sani- tary condition of this hospital, and my intention is to occupy them by convalescents, and probably, also, in l)art, as dining and breakfast rooms, by which means we shall be able to thin the Avards and corridors. I am at present too pressed by time to enter more fully on this subject. I have, &c. (Signed) A. Cummint;, Dr. A. Smith, Inspector General of Hospitals. &c. &c. No. 117. Dr. A. Smith to Under Secretary of State. Army and Ordnance Medical Sir, Department, 22d February 1855. In acknowledging the receipt of your commu- nication of ihe 16th instant, on the subject of the parasytic vermin infesting the hair and clothing of the soldiers of the army serving in the East, I have the honour, in reply, to state, for the information of his Lordship, that the substances equally efficacious as nicotine for destruction of these insects are the red precipitate of mercury, white ])recipitate of mercury with chalk, the mercurial or blue ointment, and sta- visaire (lousewort). The latter I have reason to believe is used in Turkey for the object referred to. In addition to the above a decoction or infusion of tobacco is also a prompt agent in the destruction of such vermin ; but even these preparations of tobacco, though much less powerful than nicotine, the active ])rinciple of that herb, cannot generally be used with safety, as we have instances of fatal results from the external application of tobacco recorded by Doctors Percival and Taylor in their respective works, and dogs have been frequently killed by applications of this kind. The articles I have mentioned all readily destroy the vermin in the hair, but to eradicate them when they have spread over the body and taken up their abodes in the clothing is not so easily effin-ted ; indeed, it is not generally practicable unless by getting rid of the clothes in which they have been harboured, and by the subsequent observance of great personal clean- liness. But where it has been found an object not to abandon the articles of clothing so infested, various processes to meet the evil have, though with but very im|)erfect success, been resorted to ; amongst them I may mention fumigation of the clothes, either with sulphur, tur[)entiue, camphor, or tobacco, or sponging those portions of them which the insects usually most resort to with a solution of veratrea (the active ])rin- ciple of white hellebore) or of corrosive sublimate ; none of these measures, however, can be regarded as so perfectly effectual as that of jjlacing the clothes in boiling water, or keeping them for some time im- mersed in water kept at the boiling point. This, the most satisfactory process, is of course effected Avitli difficulty where the quantities of infested articles are great. Having submitted these observations, I may merely remark further, that there is reason to believe that no remedy will fully accomplish the object desired iniless aided by good diet, cleanliness, and the oppor- tunity of frequently changing more especially the under clothing. Every medical officer is aware of the means which are used to effect the destruction of the kind of vermin in question ; and though I have not issued imy par- ticular instructions on the subject, I have, however, endeavoured to provide the best means to ensure their$