PART II.] Influence of the Water-supply on the Prevalence of Delhi Sore. 4 1 3 



of the excessive floods occurring at that time. It remained closed until the hot 

 weather of 1876, and during the interval the only sources of water-supply open to 

 the men were the wells in the lines, or the river. No cases of Delhi sore occurred 

 during 1875, but in the spring of 1876 cases began to present themselves, and up 

 to date nine cases have been admitted for the year. This number, of course, does 

 not necessarily indicate the absolute number of cases in the regiment, as it has been 

 already seen that many who suffer are not unfit for the performance of their duties, 

 but only receive treatment as out-patients, or, as is often the case, prefer doctoring 

 themselves with their own nostrums. 



These are the principal facts which we have been able to ascertain regarding 

 the prevalence of Delhi sores among the troops. The only other circumstance worthy 

 of note as bearing on the subject is the fact that, during the period in which the 

 disease was so excessively prevalent, the detachments of Cavalry located at the 

 Lahore and Cabul gates, and obtaining their water-supply from wells outside the city 

 walls, are stated to have showed a marked exemption from the disease. 



So far as our information goes, therefore, it would appear that the troops whilst 

 in the Old Cantonment suffered little ; that between 1857 and 1865 Europeans and 

 natives alike were very subject to the prevalence of Delhi sores among them, the 

 Europeans, if anything, suffering more severely than the natives, and some bodies 

 of natives escaping almost entirely ; that subsequent to 1865 there has never been 

 the same prevalence, but that the diminution in the prevalence of the disease has 

 been much more marked and persistent in the case of the European than in that of 

 the native troops. 



The suddenness of the fall from excessive prevalence is very remarkable in the 

 case of the European Infantry, and must, so far as we can see, even allowing for the 

 influence of change in the bodies of troops in the station, have been due to some 

 sudden improvement in their sanitary conditions. No such sudden or persistent 

 change is perceptible in the case of the natives, although with them also there 

 has been a considerable diminution in the prevalence of the disease. 



Taking these facts into consideration, there appears little doubt that the views 

 which regard the nature of the water-supply as the immediate cause of the occurrence 

 of the disease are well founded. We know that previous to 1865 the water-supply 

 of the troops, save of some isolated detachments, such as the Cavalry at the Lahore 

 and Cabul gates, was very bad. That of the European was really worse than that 

 of the native troops, the former being dependent on the wells within the fort, the 

 latter having a partial, though very insufficient and irregular, supply from the canal, 

 and being, moreover, to some extent in the way of using the river water. With 

 1865 the conditions were reversed; river water being supplied as far as possible 

 to the Europeans, whilst the supply for the natives was unchanged, save in so far 

 as more attention was paid to rendering the supply from the canal efficient. Since 

 that date constantly increasing care has been devoted to the water-supply of the 



