TOPOGRAPHICAL AND SANITARY REPORT ON THE STATION OF MEEAN MEER. By Dr. T. G. Scor, 79th Highlanders. Meean Meer, 1st March, 1860. The cantonment of Meean Meer, in lat. 30° 34′ north, long. 74° 4' east, is situated on an extensive plain, six miles to the east of Lahore. Meean Meer is computed to be 1,500 feet above the sea-level, and is slightly higher than the city of Lahore. On this account, I believe, it was selected by Sir C. Napier as an eligible site for European barracks. The area within cantonment boundaries is 13 square miles. The soil varies from a stiff clay, or loam, to a very light grey sand, beneath which is a bed of kankăr, resting on silicious sand. There is a good deal of nitre in the soil. The alluvial deposit is of no great depth, and is decidedly sterile, but, with the aid of manure, is susceptible of considerable improvement. Water is abundant, but only obtainable by sinking deep wells: in some localities the water is slightly brackish, but in the majority of wells it is pure and wholesome. The magnificent new canal, the central line of which is 247 miles in length, with three branches, amounting to 219 miles more, and which traverses the length of the "Bări Doab," is now nearly completed: it passes within a mile of the northern end of the cantonment. In the Punjab the climate is superior to that of Lower Bengal or the North-west Provinces. In May, June, and July the heat is intense, but this is in a great measure counterbalanced by the uniform dryness of the atmosphere, and the small amount of rain. No "periodical rains occur in this district, which seems to lie just beyond the limits of the monsoon. In winter the weather is cold: the temperature sometimes falls to within a degree or two of the freezing point. The cold season commences about the end of October. November, December, and January are delightful months, and even so late as the end of March the mornings and evenings continue to be pleasantly cool. The climate is decidedly favourable to the maintenance of health, and the temperature is materially modified by the proximity of the Himalaya mountains, from the gorges of which powerful currents of cool air sweep over the plains, raising terrific dust storms, which, though disagreeable at the time, aave the effect of purifying the atmosphere and lowering the temperature. From want of a thermometer in the hospital I have not been able to keep a register of the temperature; but I find it recorded that the average temperature in 1857 was 73° 4′, the maximum 101°, the minimum 41°. The diseases common to the Punjab are fevers, liver complaints, and dysentery. Few trees ornament the station, but almost all the waste ground is covered with stunted, thorny shrubs and plants which thrive in an arid soil. To obviate the necessity of entering into a long-written description of the station, the construction, dimensions, &c., of the barracks and attached buildings, I have had a few copies of plans executed, which, I trust, will give all the information sought for on this point. As the barracks for European troops are all built on a uniform plan, a description of one will suffice. The following plan is that of one of the "European infantry lines." There Unfortunately the set of Plans did not reach this Department. are in all 10 distinct buildings on this plan, occupying a superficial space of Thus no barrack intercepts the free circulation of the air. There is a space of 150 paces between each two rows, and consequently 300 between the front and rear rows. Attached to the rear of each, and connected by a covered way, is the bath and ablution room, and urinary, with its cesspool. In the intermediate spaces, and at a sufficient distance, are the cook-houses and cesspoolprivies. The barrack is built of påkka brick, and has a tiled roof. In the dormitory there are 20 skylights, which can be opened and shut by means of a check string. The greater number of the buildings are paved with square or hexagonal tiles, but a few with narrow bricks, which have become worn and loosened, so that the flooring is in a very bad state. A short description of the bath-rooms, with urinaries, as well as of the cesspool privies, with a note of the improvements and alterations which have been frequently and urgently brought to the notice of the executive authorities, is requisite, as the defects in the present arrangements are manifestly contrary to the established sanitary principles of the age. Each ablution-room is supplied with water from a well adjacent to the barrack. The water is raised by a Persian wheel, and introduced into the building by a metal pipe. On one side of the room is an oblong pukka footbath; on the other side a row of copper hand-basins, let into a breast work of masonry attached to the wall. A pipe introduced into the wall supplies each basin with water through a spring stop-cock. All the overflow and foul water passes by a pipe into the urinal, which is of stone-work and pukka, and attached to the reverse side of the wall to that on which the basins are. The object of this arrangement is to ensure an almost constant flow of water to flush the urinal. The urine, diluted by this waste water, is carried off by a covered drain into a cesspool close by. The whole is defective, and the following new arrangement has been submitted to the Executive Engineer for approval. The foot-bath to be done away with, and one or two tubs substituted, with a couple of cocks placed at a suitable height, from which to draw water. The basins to be removed from the wall, and a double row erected in the centre of the room. Wooden gratings for the men to stand on to be placed upon the floor. All communication with the urinary to be cut off. The waste water to be carried off to some little distance, and collected in a circular pukka tank or tanks, and used for sprinkling on the ground to lay the dust; any overflow to be carried into the main drains. The urinals to be abolished, and the cesspools filled up. In lieu of the former, eight or ten earthenware pans to be placed in the urinary, resting on supports of iron, at a height varying from 26 * Bath-room, with covered way. to 30 inches, the contents of which are to be emptied by the sweepers into casks, which must be carted or carried away several times a day. The following description may be given of one of the cesspool-privies. Over the mouth of a deep, large cesspool is a circular platform, pierced by openings, in which are metal pans, with traps worked by a handle, the whole cased in wood. In the centre of all is a large funnel, the lower end of which is built into the mouth of the pool; the upper passes out through the roof of the privy, intended as an escape-pipe for the foul gases generated in the cesspool. I need not dwell on the defects and evils of this system, as cesspools have already been condemned by Government; but I beg to suggest for adoption the following plan in lieu of cesspools: 1st. The cesspool to be closed by solid masonry, having previously deodorised the contents by the introduction of lime, wood ashes, charcoal, and earth. 2nd. To have the wooden structure and pans removed, and a privy constructed on the model shown underneath, only, instead of pukka brick, I recommend a flooring of well-rammed clay, at least two feet in thickness, on which a layer of dry sand, to the depth of four inches, should be spread. The divisions should be made of sun-dried brick, slate, or stone, without lime or whitewash, but covered with a plaster made of common "chikkuree muttee," or potter's clay, which looks clean, and can be removed as often as required. No woodwork should be allowed, but flat iron bars to sit upon, thus To have large-sized glazed pans underneath, placed on the sand, which are to be removed by the sweepers by the passage between the two rows, as shown in the above plan. The glazed pans to be of such a size, and so placed, as to receive all urine as well as ordure. All refuse to be removed four times a day; the pans to be carefully scrubbed and cleaned out with water and wood-ashes before being replaced. Wood-ashes from the cook-houses, and the refuse dust of charcoal, will be found to answer this purpose admirably, and ought to be kept ready mixed, and stored close to the privy. The points most essential for the conservancy of privies and urinaries, and which have been approved of and tested in practice at the Lahore Central Jail, are 1st. The absence of all masonry and pukka work, containing lime or cement. 2nd. The prohibition of all drains, pipes, or conduits, whether closed or open, leading either in or out of the privies or urinaries. 3rd. The prohibition of water being used to flush the ground or flooring, all of which must be kept perfectly dry. 4th. The urinary and privy to be under one roof. 5th. No lime to be used, as the uric acid has a strong affinity for lime, and the compound formed by the reaction of the acid on the lime is that which produces the overpowering ammoniacal foetor so much complained of. Slabs of stone or tiles, as they require to be joined by cement of some kind, are quite as objectionable as pukka-work. All metal tubes, tile drains, &c., are bad. 6th. No cesspools. Enamelled iron pans are liable to be broken by a fall; the enamel cracks, and the vessel becomes useless. Copper pans are likely to be stolen. Glazed pans of any size can be made at Mooltan or Peshawur, and are the most suitable for the purpose. The cook-houses are good, and I have no suggestions to make with regard to them. The quarter-guard of the barracks is used as a brigade guard, and for this purpose is too small. There are no proper lock-ups attached to it, and the ventilation is deficient, there being no opening in the roof. This important want has been brought to the notice of the Executive Engineer, and is, I understand, to be rectified. There are no cells in the cantonments. Regimental prisoners are kept in solitary confinement in a suite of the rooms intended for non-commissioned officers, at the end of one of the barracks. In a sanitary point of view they are unobjectionable. HOSPITAL. There are two hospitals for European troops in the station-one attached to the European Infantry lines, the other to the Artillery and Cavalry. The former is at the north-west, and the latter at the south-east corner of the station. The European Infantry hospital, covering a space of 60,000 superficial yards, is built for the accommodation of the sick of one regiment. The privies are constructed pretty nearly on the dry principle, and, were the wood-work and the stone urinals removed, and the plan I have suggested for the barrack privies substituted, they would be perfect. Charcoal, in net bags, is suspended in the wards and in the privies to act as a deodorant, and I think it is very beneficial. The only other point to be noticed is the drainage of the station. The east main drain has a fall of two-and-a-half feet per mile, the southern drain four feet per mile, and the subsidiary drains, which are numerous, have a fall of three feet per mile. On the whole, I consider the drainage very good; but in the Artillery lines it is somewhat defective from want of a good pukka main drain, with its proportion of feeders. The great east drain might with advantage be carried farther south, so as to drain more effectually the Artillery and Cavalry lines. The drains and roads are under the superintendence of the Executive Engineer, who can expend 200 rupees per month in keeping the former clear and the latter in repair. There are 14 miles of pukka, and 17 miles of kutcha roadway in the cantonments. Very little can be done in the way of watering the roads for want of funds. During the months of August, September, and October the annoyance from the dust on the roads was so great that, as Sanitary Officer, I brought it to the notice of the Brigadier Commanding. The bazaars, being a distinct district, as it were, I have not taken notice of them in conjunction with the description of the station generally. There are two sudder bazaars. They are quite away from any quarter occupied by Europeans, and are built in the form of a square, the streets, which are of great width, being at right angles to the main central one. jurisdiction over the sudder bazaar is in the hands of the cantonment joint magistrate. The Attached to the European Infantry sudder bazaar is a rum distillery, which, as Sanitary Officer, I had to report upon as follows: "Sir,-As Sanitary Officer, I have the honour to direct your attention to the state of the drain and ditch intended to convey away the refuse liquor from the rum distillery in the sudder bazaar. The drain (a pukka one), after it passes the confines of the bazaar, discharges its contents into a shallow ditch, which is kept in such bad order that the sewerage is allowed to overflow and make channels in various directions, thus distributing the fluid over a large space. The effluvium arising from this distillery is too plainly perceptible all over the cantonment, more particularly at |