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blue flannel shirt answers well; in fact, it has become quite customary when not on the march, but lying in camp, for the soldiers to wear the blue flannel shirt at night. The coolness of the night while lying down is severely felt upon the abdomen often enough to keep one awake and interrupt his rest. Even a slight covering is a help, and for this the flannel belly-band is worn. The neglect of this is undoubtedly the predisposing, if not the actual exciting cause of many of our intestinal ailments.

"The white jean drawers answer all conditions at all times; they are loose, comfortable, and safe.

"The khaki fatigue uniforms are excellent.

"During the wet season the large pouches now furnished are of more service than the rain coat or mackintosh. They protect sufficiently well and are not as hot as the mackintosh; besides they serve as a blanket or covering at night."

Camps.--Tents.-The tents used in the army are the hospital tent, the officers' wall tent, the A-tent, and the shelter tent, which is a modification of the last. Soldiers give the preference to the shelter tent, which is light, each man's piece weighing only 1.18 kilograms. Two pieces being joined together by buttons and buttonholes, and thrown over a ridge pole supported by four uprights, and the four corners fastened to pegs driven into the ground, form a tent 1.2 meters high, 1.65 meters long, and having a spread at the base of between 1.8 and 2.1 meters. Such a tent will form a comfortable shelter for two men, unless there should be strong winds or driving rains, when the ends should be closed by blankets or an extra piece of shelter tent. The uprights and ridge are steadied by short guy ropes, one of which is furnished with each piece of tent.

Location of the Camp. The camp should not be located on a spot that has recently been used for the same purpose. Camp sites should also be frequently changed, in order to avoid the effects of soil pollution

which might result from long-continued occupation. The camp site should be selected with reference to several important particulars. The soil of the locality should be dry, sandy in character, and well drained. The site should also be so located as to afford a plentiful supply of pure and wholesome water. Too much stress cannot be laid upon this point. Low-lying, damp, or marshy localities should be avoided for obvious reasons.

The camp should be laid out in regular order with streets, so as to provide ways of passing freely through the camp. The camp should be as compact as will be permissible with health and cleanliness.

A trench, at least 10 centimeters in depth, should be dug around each tent, so as to exclude surface water, and this should lead, with the trenches from the other tents, into a larger one for each street, so as to conduct the rain-water from the camp-ground.

Sanitary Policing of the Camp.-Frequently this matter is left to hired civilians, though not always. The camp streets should be cleaned regularly every day and all rubbish burned as promptly as possible. All kitchen refuse should be collected twice a day and removed from the camp-grounds or buried in trenches dug for the purpose. The tents should be aired each day by opening the doors and raising the walls after the men have left them in the morning. All bedding should likewise be exposed to the air every day unless the weather is such as to prevent it.

Water-supply.-There should be an abundant supply of pure water for all purposes for which it is needed. Where the wholesomeness of the water is doubtful, some method of purification should be provided. For this purpose the Forbes portable water sterilizer (Fig. 55) is now frequently employed.

This apparatus is in very common use in the various army camps in the tropics, and the universal report is most favorable as to its efficiency in preventing the development of typhoid fever and diarrheal diseases

among the troops. Even in localities where typhoid fever prevailed the introduction of the apparatus and the exclusive use of boiled or sterilized water arrested the outbreak.

[graphic]

FIG. 55. Forbes' portable water sterilizer, army type.

A board of army surgeons, consisting of Majors Reed, Shakespeare, and Vaughn, appointed for the purpose of testing various types of apparatus submitted to the war department for use in sterilizing water in the field, report that "all living micro-organisms, except a few sporebearing bacteria, are destroyed by the degree of heat attained during the passage of the water through the apparatus. The disadvantage of the escape of a few spore-forming bacteria through this apparatus is con

sidered to be of no practical importance by the Board." They also found that "there is no loss of the natural gases during the passage of the water through the apparatus."

The treatment of water with disinfectants has received considerable study, and the hypochlorites have been found valuable for this purpose. Sodium peroxide has also been tried and found to yield a safe water.

Provision should be made of ample opportunities for bathing. In the absence of large bodies of water in the vicinity of the camp permitting the soldiers to engage in swimming, shower-baths, at least, should be supplied at convenient points on the camping-ground.

Latrines. The latrines should be situated from 140 to 150 meters to the leeward of the camp. A deep and narrow trench should be dug for the purpose. It must not be too wide, or it will require more earth to cover the excreta. At least three times each day the excreta should be covered with earth to a depth of 2 to 3 decimeters, or with slaked lime. The dry earth readily absorbs the putrifying material and thus renders it inoffensive. The bacteria in the soil destroy the organic matter contained in the excreta, thus rendering them harmless. This procedure will protect the excreta from flies and insects, and limit one source of danger of general infection should there be unrecognized cases of typhoid fever in the camp. The excreta of all cases of typhoid fever and dysentery should be disinfected at once. They should never be thrown into the trenches without this precaution. The excreta in the trench may also be burned daily by pouring kerosene upon them and applying the torch. In the tropics, during the rainy season, the dry-earth closet is being used for hospitals and camps in towns. The excreta are collected in galvanized vessels, covered with dry earth, and emptied at frequent intervals. New sinks should be dug when the old ones are filled to within 6 decimeters of the top, the old sinks being completely filled with earth.

Barracks.-Besides healthful sites, the essential conditions of barracks are dryness, warmth, light, amount of floor space, and air-supply.

In the squad-room each man should have at least 30 cubic meters of air space and 465 square decimeters of floor space, and south of 36 degrees north latitude the proportions should be 40 and 665, respectively.

There should be more space allowed if the barracks are constantly occupied, because the dimensions given are

FIG. 56.-Diagram illustrating ridge ventilation.

too low for constant occupation during active exercise. The official recommendations for English troops in India. range from 75 to 150 cubic meters of air space, and from 620 to 1240 square decimeters of floor space.

The squad room should be not less than 35 decimeters nor more than 42.5 decimeters in height, and preferably about 70 decimeters wide. Excessive height and width should be avoided because of greater difficulty in efficient ventilation.

Ridge ventilation is perfectly satisfactory for barracks, or it may be accomplished by means of double inlet and outlet tubes in the roof (see Fig. 56), so constructed that the fresh air enters through the outer tube and the vitiated air takes its exit through the inner tube.

There should be ample provision for bathing, and the

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