102 PROC. ENT. SOC. WASH., VOL. 20, NO. 5 MAY, 1918 



that is isolation of disease suspects, and pure water and milk 

 supplies, insect destruction shares the foreground of army sanita- 

 tion. Prevent house fly breeding and eliminate water or milk 

 contamination and an outbreak of typhoid fever or other intestinal 

 complaints is practically impossible. Prevent louse brooding 

 and there can be no outbreak of typhus, trench fever or relapsing 

 fever. Prevent mosquito breeding and there will be no malaria, 

 yellow fever, and dengue and little filariasis. Prevent flea breed- 

 ing and there will be no outbreak of plague or flea borne tapeworms, 

 prevent tick breeding and save the animals from many of their 

 principal ailments. Drain the moist places to control horseflies, 

 gnats and midges and you have guarded against a long series of 

 other diseases. 



Some of the most important sanitary measures in the armies 



When an army camp is laid out, of course the first concern of the 

 sanitarian is the water supply. His next concern is the disposal 

 of waste, for this must be provided for from the very first day. 

 He then has time to look into the questions of drainage and sup- 

 pression of breeding places of the noxious pests. The question 

 of waste disposal is sometimes a serious one. It must take into 

 consideration garbage, manure, human excreta, carcasses, and 

 solid waste. In general waste disposal may be divided into two 

 divisions the prevention of insect breeding and incineration or 

 complete destruction. It is often desirable to save the manure 

 and so different methods of manure disposal have been studied 

 out. The general opinion is in favor of the tightly packed 

 manure stack with straight sides, treated regularly with powdered 

 borax, and with the edges on the ground oiled and the debris 

 swept up and burned. For garbage and human excreta incinera- 

 tion is usually practised. There are many types of incineration 

 from the primitive oiling and burning to the scientifically prepared 

 incineration ovens. Solid waste is burned or crushed to prevent 

 its holding water and then used to fill low places. Carcasses 

 should be covered with a film of creosote oil to prevent fly breeding 

 and then buried or burned. An excellent and exhaustive paper 

 on the prevention of nuisances arising from flies and putrefaction 

 of carcasses on the battle field has recently been contributed by 

 Foreman and Graham-Smith. 



The drainage problems for each camp are different. There 

 must first be surveys to determine the danger points of mosquito 

 infestation, and measures taken to prevent this. It may require 

 filling low places, or ditching to accomplish a thorough draining. 

 It may require merely a straightening of the existing drainage 

 and the removal of debris and plant growth from the stream bed 

 and sides. Where ditching is necessary it is sometimes a good 

 plan to construct a double system of ditches, using one at a time, 



