INTKODUCTION 
17 
The tliii'd change is tlie introduction of a chapter under the heading of “ Sanitary 
Notes,” wliicli will be fonml to deal chielly with sanitation as it concerns Khartonni. 
In niy capacity as Jledical Ollicer of Health of that city, I have been innch impressed 
by the useful lessons to be leai'iied from a study of the ])roblems in connection with the 
carrying-out of a sanitary policy for a new town in such a country as the Sudan. At 
every step the laboratory woi'k is found to aid and supplement the hygienic measures. One 
cannot carry on sanitary work })roperly, especially in the Tropics, unless one has access to 
chemical and bacteriological laboratories. Hence I consider that it is not out of })lace to 
direct attention to the broader asj)ects of water supply, milk supi)ly, sewage collection and 
disposal, etc., in a laboratory report. Indeed this line has already been followed in 
connection with the most^uito reduction operations {ride Hirst and Second Ideports). 
IMoreover, the ordinary l\I.t). H. reports have, according to regulation, to be very short 
and concise, and in these brief articles one cannot carelhlly enter into the inn)ortant questions 
which })resent themselves at every turn. These are of special interest, not only to Khartoum, 
but to other of the northern Sudan towns, and have a direct bearing on tropical sanitation 
in all hot, dry and dusty countries. Hinally, it seems to me only fitting that the earlv 
sanitary history, of a city destined possibly to become a very important centre, shouhl be 
recorded in some more permanent manner than has hitherto been possible. 
As regards the general laboratory work one can again report very considerable progre^ss 
in several directions. The chemical investigations have now become most important and 
extensive, and there is such a mass of routine work that Hr. Hearn, even with Mr. (foodson’s 
sldlled assistance, finds it diflicult to obtain leisure for exploiting new fields, though, at the 
same time, some of this routine work is itself of the nature of research. The appointment of 
Hr. Beam to a seat on the Central Economic Board was undoubtedly a step in the right 
direction, and both the Board and the Laboratories have benefited thereby, while assuredly 
the numerous chemical analyses have furnished most useful information which is beginning to 
bear fruit in several directions. With sanitary and medico-legal questions the chemical 
laboratory has also been concerned on many occasions. The winter of 1907 witnessed the 
arrival of Mr. E, S. Edie, the second Carnegie Kesearch Eellow to be attached to these 
laboratories {yiile infra). ^Ir. Edie was ajipointed to carry out special investigations on the 
chemistry and bacteriology of Sudan gum-arabic. It may be remembereil that in the last 
report Hr. Bimm contributed an important ])aper on this, the most valuable of Sudan 
products, and his researches soon showed that very little was really known concerning the 
composition of gum and the causes which lead to its formation. One had not mmdi luqie 
of obtaining a worker in a field so little exploited and so difficult, but happilv Hr. i\IcCormiek, 
the Secretary of the Carnegie Trust, was able to indicate i\fr. E. S. Edie, who had been 
engaged in advanced research, nnder Brofessor iiloore, at the Bio-chemical Laboratorv 
at Liveiq)ool. Not only was Jlr. Edie able and willing to occupy the post, the creation of 
which was due in large measure to IMr. Wellcome’s generosity, but Professor JMoore. very 
kindly arranged that he should have some special instruction in the lines of his future work, 
and was also good enough to give us the loan of some useful apparatus. Mr. Edie arrived 
at the end of October, 19(17, and soon adapted himself to his new surroundings. 
As will be seen from his report he has taken iqi two lines of research:— 
1. Chemical—dealing with the analysis of gums from diffiu'ent sources and of gums of 
different qualities from the same species of tree, his object being to discover the relationship 
between the proportion of various constituents and the physical characters of the gum. 
Sanitary 
Notes 
Sanitary work 
and the 
Laboratories 
The chemical 
work 
Special 
research on 
gum-arabic 
B 
