SANITARY NOTES. KHARTOUAI 
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removed twice daily in Crowley carts and discharged upon the desert, about one and a half 
miles to the south of the town. In the case of the Gordon College, a system of surface 
iri'igation has been devised, and this, on a less elaborate scale, is operative at the Grand Hotel, 
both of these buildings having extensive grounds under cultivation. Elsewhere, for the most 
part, waste water is simply thrown out upon the streets or into the yards. This is an 
insanitary proceeding and may at times give rise to danger. We know, for instance, that 
urine may contain the bacilli of typhoid fever, Malta fever and tuberculosis. Schemes have 
been proposed for dealing with the waste water by means of surface drainage, but the 
difficulties, owing to the lack of proper fall, appear to be insuperable. Where a large volume 
of waste water has to be dealt with it will lie necessary to provide cemented, covered pits, and 
remove the contents by a cart to which a pump and hose are affixed. All this is very 
undesirable, tor it is difficult to get a water-tight pit constructed, and such places tend to serve 
as mosquito breeding-places; l)ut it appears unavoidable until a water-carriage system is 
installed. The water collected could be discharged into the septic tanks. 
3. Collection and Disposal of liefuse. 
The Sanitary Service is only responsible for the removal of refuse from the town and its 
final disposal. Metal dust-bins are provided for the reception of road sweepings. It is 
collected, usually along with a great quantity of sand, by the town carts, which bring it to the 
conservancy collecting station. There it is discharged into large trollies and drawn out to 
the trenching-ground, Avhere a two-celled destructor of a simple pattern has been erected. The 
refuse is for the most part light, dry, and inoffensive, consisting of straw, stable debris, paper, 
rags, old tins and broken bottles. It does not yield a useful slag, but provides plenty of heat 
for the boilers. To prevent so much sand being collected, the carters have been supplied with 
hand riddles, hut it is difficult to get them to use these as frequently as they should. Dead 
animals are removed beyond the confines of the town and left to the vultures, which speedily 
pick them clean. An effort is to be made to cremate these carcases in the destructor now that 
the latter possesses an additional cell. 
Water Supply .—The Avhole question of the future water supply for Khartoum is still sub 
judice, and I have no desire here to enter into the realms of controversy. Hence this section 
will be dealt with very briefly. In the first place, we Avill consider the present system, and then 
deal with the proposed improved supply from a bacteriological standpoint. Dr. Beam deals 
with it from the chemical. At present, then, as in the past, the town mainly derives its 
water directly from the Blue Nile. This I'iver varies greatly at different seasons of the year. 
In the summer and early autumn it is fully a quarter of a mile in width, possesses a rapid 
current and is laden with silt. Its waters are then turbid and carry a large quantity of 
suspended matter. In the winter and early spring it shrinks very considerably, so much so 
that its depth becomes insignificant and many sand banks appear. Of late years, during the 
months of April and May, more than half its bed has been dry. The current becomes sluggish, 
and this year the so-called “green water,” due to the abundant growth of a species of -Hga, 
Fig. 22, has made its appearance. The chemical composition of Blue Nile rvater has been the 
subject of study by Dr. Beam {vide Eeport of the Chemical Section, Second and Third Eeports). 
Bacteriological examinations have been conducted in the course of the present year, 
samples being taken close to the bank and from the middle of the stream opposite the site 
of the water-works at Burrfe, and also by Mr. Archibald from the middle of the river opposite 
the Gordon College. Unfortunately, some of the results wei’e lost in the fire, and one cannot 
give full details. One knows, however, that in the month of January, 1907, the number 
of organisms in 1 c.c. of the water taken close to the bank above the town was between 
300 and 400 (agar count at 37° C., 48 hours incubation), while in a sample taken from the 
centre of the stream at Burr^' in Fehruary, 77 organisms were found per 1 c.c. In May, a 
Revise 
Water supply 
Blue Nile 
water 
