90 BULLETIISr 414, U. S. DEPAETMElsTT OF AGRICULTURE. 



again at the rising hour. This latter practice was the most satis- 

 factory from every standpoint. Some conditions were found during 

 the course of the investigation which could not be justified on any 

 possible ground. An indefensible custom which seems almost uni- 

 versal at convict camps is to provide insanitary privies for the use 

 of the guards and the five or six trusty convicts who work about 

 the camp during the day. This practice nullifies the good effects of 

 a well-managed pail system, as these insanitary privies are likely to 

 make the entire camp insanitary. Such conditions could be cor- 

 rected easily by providing covered pails inside the privies. 



PROPER CONDUCT OF PAIL SYSTEM. 



The coal-tar disinfectants of which mention has been made are 

 in general use for this purpose and are very satisfactory. The 

 United States Public Health Service recommends that 1 quart 

 of the solution be used to 6 quarts of sewage. Chloride of lime is 

 an excellent and cheap disinfectant and may be used instead of the 

 coal-tar product. A solution of the proper strength may be made 

 by dissolving 1 pound of the disinfectant in 8 gallons of water and 

 should be used in the pails in the proportion of 1 teacupful of the 

 solution to each deposit of excreta. The chloride of lime should be 

 kept in tight containers as it loses strength rapidly when exposed 

 to air. To prevent splashing, a thick piece of paper or several 

 small pieces of wood or chips may be dropped into the pail just 

 before it is used. The pails should be cleaned and washed daily, 

 but under no circumstances should they be rinsed in the vicinity of 

 the well or spring. 



At all camps where paUs are in use the excreta is disposed of finally 

 by dumping into pits and covering with earth. These pits, in all 

 cases, were a sufficient distance away from the camps, but it might be 

 mentioned that the minimum distance should bo 100 yards, and the 

 pits should be so placed that they are on a lower level than the water 

 supply of the camp. Chloride of lime should be sprinkled into the 

 pits at intervals. As the natural agencies of purification are present 

 to a greater degree in the upper layers of the soil, it is better that 

 excreta should be given shallow burial rather than thrown into deep 

 pits. The deeper the pit the greater the danger of polluting under- 

 ground water supplies. Instead of the large pits now in use at a 

 majority of the camps, shallow furrows or trenches should be dug. 

 These should be from 6 to 12 inches deep, and the excreta should be 

 scattered along in a layer of about 2 inches in thickness, and should 

 be covered immediately with 6 to 12 inches, of earth. The furrow 

 should be marked with stakes, so that there may be no danger of 



