126 BULLETIlSr 414, U. S. DEPARTMEN-T OF AGEICULTURE. 



sent to a camp should be bathed and provided with clean clothing 

 before being allowed to enter the quarters, and his old clothing should 

 be thrown immediately into boiling water and thoroughly washed 

 out. 



Night Clothes and Bedding. 



Night clothes are furnished at a few camps, and these, with rare 

 exceptions, are in the South. At a great majority of the convict 

 camps the prisoners remove their outer clothing consisting of shirt, 

 pants, shoes, and socks and sleep in their underclothes which they 

 have worn while at work during the day. This clothing, wet with 

 perspiration and soiled with the excretions of the skin, often remains 

 in contact with the body for a week at a time, a condition not con- 

 ducive to cleanliness or health. 



Sheets are furnished at some of the southern camps, but are sel- 

 • dom fomid elsewhere. Thus the underclothing worn at hard manual 

 labor throughout the day comes into direct contact with the blan- 

 kets. In many camps the blankets never are washed, even when a 

 change of ownership occurs. They become indescribably fUthy and 

 constitute a very dangerous means by which infectious matter may 

 be conveyed from one man to another. 



Mattresses stuffed with cotton, moss, hay, or straw are in common 

 use and seldom receive attention until they are worn out. At cer- 

 tain camps, however, mattress covers are washed and refUled with 

 fresh hay or straw at intervals varying from one to six months. 



Pillows filled with hen feathers or moss are almost always fur- 

 nished, and are provided with slips which are washed each week. 



At some camps all bedding is hung out of doors in the sunlight 

 for several hours one day each week and may also be beaten, but at 

 other camps the care of the bedding is left to the men themselves, 

 with the result that it receives no attention at all. 



PROPER CARE OF NIGHT CLOTHES AND BEDDING. 



No camp can be considered as showing proper regard for the prin- 

 ciples of cleanliness and health unless nightshirts and sheets are 

 provided and their use is insisted upon. They should be washed 

 once a week. A certain number of the southern camps have put 

 this plan into operation, and are well satisfied with the results. 



All bedding should be taken out of doors and shaken, sunned, and 

 aired for several hours once or twice a week. The purifying action 

 of the sun is of- great value in keeping bedding in good condition. 

 Blankets may be prevented from becoming foul by the use of sheets, 

 but should be laundered at least twice a year, and whenever a change 

 of ownership occurs. Every man who enters a camp should be 

 given fresh, clean blankets. 



