298 



CAPT. J. DAVIDSON. 



By careful disposal of horse manure, by efficient incineration of refuse, and by 

 systematic treatment of latrine trenches, especially when being filled in after use, 

 the basis of the fly-problem was attacked. 



I. Disposal of Horse-manure. 



As straw or bed'ding of any kind was not used in the desert, there was only the 

 horse droppings and urine to consider. The manure, however, became so much 

 mixed with sand that disposal was often a very difficult matter. A G.S. wagon-load 

 of manure would often contain 50 or 60 per cent, of sand. Many methods were tried 

 for dealing successfully with the manure under the varying conditions of a desert 

 campaign, and those which gave the best results were : — (1) Close-packing and 

 spraying ; (2) incineration ; (3) making manure roads. 



(1). Close packing and spraying. — This method is specially suited to a large camp 

 and gave good results in a big camp near Suez. 



D 

 O 

 D 



o 

 a 



x 



Y 



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I 



a I 

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Fig. 1. Treatment of horse-manure by spraying : 



X, Y, manure dumps; S, tins for sodium arsenite- 



W, water tank. 



A site was selected about 2,000 yards away from the camp and staked out as shown 

 uTng. 1. Two areas, X and Y, each 25 yds. long by 10 yds. wide with an interval of 

 2 yds. between them, were marked out with four corner-posts. To these, all manure 

 from the horse-lines and all burnt refuse from the incinerators were hauled. On the 

 first day everything was dumped on the area X. On the second day on the area Y, 

 and so on alternately. On an average there were 80 G.S. wagon-loads daily, and a 

 gang of 20 Egyptian labourers under the supervision of an N.C.O. were employed at 

 the dumps. As the wagons were unloaded on the dump, these men raked it level 

 and square, picked out tins, etc., which were stacked near by, while old sacking, 

 paper, tibbin, etc., were burnt. 



