300 CAPT. J. DAVIDSON. 



sand ; it gets mixed with it and practically a carpet of manure and sand is left round 

 the incinerator, and in this flies breed in enormous numbers. The ova hatch out and 

 the maggots soon burrow down into the sand and pupate. At a camp of Indian 

 troops that the writer visited, where horse-manure was being incinerated, there were 

 several neat mud-wall drying platforms near the incinerators, in which the manure 

 was put. On examining these, the bottom few inches of manure was found to be three 

 or four days old and was seething with fly maggots. 



(3). Spreading manure by making manure roads. — This method, when very 

 carefully supervised, is satisfactory, especially during the hot weather. During the 

 winter months however it is not so satisfactory and incineration was insisted on. 



When the manure is spread along a road track, supervision is easy. These manure 

 roads are much better for horses to walk on than the loose desert sand. Roads about 

 15 feet wide, leading from the camp out into the desert, were staked out. The day's 

 manure from the camp was spread along a certain length of this road and raked out 

 by Egyptian labourers, so that in no place was the manure more than one inch thick. 

 All droppings were broken up. The next day a further piece of the road was covered 

 in the same way. On the third, fourth and fifth days a further piece was covered. 

 Under the extreme heat of the desert sun the manure quickly dries, and moisture is 

 necessary for fly-breeding. After the fifth day another layer one inch thick was added 

 on the first day's layer, and so on. Four days were thus allowed to elapse before 

 another layer of manure was added to the previous layer. In this way a good road 

 of dry pulverised manure was formed. This method needs constant supervision in 

 order to ensure that the manure is spread thinly, otherwise patches or " pockets " of 

 manure here and there may breed flies. 



The practice of burying manure direct from the horse-lines in the desert is a great 

 danger. The writer has found larvae, pupae, and newly hatched flies in the sand 

 where manure had been buried. The eggs are laid on the manure in the horse-lines, 

 and when it is buried, the warmth of the sand and moisture from the manure, make 

 conditions favourable for fly-breeding. Horse-lines were thoroughly raked over 

 twice a day so as to expose the sand to the sun. 



II. Treatment of Latrines. 



In large standing camps incineration of faeces is frequently carried out, but in 

 general a deep trench system of latrines is established. The latrine trenches are 

 about 8 feet deep and covered with " fly-proof," box-pattern latrine seats having 

 self-closing lids. These are made in large numbers and are available at R.E. Parks. 

 Owing to the loose nature of the sand in most districts all latrine trenches have to be 

 revetted with sandbags or wooden revetments. On account of the warping of the 

 wood-work, damage to lids, etc., the latrine seats are not absolutely fly-proof. 

 Latrine trenches were sprayed daily with " C " fluid, 5 per cent, cresol, or kerosene, 

 the latter being the most effective in keeping flies away. 



When the contents of the trench reached to about 18 inches from the top, the 

 trench was carefully filled in in the following way : — The contents and sides of the 

 trench were thoroughly sprayed with " " fluid, cresol 10 per cent., or crude tar oil. 

 The trench was then filled in with sand thoroughly mixed with crude tar oil, the top 

 layer of sandbag revetment being removed, A mound made with tibbin and sand 



