SERIOUSNESS OF INSECT-BORNE DISEASES TO ARMIES 45 



contingents of troops and animals in a new army camp make the first 

 months of the entomological sanitarian very busy ones. Common sense 

 is one of the primary essentials in meeting the exigencies of the situation. 

 The possibility of mosquito breeding must be kept at a minimum in spite 

 of temporary drainagCj multitudes of borrow pits, tree stumps, fire-water 

 barrels, etc. A system of manure, garbage, refuse, and fecal disposal 

 is of necessity hastily devised and must keep pace with the increasing 

 numbers of men and animals. This waste disposal is handled by special 

 units and the sanitarian acts only in an advisory capacity. He needs 

 therefore to be very vigilant in his inspections. Army camps nowadays 

 grow in such marvelous proportions that past experiences are of little 

 avail. The man on the ground must be well versed in the principles of 

 entomological sanitation and must use his judgment for all it is worth. 



The constant accessions in troops and raw recruits call for constant 

 scouting and prophylaxis to prevent admission of vermin. The work 

 against vermin almost necessitates a specialist to take care of it alone. In 

 fact it were best if three entomologists were located in each camp, one 

 looking after the suppression of water and moist earth breeding insects, 

 one looking after the suppression of fecal, waste, and manure breeding 

 insects, and the third handling the vermin of the person and the barracks. 



So serious is the vermin problem in all armies that elaborate measures 

 have to be taken to combat it. The Germans developed great vacuum 

 tubes that will contain an entire railroad coach. The Russians, and then 

 other nations, developed bath trains sufficient to handle the cleansing of 

 thousands of men a day. The Russians and Roumanians developed sod 

 houses for heat sterilization of clothing. Heat and steam sterilizing plants 

 of many types have been devised. A tremendous amount of experimen- 

 tation has been directed toward chemical cleansing of the clothing. 



The destruction of waste is such an acute problem that many types of 

 incinerators have resulted (see figs. 1, 2, 3), but as a camp becomes 

 permanently organized the sewage system does away with many of the 

 early difficulties. Permanent incinerators, well kept drainage systems, 

 organized removal of the manure, and disposal of garbage by the quarter- 

 master's department, systematic inspection of quarters and grounds, and 

 systematic bathing and cleansing of clothing, characterize the perfectly 

 adjusted sanitation of a permanent' camp. Every large army camp 

 has its remount camp and company stables, The farther these stables are 

 located from the soldiers' barracks the better will be the fly conditions 

 in the living quarters of the men. 



The actively engaged army, however, presents entirely different con- 

 ditions. There is no possibility of developing sewage systems, but tem- 

 porary latrines must be substituted (see figs. 4, 5, 6, 7). Manure and 

 garbage cannot be farmed out to contractors, but must be disposed of 



