CONVICT LABOR FOR ROAD WORK. 67 
The general location of the site being thus determined with regard 
for its proximity to present and future work, other important factors 
serve to fix its position definitely. Most important of these factors 
is the availability of an adequate supply of good water, to secure 
which some sacrifice in distance from the work is justified. 
Of the various sources from which water is obtained springs are 
most highly valued by a majority of people, because of their gener- 
ally high degree of purity and the coolness, cleanness, and pleasing 
taste of the water. Springs are most frequently found under the 
slopes of hills, and except in rare cases it is impracticable to establish 
a camp directly at the site of a spring. It is therefore generally neces- 
sary to carry or pipe the water to the camp from a considerable dis- 
tance, but this distance may be a distinct advantage owing to the 
fact tnat the danger of pollution by surface or subsurface washings 
from the camp is materially lessened. 
Camps located in thinly populated mountainous sections fre- 
quently may be so placed as to receive their water by gravity from a 
mountain stream. While this is a very cheap and satisfactory form 
of supply it necessarily must be limited to those camps which are 
near an uninhabited watershed. For this reason it is imperative, 
before choosing a site depending upon such a supply, that a careful 
sanitary survey of the stream and its watershed be made, to avoid 
dangerous pollution by possible camping parties, even though no 
permanent dwellings may be found. 
The selection of camp sites in sections where the underlying rock 
is limestone is a problem of especial difficulty, as explained under 
the topic of camp sanitation. 
In cases where it is impossible to secure a site sufficiently near to 
a naturally flowing source of water it will be necessary to dig a well, 
in which case the aim should be so to select the site as to reduce to 
a minimum the cost of reaching water. 
Whenever possible, the camp should be located on elevated and 
well-drained ground, as far as practicable from marshes, swamps, and 
pools of stagnant water, and in such direction from them that the pre- 
vailing wind in summer is from the camp to the swamp rather than 
in the opposite direction. The top of a low ridge, the summit of a 
knoll with gently sloping sides, or the high bank of a river is very 
desirable. 
It is important that the location shall be such that the drainage 
from the camp shall not pollute the grounds and water supplies of 
dwellings or settlements in the vicinity; and it is equally important 
that the camp site be removed as far as possible from stables, pig- 
pens, and other fly-breeding places not under the control of the camp 
authorities. 
