February, ’18] 
FELT: INSECTS AND CAMP SANITATION 
97 
to become infected, a phase which largely devolves upon the physician, 
though the entomologist might render conspicuous service. It would 
fall to the latter to see that every reasonable precaution was adopted, 
to reduce the breeding of insects to a minimum and to check their dis¬ 
semination so far as possible. The last is of special importance with 
body parasites. 
2. The protection of food, though vastly less important than the 
preceding, should receive attention, since by the adoption of compara¬ 
tively simple precautions in handling and storage it would be possible 
to avoid waste and serious loss. Inspection by an entomologist would 
in most cases determine the probable source of infestation and go far 
toward fixing responsibility. 
3. Protection of domestic animals. A general survey of camp sur¬ 
roundings would indicate at once the more prolific breeding places for 
mosquitoes, especially malarial carriers, and would incidentally dis¬ 
close the localities most likely to be infested by horse flies and similar 
troublesome pests. The location of the camp and the disposition of 
camp refuse, including the manure from animals, must be determined 
largely by local conditions and apparently unimportant modifications 
may have a material effect upon the abundance of insects and the an¬ 
noyance and danger resulting therefrom. 
It is not expected that a flyless and insectless camp can be main¬ 
tained, especially under field conditions, but it is practical, by the 
adoption of systematic measures, to largely reduce the insect menace, 
not only by the prevention of breeding but by the adoption of special 
means of protection wherever there is an opportunity for the dissemina¬ 
tion of disease. The autocratic military type of organization is ad¬ 
mirably adapted to the carrying out of such work. This latter, as has 
been pointed out earlier, is of particular importance in the case of 
American troops because they are presumably more susceptible to cer¬ 
tain infections than men who have lived for years under less sanitary 
conditions. 
With the above in mind, we hold that the entomologist, particularly 
the economic entomologist, is in a position to render invaluable service 
in protecting the health of our troops and that, furthermore, the 
efficiency of the sanitary and medical corps of the army will be greatly 
increased by the cooperation of such experts, since their special knowl¬ 
edge would permit the quick solution of many difficult problems and 
at the same time relieve our medical men for their very necessary and 
frequently more urgent duties. 
There is another phase of the problem which should ever be kept in 
mind and that is conditions likely to obtain after the war. Almost 
every great war has been followed by widespread, frequently very 
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