thoroughly afraid, both of the operation and of its results. To meet this the War Office issued through the papers and by pamphlets, information from the medical authorities as to the wonderful results that had already been achieved. They were able to prove beyond all dispute, that of the men who caught the infection in France, practically all of those who had been inoculated recovered—their cases being light—while those who had not been inoculated became easy victims to the disease. As the war has progressed these figures have been amplified till now there can be no question that the use of "Inoculation" has made this dread disease a thing to be feared less than the measles.

FIGURE 9:
Finished trench showing parapet and parados; firing step of earth; flooring; and shelter dugout under parados.

Officers adopted different methods in counteracting the teaching of those who tried to keep the soldiers from submitting. Some of them argued with the men and told them of the wonderful results that had been achieved. Others warned their men that they would be left behind when the battalion went to France. For my own part I adopted the method of sending for the medical men whose business it was to administer the "dose." When they were all prepared I marched in my men from some light fatigue work in which they had been engaged, told them to take off their coats and roll up their sleeves, and three at a time they appeared before the waiting surgeons. The business was over in no time. I marched them off to a place where I could talk to them and then acquainted them with the advantages of inoculation. The announcement of forty-eight hours' freedom from drill for the whole company to let their arms limber up put the few that were disgruntled into good spirits again, and I was able to report to the O. C. that 100 per cent of my men were willing to be inoculated—and had been inoculated! So little did any of them suffer from its effects that they readily lined up in ten days time when they were to receive the second dose. At intervals of two or three months in France the operation was repeated and I never had a single man on the sick list from enteric!

Now, while inoculation is excellent and should be insisted on in all armies, both for the sake of the individual soldier and of those who associate with him, every possible precaution should be taken by the soldier even after this has been done. All water for drinking should be looked upon with suspicion. Never take any chances for the sake of getting a hasty drink. Many communities have water supplies that are admirable and when military operations are carried on there, the difficulties disappear. On the other hand many places have the most abominable water supply systems. Where we were in France, the country was very flat, and consequently the drainage poor. The buildings that housed the human beings and the cattle and pigs on the farms were as a rule all built around a "midden" into which flowed all the refuse. In many cases the family water supply, a well, was dug within three feet of this cesspool, so that the drainage from the latter was almost sure to reach the former. This is "asking for" enteric, and some men fell victims to it before they could be made to realise the danger. The best rule to follow, as we all soon learned, was to get our drinking water exclusively from the army water wagons, for there the water had been treated and the danger lessened. At times we could not get to the water carts and a certain degree of risk had to be run.

FIGURE 10:
Machine gun position with heavy overhead cover.

Not only with water has the greatest care to be taken, but also with food. Flies are notorious carriers of disease, and consequently soldiers must see to it that no food is left uncovered. Nor should food ever be placed near latrines or any place where there is decaying matter.

With universal inoculation, and with a careful following of these simple rules laid down, the ancient scourge of the army loses much of its terror. The task of combating it lies mainly with the medical and sanitary staff, though the common soldier must also play his part of carefulness. Some men carried small sterilisers with them. This practice is not to be recommended for it is very difficult to keep these little utensils clean, and then they themselves become harmful. Tabloid sterilisers I have found to be effective in an emergency.

Those who have followed the history of the war will remember how the Serbian Army was threatened with extinction through the deadly disease called Typhus. There is no doubt that the army and most of the civil population would have been wiped out had it not been for the timely assistance that that brave little nation received from medical men and women throughout the world, notably America. Many of these brave souls made the final great sacrifice in their endeavour to stamp out this disease. Then again its horrors have been more recently brought to our notice through the revelations of the conditions at Wittenberg Camp in Germany. The story that Captain Vidal and Major Priestly, Officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps, had to tell of their living death in that awful internment camp, brought home to the British people and then to the world, the frightfulness of that disease, as well as the inhumanity of certain German medical officials. Fortunately, typhus has been little known in Western Europe, and it is possible that soldiers in this country will never know its ravages. But all the same it is as well to be prepared for it, and to know the methods of preventing its outbreak. It is a disease that is carried by flees and lice and consequently the most that can be said in a work of this kind is to recommend the greatest pains in the removal of these creatures from the body should they ever take up their residence there. I refer the reader to the chapter on "Vermin" for methods of combating "Lice."

Dysentery, Enteritis, and Colitis. These names are applied to various kinds and grades of stomach troubles, between which it is difficult for the common soldier to differentiate, and which show themselves with most distressing effects. They come, usually, from drinking bad water or eating bad food. Even with the greatest care that the Commissariat could take, there were occasions when food unfit for human consumption was served to the troops. In the trenches it was not to be wondered at that we were stricken with these diseases, for the flies that infested the trenches and lived on the dead bodies there, favoured us with many visits at food time and poisoned the latter for us. There is no way that I know of to prevent it, and the sufferer will be well advised to report to the medical officer for skilled treatment. Cases of dysentery were not very frequent in France, but they were in Gallipoli where the food supply left much to be desired.

Tetanus is a disease that is brought about by infection which enters the system through a wound. In the early part of the war it occurred only too frequently till, in this case also, the skill of the medical profession provided us with a serum to combat it. The universal practice now is to inoculate with anti-tetanic serum just as soon as possible