what formerly prevailed--viz., the surface defilement of the ground
all round villages and of the adjacent water courses--is fraught with
danger unless subsequent cultivation of the site be strictly enforced,
because it would otherwise retain large and increasing masses of
putrefying matter in the soil, in a condition somewhat unfavorable to
rapid absorption. These arrangements are applicable only to very rough
life or very poor communities.

The question of the removal of kitchen refuse, manure, etc., from
barracks next calls for notice. The great principle to be observed in
removing the solid refuse from barracks is that every decomposable
substance should be taken away at once. This principle applies
especially in warm climates. Even the daily removal of refuse entails
the necessity of places for the deposit of the refuse, and therefore
this principle must be applied in various ways to suit local
convenience. In open situations, exposed to cool winds, there is less
danger of injury to health from decomposing matters than there would
be in hot, moist, or close positions. In the country generally there
is less risk of injury than in close parts of towns. These
considerations show that the same stringency is not necessarily
required everywhere. Position by itself affords a certain degree of
protection from nuisance. The amount of decomposing matter usually
produced is also another point to be considered. A small daily product
is not, of course, so injurious as a large product. Even the manner of
accumulating decomposing substances influences their effect on health.
There is less risk from a dung heap to the leeward than to the
windward of a barrack. The receptacles in which refuse is temporarily
placed, such as ash pits and manure pits, should never be below the
level of the ground. If a deep pit is dug in the ground, into which
the refuse is thrown in the intervals between times of removal, rain