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H.—l9j

At Featherston: Largest—August, 982; September, 696; July, 664: in all of which months influenza and measles were specially prevalent. The least numbers were in—January, 266; December, 315; April, 328. The largest and least numbers in hospital on any one day in Ihe year were: Trentham Largest, 203, on 30th July; least, (i, on 30th December. Featherston —Largest, 279, on 30th August; least, 9, on 29th December. Narrow Neck—Largest, 17, on 12th June and 14th September; least, 1, on Ist January. Awapuni —Largest, 17, on 30th January; least, none on Ist January, sth April, 28th September, Ist October, 29th November, and Ist December. Officers. —The health of the officers has been very good. Out of 103 admitted to hospital in all the camps there was only 1 death —from a bomb accident. At Trentham there were 76 admissions, chiefly influenza, (38), measles (15), injuries (II); at Featherston there were 23 admissions, of which 17 were due to. measles; at Awapuni. 4. of which 1 was due to a paralytic stroke, for which he was invalided; at Narrow Neck, none. Genera! Bemarks. It is satisfactory to notice how very little the troops have suffered from diseases such as enteric, dysentery, diarrhoea, and other complaints such as are conveyed by impure water, bycontaminated milk and food, and by dirt. This is a satisfactory testimony to the efficient drainage and water-supply as well as to the high standard of the quality of the rations All the camps are in every sense of the word clean camps, the latrines, urinals, cookhouses, ablution and bath places, and hutments being kept under constant and careful sanitary supervision. Most of the maladies from which the men have suffered have been inhaled into their throats and lungs. In this way influenza, measles, and eerebro-spinal meningitis have arisen and spread, The indications to prevent these diseases are —first, to have good well-gravelled roads, to allow no water to accumulate in the camps, to sec that spouting is provided to all hutments to prevent the rain from the roofs splashing down on the roads, and to see that water from the spouting is run in proper drains, and that the ground under the floor of the hutments is kept dry; secondly, to see that men make proper use of the drying-rooms; thirdly, to keep men away as much as possible from, towns in winter (the fault of Trentham is that it is much too near Wellington); fourthly, the avoidance of overcrowding in buildings; fifthly, the provision of ample hospital accommodation for isolating the sick; and sixthly, to promptly segregate all contacts in infected cases. With the extra camps at Heretaunga and Tauherenikau there should be provision to meet, the emergencies occasioned by the temporary overcrowding of troops in camps owing to transports not sailing until some days or weeks later than expected, or when the wet weather prevents the men marching over the Rimutakas and brings them a day or two earlier than was anticipated into freshly vacated huts which would have been all the better had they been left empty and been well aired for a day or two before reoecupation. The Tauherenikau Camp is a segregation camp formed for the use, especially during the winter months, of recruits during their first month of service, that being the most susceptible period of their training. Coming in as they do from all parts of the country, and having been possibly in contact with infectious diseases, it has been considered advisable to segregate them in camps under tents —each district by itself —until the longest period of incubation of any infectious disease is over. As the tents contain only six or eight men it is a simple matter, and avoids least dislocation of training, to segregate only the five or seven occupants of a particular tent, should one of its inmates develop infectious disease. Rigid inspection of every man in these camps is made every day by the Medical Officers to ensure that any ease of commencing sickness is promptly dealt with. I have already referred to the great, use of the inhaling-chambers now established at each cam}), about which 1 have received very favourable reports from all the camps, 'there has been a, difficult}' in procuring the most efficacious drug for spraying—chloramine T. — indeed, it is not procurable in a manufactured state, but the ingredients are being imported from America, and, thanks to the co-operation of the Senatus Academicus of the University of and of Professor Inglis, the Professor of Chemistry, this drug is now being manufactured by him and his assistants. With his assistance, and also with the Hacteriological Laboratories established at Featherston and Trentham, we are now in a, much better position to attack the ever-threatening menace of eerebro-spinal fever. I have already alluded to the way the fly plague at Featherston has been overcome by Professor Kirk. I must also allude to the great exertions made by Captain Pettit, N.Z.M.C., in controlling venereal disease, both by his admirable lectures, lantern-slides, and pamphlet; and it is satisfactory to note that the admission-rate for this disease in our camps is much lower than that in the Imperial Army. R. S. F. Henderson, Surgeon-General, Director-General of Medical Services