Part 18 (1/2)

Whatever the source of supply the drinking water should be tested by the Health authorities before camp opens, and at any time there is any question concerning it. Springs and wells should be cleaned out and the former protected with boards or screening if necessary.

Too much thought cannot be given to the question of the water, as to its purity and quant.i.ty. Children drink a great deal in hot weather and much has to be used for cooking and was.h.i.+ng. If there is any danger of the drinking supply giving out, to prevent waste, allow only one or two people to draw water and then only when necessary.

Keep covered tanks or coolers of drinking water in shady places, convenient for the campers. Caution all as to wastefulness and if in case of an emergency there is only a very little, place a counsellor in charge of it and deal it out by the cupful, seeing that all have an equal share. Of course, only individual cups should be used.

Should there be any doubt as to the purity of the water, boil it for twenty minutes, place in earthenware or agate vessels, cool, cover and lower the vessels down the well, or put them in the ice box, or some cool place for the water to get cold.

Water for cooking can be taken from a lake or stream. It is generally boiled.

If the only source of supply is a brook or stream, water for drinking should be taken above camp. All vessels in which it is carried or kept should be thoroughly washed each day.

No camp should remain open if the water supply is not what it ought to be.

If a camp is supplied with running water and plumbing has been installed the location and covering of the tank and the cesspool are important things to consider.

The drain pipes connected with sinks or tubs should be flushed occasionally with disinfectants, the sink drain cleaned daily with boiling water and was.h.i.+ng soda.

Marsh land near a camp site which is otherwise desirable, if treated with crude oil or the water drained off by ditches, will not prove a menace.

Latrines

Every camp must be provided with adequate latrine service. One unit for every eight or ten people is considered necessary. The type of latrine to be used will depend on existing conditions at the camp site, but whatever it is the greatest care must be taken to keep them clean. Seats and covers should be scrubbed every day, houses swept and toilet paper provided. Covers should not remain open, and it should be considered a misdemeanor to throw cloths of any kind into a latrine. As a place must be provided for them it is suggested that a small portable incinerator be kept in a closed box stood in one corner of the latrine house, and that the incinerator be removed every day to a near-by open place and the contents burned.

[Ill.u.s.tration: VOLLEY BALL]

Latrines should be cleaned out before camp opens and the ground around them left perfectly clean. As a precaution make sure that no part of the contents is deposited anywhere near camp. If the ordinary out-of-door closet is used, see that chloride of lime is sprinkled in the pit daily.

If a small group is to be provided for in a temporary camp and a latrine must be built, the earthen closet will probably give the best satisfaction. This is made by digging a trench 2 ft. wide, 3 ft. deep and in length 2 ft. for each unit. Over the trench place a box seat 17 inches high, with holes having hinged covers. Bank earth around the bottom of the box and in front of it place a board walk. Protect the seat by pitching a tent over it or encircling it with a strip of canvas 5 ft. high, fastened to posts, the ends of which pa.s.s each other forming a protected doorway. A box of earth and a small shovel should be kept in the tent and every time the closet is used earth should be thrown into it. Lime should be used daily. When necessary to dig a new trench make sure that the old one is properly filled in. A latrine of this kind must not be placed near any water supply.

A type of latrine which is being built on permanent camp sites in the Palisades Interstate Park and which has been developed by the engineers of the Park Commission, is giving such satisfaction that an outline of its construction is herewith given.

Dig a pit in which is built a concrete tank 3 ft. wide, 3 ft. deep at one end, and 3 ft. 8 inches at the other, and 17 ft. in length for eight units, the concrete 6 inches thick.

Build over it a house 6 or 7 ft. wide, the rear and one side wall of which rest on the rear and lower end wall of the pit. The deep end of the pit for 18 inches is left outside of the house. This opening, which must have an adjustable cover, is used when cleaning the pit.

Floor the building to within 20 inches of the rear wall. Cover the opening in the floor with a box seat 17 inches high leaving in it properly made toilet seats, 2 ft. apart from center to center, with covers.

Make four agitators, one for every two units, by fastening a wooden paddle 5 x 7 inches onto one end of a 5-ft. length of 2-inch iron pipe.

Put the pipes through a slot in the seat between the two openings, the paddle at right angles to the length of the seat, and clearing the bottom of the pit by three inches. The agitators are held in place by clamps attached to the bottom of he seat which allows the pipe handle to be moved from side to side. Vent pipes 4 inches in diameter extend from the pit up through the seat back of each cover, and through the roof for 18 inches.

Charge the pit with 175 gallons of water and 240 pounds of Kaustine, a patented chemical compound. By moving the agitator handles from side to side whenever the latrine is used all solid matter is brought in contact with the Kaustine solution and decomposed.

As with all other latrines, the house must be kept clean and the seats scrubbed each day. It is not necessary to use any disinfectants in this type of house, but it should have two doors and windows.

2. FIRST AID