Consequences of tainted air in the best regulated hospitals. And surely it will be granted, that the citizen who preserves a good soldier to the army, is not undeserving of commendation and reward." The man who saves one valuable life to his country," says Dr. ROLLO," is a more respectable and worthy member of society than he who has destroyed any number of its enemies.'

3. OF CAMPS AND BARRACKS.

1. THE healthiness of an encampment depends much on the choice of ground. A camp ought, if possible, to be situated on a gentle declivity, with a dry bottom, in the vicinity of good running water, and free from the unwholesome influence of air blowing over woods or marshes. In order to ascer tain the real state of the ground, in respect to its dryness, it ought to be dug into, at least three or four feet deep; and, if it be found wet at the bottom, another spot should be chosen.

A

camp should not be formed on ground recently occupied, nor in the neighbourhood of an hospital, nor where an engagement has taken place lately. The slaughter-houses should also be at a distance. No situation, upon the whole, seems preferable to the elevated and dry bank of a rapid river. If the river be muddy, its water may be cleansed by the apparatus described and represented in the Appendix, FIG. 7.

2. Bell tents, in which the men lie in a radiated manner, with their feet towards the centre, are at present most approved of: their figure is that which contains the largest space within a given line, and their appearance is pleasing. The only objection that can be made to them, is the bad consequences that must necessarily arise from the confined exhalations of so many men; to which, indeed, every other form is also liable. These effluvia are a most pregnant source of disease, and every possible effort should be made to counteract their influence.

3. Since the former edition of this work was published, a military officer (I know not his name) called at my house, and very po litely gave me a brass ventilator, which, he

said, was contrived by himself, in consequence of the following suggestion I had thrown out in the SOLDIER'S FRIEND: viz. "Could any mode of producing a circulation of air through the tents be suggested, without admitting moisture, it would be a material improvement in their construction."

This ventilator is extremely simple, consisting of a strong brass cylinder, about five inches in length, and more than two in diameter; through the sides of which are three oval perforations, nearly three inches long, and one and a half wide. At the lowermost edge are three screw-holes, by means of which the ventilator is to be fastened upon a pole in the centre of the tent. Now, as all the brass-work already described is to appear within the tent, so that the air may pass through the oval openings, there is yet a shorter cylinder, only one inch in diameter, and one and a half long, joined on to the top of the larger, forming a kind of shoulder; and upon this shoulder rests the canvass, which is to be tied down very closely. The whole may be easily cast, at a very small expense; and, I understand, it has been lately tried by desire of the DUKE OF YORK, in the

regiment to which the inventor belongs. I have subjoined a sketch of this ingenious ventilator, in FIG. 8.

4. The necessity of having some kind of yentilator to the bell tent has been acknowledged by Sir JOHN SINCLAIR, late Colonel of the Rothsay and Caithness Fencibles, who gave his opinion in these words above seven years ago: "The bell tent, as it is called, seems to be an excellent shape, but there is one improvement in it which it may be worth while attending to. Twelve or fifteen people sleeping in so small a compass must certainly taint and corrupt the air they breathe. To obviate so material an objection, a very experienced officer suggested the idea of having the top part made like an umbrella, in which there might be holes that would let in fresh air, without being liable to admit water. That however would require some additional expense, and would be apt to go wrong. Upon thinking of that subject, however, I am satisfied, that by making holes in the pole of a tent which at the top might be made larger for that purpose, the same object might be obtained with much greater ease. The pole might be strenghtened by iron plates

where the holes were made, which would make it as strong as ever. This perhaps is the principal thing wanted, to bring the form of this tent to perfection. It may be observed that very small orifices will be sufficient for the purpose."

I cannot but think the brass ventilator, in all respects, is a better contrivance than that of the Honourable Baronet.

5. Soldiers should not be allowed to remain longer in the tents, than is absolutely necessary for their repose. The canvass should be drawn up every day, the straw well shaken, and perflated by the wind: no dampness of weather, short of absolute rain, should prevent the execution of this duty. The blankets also, as frequently as possible, should be exposed to the sun and air on the neighbouring bushes. There ought to be plenty of straw to sleep upon, which should be renewed as often as possible. Heath, or dry moss, are its best substitutes: and, as it is advantageous to sleep with the head higher than the body, the men should form part of their bedding into pillows. They ought, as often as possible, to undress when they go to sleep; but where this is impracticable,