The cleanliness of the trenches and latrines requires the closest supervision of all officers and non-commissioned officers. The bucket system of latrines is entirely unsatisfactory. The ground where the buckets are in use becomes unsanitary, and so does the ground in which the contents are buried. Double labor and carriage is involved, and as often as not a polluted soil is sooner or later to be found in the line of a proposed communication trench. The method used in the French armies is very good and by far the cleanest. It involves no unpleasant labor and is satisfactory. A pit about 12 feet deep, 3 feet wide and 12 feet long is dug in some place which is fairly easy to get at by those who are to use it. Generally thirty to forty feet behind the fire-trenches and off one of the communication trenches. The pit is boarded over, the boards being laid across the width, that is from front to rear; every other board space being omitted. A pail of disinfectant is kept standing nearby, and the deeper the pit is, the better and longer it will remain in use, but should be filled in when contents are within 6 feet of the top. This makes subsequent unpleasantness very unlikely. Care must be taken that men using these places have some protection from stray shells, and are out of sight of the enemy.

When possible, there should be a refuse pail for every section of men, and care should be taken to impress on the men that they must throw in all tea leaves, dregs, all scraps of food, and refuse in general, and should be covered over with disinfectant. If this is not done, thousands of flies and insects are attracted, with the inevitable rats, and disease and unsanitary conditions will follow. Tin cans, etc., should under no circumstances be thrown over the parapets as the same results will occur there.