he method tried. As far as I was concerned I never met with a case of
either disease I thought suitable for the treatment. I saw one case in
which an abscess of the liver had followed an attack of enteric, which
had been successfully treated by incision, and a few cases of tropical
abscess which probably came into the country were also subjected to
operation. Some cases of appendicitis, as would be expected, also needed
surgical treatment. In a few instances empyema followed influenza, and a
few cases of mastoid suppuration had to be dealt with.

Of surgical diseases the one most special to the campaign, although not
of great importance, was the veldt sore. This was a small localised
suppuration most common on the hands and neck, but sometimes invading
the whole trunk, more particularly the lower extremities however, when
the covered parts of the body were attacked. The sores were no doubt the
result of local infections; they reminded me most of the sores seen on
the hands of plasterers, and I think there is no doubt the dust was
responsible for them. I think piles were somewhat more prevalent than
they should have been among the men, but this was probably dependent on
the strain involved in defaecation in the squatting position, since the
soldiers were for the most part regularly attentive to the calls of
nature.

I saw a good many cases of lightning stroke, and some were fatal.
Sunstroke was not common, and, considering the heat, it was very
remarkable how little the men suffered from this condition. This was no
doubt in part attributable to the absence of the possibility of getting
alcoholic drinks, but it is not common for any one in South Africa to
suffer in this way, probably as a result of the continuous nature of the
sunshine.

In spite of the labours of hospital surgeons at home, it was rather
instructive to see the number of men who suffered with hernia,
varicocele, and varicose veins to a sufficient degree to necessitate
going to the base. The experience quite sufficed to explain the trouble
which is taken to prevent men with these complaints entering the
service.

GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF THE NUMBER OF MEN KILLED AND WOUNDED

I will now pass to the question of the proportionate frequency with
which the men were killed or wounded during the present campaign. I
propose to take only one series of battles, with which I was personally
acquainted throughout, to illustrate this point. This seems the more
sa