le bedding, that the water-supply was short, that the sanitation
was bad, that there was overcrowding, and that there was an excessive
death-rate, especially among the children.

As to diet, the list which she gives agrees roughly with that which is
officially quoted as the daily allowance at Irene Camp, near Pretoria,
in July. It is as follows:

Meat 1/2 lb.
Coffee 2 oz.
Flour 3/4 lb.
Sugar 2 oz.
Salt 1/2 oz.
To every child under six, a bottle of milk

It must be confessed that the diet is a spare one, and that as supplies
become more plentiful it might well be increased. The allowance may,
however, be supplemented by purchase, and there is a considerable
outside fund, largely subscribed by British people, which is used to
make the scale more liberal. A slight difference was made at first
between the diet of a family which had surrendered and of that the head
of which was still in arms against us. A logical distinction may
certainly be made, but in practice it was felt to be unchivalrous and
harsh, so it was speedily abandoned.

As to the shortness of the water-supply, it is the curse of all South
Africa, which alternately suffers from having too much water and too
little. With artesian wells and better arrangements this difficulty is
being overcome, but it has applied as strongly to our own camps as to
those of the Boer refugees.

There seems to be a consensus of opinion from all the camps that the
defects in sanitation are due to the habits of the inmates, against
which commandants and doctors are perpetually fighting. Camp life
without cleanliness must become unhygienic. The medical reports are
filled with instances of the extreme difficulty which has been
experienced in enforcing discipline upon those who have been accustomed
to the absolute liberty of the lonely veldt.

On the question of overcrowding, the demand for tents in South Africa
has been excessive, and it may well have taxed all the power of the
authorities to find accommodation for the crowds of women and children.
The evil has been remedied since the time of Miss Hobhouse's report. It
is well known that the Boers in their normal life have no objection to
crowded rooms, and that the inmates of a farmhouse are accustomed to
conditions which would be unendurable to most. To overcr