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that lay on the floors of the corridors some time ago, but the
matting was removed, soaked in antiseptics, and not put down again.
Moreover, in the absence of rats or other animals the probabiliti-
es are against such fleas being in an infective condition, while
the fact that most of the cases were septicaemic and not bubonic
points rather to infection by inhalation than by inoculation.
Food can be excluded, so far as the prisoners
are .concerned. All food is thoroughly cooked within the Gaol it-
self, with the exception of bread, while bread is only provided for
Europeans, none of whom have thus far suffered.
Bedding and clothing can be excluded. No
blankets are supplied to the Chinese during summer. As it happened
I had ordered the withdrawal of blankets from the Chinese on May
21st, 1.e. on the day preceding the illness of case 3, Chan Sung;
and it was impossible on the following day to say which he had
used, so the whole 800 blankets that had been in use were sent
to the Disinfecting Station for disinfection by steam before
being washed and stored.
The clothing of those who have .cmtracted
plague has been disinfected, and the mats they have used have been
burned. The cells have in each case been thoroughly disinfected,
limewashed, and tarred in the lower part of the walls.
Nightsoil buckets are removed from the .cells
in the early morning, emptied, washed with water, and then with
Jeyes Fluid, and thereafter exposed to light and air until the
evening. They are tarred inside and outside once a fortnight, and
since these cases began to occur once a week. Buckets in cells
where plague occurred were specially dealt with at once, and tar-
red before further use.
The Warders Quarters have been dealt with by
the employees of the Sanitary Board.
The