definition says that 'Dirt is merely misplaced matter.' Of all the
vehicles of disease, the most important perhaps is dirt. The word dirt in
its strict sense comes from the Anglo-Saxon 'drit,' or excrement. 'Dirt,'
then, is not earth or clean sand--not clean dirt, but dirty dirt, that is,
matter soiled by some of the excreta of the human or animal body.
Cleanliness must be insisted upon in a boys' Camp--not the cleanliness
that makes a boy squeamish about working with his hands upon some
necessary job, but cleanliness that makes him afraid of sharing his tooth
brush or table utensils or his clothes.

Cleanliness is not the shunning of good, clean dirt, but a recognition of
the fact that to pass anything from one mouth to another is a possible
source of death and destruction." [1] "Death to dirt" should be the
watchword of the camp. The camp should be a model of cleanliness. Every
boy should be taught the value of good sanitation and encouraged to
cooperate in making proper sanitation effective.

[Footnote 1: Dr. Chas. E. A. Winslow--"Camp Conference," p. 58.]

Avoid Swamps

The location chosen for a camp should be away from swamps. Avoid swampy
and low places as you would a plague. Damp places where there are
mosquitoes, should be well drained, and open to an abundance of sunshine.
Mosquitoes breed only in water, but a very little water is sufficient if
it is dirty and stagnant. Two inches of water standing in an old tin can
will breed an innumerable horde. These "diminutive musicians" are not only
a nuisance, but dangerous, as malaria and typhoid spreaders by their
poisonous stings.