That old and trite saying that "the efficiency of an army or navy depends on the soundness of the health of the individuals composing it," was equally true in the past as in the present, when the study of preventive medicine is so much to the fore. To-day there is a deeper appreciation of the reality of this fact, and consequently the work of recruiting has assumed the serious rôle to which it is ertitled.
"Since the most important factor in the efficiency of an army is its health, it follows that everything which may influence this in any way for the better or worse should be looked after with the utmost care. The men who compose an army are drawn from civil life, in which each individual has, to a greater or lesser extent, independent control of his time, choice of occupation, selection of food and dwelling-place, and