The French army was not entirely spared from scurvy. In 1917 Harvier, an army surgeon, was surprised to discover that 95 per cent. of the 800 troops of which he had charge suffered from scurvy; he tells us that other epidemic centres were recognized later outside this sector. Elsewhere we read of the occurrence of scurvy in France, involving 40 per cent. of the 1700 men of the South African Labor Corps, and that this disorder was still more serious in another company owing to the fact that it was not recognized (Dyke).[4] Benoit reported 63 cases which he discovered in 1917 among 300 laborers. According to his account, all these laborers received the same food, and those with scurvy recovered quite independently of any change in the dietary. [4] The writer adds that he believes that the health of the natives at home is protected by Kaffir beer, which they consume even to the amount of 3 gallons a day, and which is made from germinated Kaffir corn. This cereal is germinated by steeping it in water for forty-eight hours and is then dried in the sun. Only enough is prepared for one brew. The French prepared a similar fermented beverage for these South African laborers; the sole difference in its mode of preparation was that the corn had not been germinated. There are many accounts of scurvy among the Italian troops. Vannutelli gives a description of an epidemic of some 200 cases of infectious purpura with manifestations of hemorrhagic scurvy. Another writer informs us that in June, 1916, scurvy broke out among some Italian troops stationed at an altitude of 1500 to 2000 metres (Gingui). Vallardi gives an account of 180 cases among Italian troops in Macedonia, accompanied by slight jaundice and enlargement of the glands. The American soldiers seem to have been practically spared from scurvy. This was due probably to their ample ration and to the fact that they were in the field for a comparatively short period. The Surgeon-General's report to date, which has been kindly furnished me, showed but 5 cases in 1917 occurring in Europe and the United States, and but 15 cases reported during the year 1918.