Kean's Proposed Tropical Ration

Articles.

Quantities per ration (ounces).

Saving authorized (ounces).

Meat components:

Fresh beef

20

8

or fresh mutton

20

8

or fresh fish

20

None.

or when these cannot be furnished

Vacon

12

12

or salt beef

12

12

or dried fish

14

14

or pickled fish

18

18

or canned salmon

16

16

(Mutton and fish to be issued each twice in ten days).

Bread components:

Same as present ration.

Vegetable components:

Rice

22/5

None.

Frijoles

2 2/5

None.

or macaroni

3

None.

Fresh vegetables in proper variety (purchased in the vicinity of the post when practicable

16

None.

Ice

32

None.

Coffee, sugar and seasoning components: Same as present ration.

Munson, in an essay which was awarded the prize of the Military Service Institute for 1900, for a tropical ration, says: "It is true that the sugars and starches should be slightly augmented, but their increase is small when compared with the considerable reduction of nitrogenous and fatty matter which is proposed".

It is well known that the history of prolonged wars has presented a far greater death rate from disease than from the wounds of battle, and much of the former is caused by improper or insufficient food.

When leading a comparatively inactive post life the ration may prove too large - i. e., the food furnishes more energy than the body needs, but there is not always enough variety. Any excess of food is then sold to a co-operative store, and the money thus acquired is expended for a few luxuries to stimulate the appetite.

The most concentrated ration which it is practical for soldiers to carry in the field consists of bacon, hard-tack, and coffee. This is a scorbutic diet, and always produces constipation. To obviate this it is now customary to carry desiccated fruits, concentrated by drying, and which are not spoiled by extremes of temperature. Chocolate has been added to the new United States army emergency ration, as it has been in Austria and Russia.

Uncooked Food of Garrison Ration for Ten Days. Weights in Pounds. Daily Average, 440.4 Men (Woodruff)

Gross weight.

Waste.

Net weight.

Water.

Protein.

Fats.

Carbohydrates.

Salts.

Calories.

Bacon

273¾

3¾

270

54.00

21.60

187.65

6.75

831,600

Beans

428½

428½

54.05

99.10

8.57

253.8o

13.29

691,228

Pork...........

343¾

31

312¾

37.85

2.82

259.00

13.14

1,097,753

Sugar, brown...

731

731

21.93

705.42

3.66

1,312,081

Flour

4.379

I26½

4.252½

531.56

467.78

46.78

3,185.12

21.26

6,991,110

Beef...........

5.025

1.131

3,894

2,196.70

682.97

978.38

35.95

5,409,392

Potatoes

5.116

1,386

3.730

2,943.00

78.33

3.73

667.67

37.30

1,398,750

Onions

700

150

550

481.80

7.70

1.65

55.55

3.30

123,750

Oatmeal

44

44

3.34

6.65

3.13

30.01

0.88

81,400

Cornmeal

85

85

12.75

7.82

3.23

60.01

1.19

139,825

Apples, canned.

10

10

8.32

0.02

0.04

1.59

0.03

3,150

Apples, dried...

183

183

46.85

I.65

3.30

130.85

2.57

259.494

Tapioca (26) and Cornstarch (13)

39

39

0.78

38.14

0.08

70,980

Butter

58

58

6.09

0.58

49.30

0.29

1.74

209,670

Sirup

165

l65

70.60

90.60

3.80

168,795

Lard.....

107I

107½

12.90

0.65

89.66

4.30

383,775

Rice

26

26

3.22

1.92

0.14

20.65

0.14

42,380

Corn, canned...

63

63

51.22

I.77

0.70

8.32

0.38

21,735

Tomatoes, can'd.

332

332

318.72

2.66

1.33

8.30

1.00

26,560

Macaroni (51) and vermicelli (1½)..........

52½

52½

6.88

4.73

0.15

40.32

0.42

73,815

Milk, fresh, lbs..

31

31

25.61

1.58

1.50

2.00

0.31

12,552

Milk, condensed, lbs...........

31

31

7.75

5.27

3.41

13.64

o.93

49.442

Cheese

I0½

10

3.50

3.30

2.20

0.50

0.50

16,000

Prunes

35

20

15

10.00

0.75

4.00

0.25

3,5oo

Cabbage and sauerkraut....

250

50

200

182.00

4.20

0.60

11.00

2.20

31,000

Ham

32

4

28

11.63

4.68

11.00

0.76

54,88o

Apricots

20

20

13.50

0.40

6.00

0.12

9,200

Barley

5

5

0.65

0.14

3.80

0.15

9,000

Peas

4½

4*

0.55

1.20

0.08

2.54

0.12

7.043

Raisins

14

4

10

6.45

0.05

3.50

0.08

6,153

Chocolate

3

3

0.48

0.60

1.50

0.30

0.12

7,95o

Totals

18,598

2,908*

15,689¼

7,120.50

1,413.21

1,657.17

5,343.66

154.82

19,446,960

Pounds.

Grammes.

Daily average per man....

4.22

3.56

0.66

733

145

171

550

16

4,416

85½%

15½%

Counting flour as bread, amount eaten is 4 lbs. per man. Per cent of amount

45

9

II

34

1

The usual army-ration tables are misleading in that they omit to account for the consumption of considerable accessory food, which is purchased by the soldier in addition to the portion he receives as fixed by law. Major Woodruff has taken pains to carefully compute the nutrient value of the entire food eaten by the men of his garrison at Fort Assinniboine, Montana, during a period of ten days. His table, taken from the Journal of the American Medical Association, December 3, 1892, p. 651, is above.

Additional Articles consumed

Daily per man.

Allowance.

338 lb. green coffee

1. 23 oz.

1.60 oz. or

8 lb. tea

0.03 oz.

0.32 oz.

Allowance is large, to allow of making a saving to be used in making sauerkraut and pickles in the fall.

20 gall. vinegar

0.14 gill

0.32 gill

128 lb. salt

0.46 oz.

0.64 oz.

0.036 oz.

0.04 oz.

11 bottles flavouring ext'ts.

3 lb. mustard.

24 lb. baking powder.

6 lb. currants.

5 gall, pickles.

4 kegs pickled pigs' feet..

Though containing much energy, it is omitted because composition is unknown, and the actual amount per man is very small.