Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

i62CAMPING AND WOODCRAFTor both, taken with the emergency ration, made ftfar more palatable. Another fault of this "nearfood"was that the can that held it was so thick andheavy that it made the gross weight of the articlealmost as great as that of the regular haversack ration,which cost much less and had a better taste.In 19 1 3 the Secretary of War ordered the discontinuanceof this emergency ration, notwithstandingthat great quantities of it still w^ere in storage.The problem of getting up a better one was turnedover to food experts of the Department of Agriculture.About a year later a new emergency rationwas, I believe, adopted, composed of bean flour, leanmeat, raisins, and a small percentage of wheat flour.This is said to be palatable and nutritious, but I donot know how well it may have stood the test ofservice.The Problem of an emergency ration is notmerely one of condensing the utmost nutriment intothe least bulk and weight. One cannot live on buttei'or peanuts alone, however high their caloricvalue may be. The stuff must be digestible : it mustneither nauseate nor clog the sj^stem. When a manis faint from hunger (and that is the only time heever will need an emergency ration) his stomachmust not be forced to any uncommon stunts. Andso I hold that a half ration of palatable food thatis readily assimilated does more good than a fullquota of stuff that taxes a man's gastric strength ordisorders his bowels. And there is a good dealto be said for mere palatability. Food that tastesbad is bad, for nobody can work well on it.Of course, an emergency ration is not intended tobe used long at a time. It is not meant to interchangewith the regular reserve ration of hard bread,bacon, or preserved meat, dried vegetables, coffee,sugar, and salt, that soldiers carry on their personsduring a campaign. TTie iron ration proper is aminimum bulk and weight of unspoilable food thatis complete in itself, packed in a waterproof andinsect-proof cover, and it is never to be opened save