Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

CONCENTRATED FOODS 167It requires no cooking, can be eaten on the march,yet a stimulating hot drink can be prepared fromit in a few minutes. It is the experience of Alpinistsand other go-light artists that no other raw foodof equal weight and bulk will carry a man so farunder severe strain as a handful of raisins and acake of chocolate. When eaten by itself, chocolateis constipating and cloying, at least to some people.Raisins eaten along with it prevent digestivetroubles; a couple of crackers help the ration.There is a "camper's emergency ration," carriedin stock by outfitters, that contains chocolate, maltedmilk, egg albumen, casein, sugar, and cocoa butter,with added coffee flavor. Three cakes of it, eachsufficientfor a meal, are wrapped in paper and tinfoiland enclosed in a sealed box with key-opener,the box being 4^ x 3 x i^ inches, and roundedfor the pocket. The net weight of the ration is 8ounces; gross w^eight of box filled, 11^ ounces.Chocolate is not to be recommended for hot weather.Nuts.—The table of food values in Vol. I.,pp.182-184, shows that various nuts are very rich invegetable fat, and so have high fuel values. Theyare discussed on page 196 of the same volume. Nutsshould be chewed thoroughly, so as to be well mixedwith saliva, or they will clog the digestive tract.Sweets.—Sugar has peculiar merit asa componentof the emergency ration. All old-timers knowfrom experience that one has an unusual craving forsweets when working hard afield. Hunters andlumberjacks and soldiers suffered from that cravinglong before scientists discovered the causeof it, which is that during hard muscular exertionthe consumption of sugar inthe body increases fourfold.It may sound odd but it is true, that when huntersor explorers are reduced to a diet of meat "straight'*the most grateful addition that they could havewould be something sweet. Men can get alongver}'^ well on venison, without bread, if they havemaple sugar or candy and some citric acid (crystal-