G. L. Schiesser & Co., No. 25 Third avenue, New York, submitted samples of "zwieback" or "Swiss army biscuit." This is apparently made by taking a loaf of bread of minute air spaces, cutting it into slices about five-eighths of an inch thick. These are then rebaked until they resemble very hard dry toast, and evidently contain very little water. The analysis given by Messrs. Schiesser & Co. was as follows: Water, 6.9 per cent; protein, 11.75 per cent; fat, 0.10 per cent; carbohydrates, 78.63 per cent; salts, 2.56 per cent. A later letter received from them stated that they had succeeded in increasing the protein to 17 per cent and could increase it to 20 per cent if desired. The second analysis was as follows: Water, 6.9 per cent; protein, 17 per cent; carbohydrates, 73 per cent; fat, 5 per cent; salts, 2.6 per cent. Zwieback as thus constituted might form a very valuable substitute for the ordinary hard bread, especially when issued in connection with bacon, a meat which is notably deficient in protein, but is inadmissible as an emergency ration for the reason that to give the amount of protein called for by the circular letter issued by the board would require nearly 2 pounds, while 1 pound of zwieback alone occupies a space of 35 cubic inches.

Nelson Morris & Co., Chicago, Ill., submitted a ration consisting of a meat sausage put up in tin cans and weighing 24 pounds per ration. This ration is said to consist of meat and vegetables. Its weight and bulk at once put it out of the category of emergency rations. It might form a pleasant variety to the meats ordinarily issued as part of the travel ration.

Libby, McNeil & Libby, Chicago, submitted samples of corned beef hash, as did also the agent of the firm that manufactures "Mother Fuller's Corn Beef Hash." The same objection exists to both these compounds as part of an emergency ration as in the last case, but either would answer very well as the meat component of the travel ration. They seemed equally good when eaten cold, but when heated that put up by Libby, McNeil & Libby was much more palatable.

Mr. J. Winslow Jones, of Patuxent, Md., submitted samples of a so-called emergency ration consisting of a moist preparation of meat, corn, and other vegetables put up in tin cans. This was not at all adapted to its purpose and calls for no further

attention.

Mr. Louis Weidner, No. 587 Eddy street, Chicago, Ill., submitted a compound pea soup in parchment rolls. This seems to be practically the same as Knorr's pea soup, a German preparation said to have been used extensively in the German army with satisfactory results. This was tested by the board and gave a fairly palatable soup. Although this preparation is not by itself considered sufficiently nutritious to constitute an emergency ration, it might be utilized either as part of such a ration or as an easily transported soup to be furnished in connection with other rations. Weidner also submitted a liquid preparation known as "Wahl's bouillon stock,' with testimonials and recommendations. No liquid preparation can possibly answer as an emergency ration. The water only adds to the weight and bulk and has no nutritive value.

Mr.

Swift & Co., Chicago, Ill., submitted samples of beef extract. Beef extract possesses little or no nourishing value. Its value is as a stimulant or flavoring agent only.

Wilkinson, Gaddis & Co., New York, submitted "Choco-Lactine." This is a very light and flocculent preparation of chocolate, milk, and sugar. It is furnished in glass jars, and as it is very easily dissolved in water or milk might be a convenient article for ordinary use, but as a component of an emergency ration its bulk condemns it at

once.

The "Bovril Limited" Company, Montreal, Canada, submitted samples of five different emergency rations, called "ration cartridges," put up in neat tin cans at prices ranging from $3.90 to $5 per dozen, and weighing, can included, from 10 to 14 ounces per ration. They are said to be composed of meat extractive, albuminoids, vegetables, etc., and several of them have, in addition, a chocolate component for use as a beverage. On trial they were found to be very palatable eaten just as they came from the can. They contained quite a large proportion of moisture, and were not sufficient either in weight or nutritive power to supply all the nourishment required for a ration, but would require to be supplemented by a certain amount of bread or other food.

The Armour Packing Company, Kansas City, Mo., submitted samples of fried bacon put up in air-tight cans. This bacon can be put up in any shaped can desired and any size from 4 ounces up. Owing to the fact that a heavy tin is required to stand the pressure due to the exhaustion of the air from these cans, it would not be desirable to pack in smaller cans than 4 ounces. A can holding 4 ounces of bacon weighs, as a whole, 6 ounces. This bacon was found very appetizing, both as to appearance and taste. It was very palatable, both cold as it came from the can and when heated

in a frying pan. Raw bacon contains 20 per cent water, while the fried has only 4.6 per cent, so that bacon thus prepared weighs 15.4 per cent less than canned raw bacon of equal nutritive value, and is fully as palatable as it comes from the can as is the latter after it has been cooked. The keeping qualities of this product are guaranteed by the packers, and the board regards it as a valuable auxiliary to any ration when cooking facilities are not available. It would seem to be a particularly desirable meat component for the travel ration.

The Jersey City Milling Company, Jersey City, N. J., submitted a "cooked wheat, kiln dried, with the outer bran removed." The manufacturers claim that "It is as valuable and condensed a food as can safely be fed to man; better than rice, because it is glutinous; better than beans, which all stomachs imperfectly digest. It will support life indefinitely and without any other food, and leave the system in perfect condition." Examination and analysis indicate that although not capable alone of fulfilling all the requisites of an emergency ration, this product possesses very great advantages as the bread or cereal component of such a ration. In the first place, it is of the same composition as wheat flour. In the process of manufacture it has been freed from the bran which contains all that part of the grain not easily digested. It has been thoroughly cooked, and then freed from its excess of water by kiln drying. It is fully as digestible and contains all the nutritive qualities of wheat bread in onefourth the bulk, and if this product can be so prepared as to fulfill the sixth requirement of the emergency ration it is undoubtedly the best article yet brought to the notice of the board as the bread component.

Pea and bean meal, which have been recommended for this purpose, have the advantage of containing a high proportion of protein, but with the disadvantage of being highly indigestible to a great many persons.

A sample of evaporated fresh beef was procured by Col. C. A. Woodruff, A. C. G. S., and submitted to the board. The method of preparation is as follows: Fresh beef is cut into small pieces, freed from all visible fat, sinew, etc., and then evaporated until nearly all its water is driven off. The product is a hard, dry material, similar to jerked beef, but in small kernel-like pieces, containing but about 8 per cent of water in lieu of the 73 per cent of the fresh product, and keeping indefinitely when not exposed to moisture. A sample exposed to the air for several months is as sweet and good as when first procured. Fresh beef-miscellaneous cuts-free from visible fat has nutritive value compared with the evaporated product, as follows:

Thus 1 pound evaporated beef is nearly equal in nutritive value to 4 pounds of fresh lean beef free from bone.

Beef thus prepared is not only extremely nutritious, but is in condition to be easily and thoroughly digested. Lean beef has been found to be digested even more readily when taken raw than cooked, provided it is properly masticated. So that by grinding evaporated beef to a fine powder, which is readily done, it is not only in condition for indefinite preservation, but also in shape for immediate and complete assimilation when taken in the human system. In this condition it has a pleasant, meaty flavor, but a very slight one, and in combination with any article of decided flavor would probably only be recognized by the increased richness of the compound.

Only three of the compounds submitted to the board, and claiming to embody in themselves the constituents of a complete emergency ration, were worthy of consideration as such:

1. Those of the Bovril Company above referred to.

2. The standard emergency ration submitted by Mr. I. W. England on behalf of the American Compressed Food Company, of Passaic, N. J. This ration is contained in a sealed can measuring 4 by 3 by 2 inches, and weighs as a whole 20 ounces. The contents consist of a cake of compressed tea, and three cakes of a grayish material, the three together weighing about 16 ounces. This ration is intended for the support of one man for a day. These cakes may be eaten raw or cooked. The manufacturers claim that the cakes consist of 34 ounces of fat bacon, 4 ounces of pea meal, 4 ounces of hard bread, 34 ounces of evaporated beef, one-fourth ounce each of evaporated potatoes and onions, and are flavored with salt, pepper, and celery seed.

Analysis performed in the laboratories of the Agricultural Department and the Surgeon-General's Office, respectively, give the following results:

The value determined by combining the values of the various constituents was as follows:

Protein, 121.61 grams; fat, 94.23 grams; carbohydrates, 158.85 grams; calories, 2,011. These values practically agree with the claims of the manufacturers.

These rations have been examined during the past two years by a number of officers, and a number of trials have been made as to their suitability for the purposes for which manufactured. The testimonials and reports first submitted to the board were very strongly in favor of this ration. The first sample opened by the board proved to be rancid, and as mixtures of fat and starches are prone to become rancid, it would appear that there is at least a doubt whether this ration would keep sweet and good under all conditions of service. On March 24, 1900, an extract from a report of Maj. William D. Beach, inspector-general, U. S.V., made February 2, 1900, in connection with his work as inspector-general of the First division, under General Lawton in the Philippines, was furnished the board, in which this ration was referred to as follows: "The emergency ration was used during six consecutive days by myself and my detachment, but fortunately we had a little coffee, bacon, and sugar with which to eke out, so that it did not grow very distasteful. As a rule the men dislike it, but for the purpose intended it is excellent. About 10 per cent of what we carried was spoiled by reason of the cans being poorly soldered, although the fact of its being bad was not discovered until the cans were opened."

As a large quantity of these rations had been sent to the Philippines, the following cablegram was sent at the request of the board:

OTIS, Manila.

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Washington, March 30, 1900.

Secretary of War directs report on standard emergency ration. Have oldest in storehouse examined as to appearance and tightness of cans. Open number; give condition of contents and percentage spoiled. Have company commanders who have used it report number consecutive days this ration was used exclusively, and results; wholesomeness, palatability, sustaining, and hunger-satisfying power; keeping qualities.

CORBIN.

On June 14, 1900, the report asked for was referred to the board by indorsement from the office of the Commissary-General of Subsistence, with request that the report be returned to his office when no longer needed.

The report is rather incomplete, but the general tenor is to the effect, in a majority of cases, when the opinion of the men who actually used the ration was obtained, that it does not answer the purpose. In a number of instances a considerable number of men eating it were made sick, which would indicate that it was either spoiled or else was more or less indigestible, both very grave faults in a ration of this character.

On the whole, the board is unable to recommend this ration as a suitable emergency ration.

3. The National Milling and Evaporating Company, of East Tawas, Mich., submitted a ration contained in an oval-shaped tin can. The contents consist of a cake of compressed tea and three cakes of a cream-colored material, the three together weighing 13 ounces. This ration is intended for the subsistence of one man for a day. The cakes may be eaten either raw or cooked. The manufacturers claim that the cakes consist of beef, ham, bean flour, pea flour, onions, potatoes, carrots, and turnips, but the particular proportion of the various ingredients is not given.

An analysis performed in the laboratory of the Agricultural Department gave the following results:

Protein, 44.6 per cent; fat, 9.3 per cent; carbohydrates, 31.63 per cent; calories per ration, 1,523.

This ration is pleasant to the taste either raw or cooked into soup, but the nutritive value is too low to render it suitable for its purpose.

Neither of these three complete rations, therefore, fulfilled the requirements of an emergency ration.

The board therefore took up the consideration of the general subjects of emergency rations and their requisites, as outlined in circular letter of January 24.

An emergency ration might be defined as a reserve supply of food to be carried by the soldier in addition to his ordinary rations, and only to be used when the latter are exhausted; but when so used, to not only preserve his life, but to keep up his full muscular strength and endurance for the number of days for which such rations are carried. It should be selected with reference to its portability, which includes its weight, bulk, and forin of package. It should be simple in composition and preparation, acceptable as to taste, easy of digestion, possess good keeping qualities, and capable of quick preparation requiring no special skill or appliances, and when fire is not available should be eatable without any preparation whatever. Simplicity of preparation is absolutely necessary, as ordinarily the only cooking utensils available will be the soldier's tin cup and meat-ration can. An emergency ration should, furthermore, be packed in such form that such portion of it as is necessary for one day can be used without disturbing the balance or affecting its keeping qualities. This can best be attained by combining all the parts of the ration in a sealed tin can, each can containing one ration only, and to be of such construction as to absolutely protect the contents from deterioration from any exterior influences whatever. This ration should only be opened on the order of an officer or in extremity. The board then took up the question of the absolute amount of the alimentary principles of food required to fulfill the above conditions. These alimentary principles or nutrients are divided into three general classes-protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Protein forms muscle, tendon, etc., and serves as fuel. Fat forms fatty tissue (not muscle) and serves as fuel. Carbohydrates are transformed into fat and serve as fuel.

The uses of food are: First, to form the materials of the body and repair its wastes; second, to yield energy in the form of heat and power. The nutrients act in different ways. The muscle and tendon former is the protein. The bodily machine is made of protein; that is to say, the blood, muscle, tendon, and bone all consist of or contain protein compounds. As the muscles and other tissues are used up in bodily activity, the same materials of the food are used for their repair.

The fuel formers are the fat and carbohydrates. This fuel may be either consumed at once or stored in the body in the shape of fatty tissue to be used when required. The protein is utilized at once in forming muscle, etc., while the other nutrients may be and are partly stored up in the body in the shape of fat, ready to be drawn on as fuel when for any reason sufficient fat and carbohydrates are not supplied in the daily food.

In order to determine the amounts of these principles required for the diet of man under different conditions, we have recourse to the standard tables of dietaries as determined by the leading authorities on the subject. Among the most valuable and authoritative are those of Voit, Atwater, and Moleschott, which give the following as standard diets for the maintenance of health in a person of average height and weight with a moderate amount of work:

Although these authorities differ to some extent, it can safely be accepted that the maximum emergency ration would contain at least 118 grams of protein and possess a force value of about 3,000 calories. The minimum would be determined by Playfair's subsistence diet, or that needed to carry on the internal work of the human system with no exterior work whatever.

The actual weight of the nutrients in the first or maximum diet will be about 22 ounces, while in the second it is but 14.5 ounces. The first weight is far above what can be allowed for an emergency ration, as in addition to this must be added the weight of the can and included water. The second weight would be admissible, but a ration so constituted will only maintain strength and weight in a state of absolute quietude.

The problem is, therefore, to make the weight of the proposed ration about equal to that of the subsistence diet, while at the same time keeping up the full muscle making and repairing power of the standard one. In this connection attention should be directed to the following dietaries, which were prepared for the express purpose of reducing weight without affecting muscular strength and vigor.

In these dietaries with a total calorific value considerably below that of the bare subsistence diet the protein component is much increased, the difference being made up in the fuel-furnishing components. This gives us the key to the formation of a successful emergency ration. The nitrogenous principle or protein is absolutely essential in repairing the waste of muscle, and can be obtained only from the daily food. The carbonaceous elements furnish fuel for the operations of the body, and if sufficient is not supplied from the fat and carbohydrates of the daily food, the balance is drawn from the stored up fat of the body without any material discomfort or inconvenience. Thus by fixing the protein of the emergency ration at the full amount of the standard diet, and adding sufficient fat and carbohydrates to bring the calorific value up to or beyond that of the subsistence diet, life and vigor may be preserved for many days with full retention of strength on much less than the standard diet, but with a constant loss of weight. Any such loss of weight may easily be repaired by a full diet when the emergency is over. How much the fuel increments can be reduced is an extremely important point to be determined. The soldier must be prevented from experiencing any depression of spirit or marked feeling of hunger, and it is essential that the ration as finally compounded shall be capable of easy and perfect digestion.

Fats and carbohydrates are to a certain extent interchangeable in a dietary and both supply fuel. The calorific value of the fat is more than double that of the carbohydrates and from a chemical point of view, a ration composed exclusively of protein and fat might appear to be a very excellent and nutritious one. Fat, however, is extremely difficult of digestion when in a large proportion, and such a ration would be exceedingly dangerous to health, and almost sure to cause intestinal and stomach troubles. The carbohydrates are very digestible, and to insure healthfulness the ration should contain as large a proportion of these as possible.

The question is then resolved into constituting a ration composed of such ingredients as will give at least 118 grams protein and the largest possible amounts of fat and carbohydrates that can be combined to form a nourishing, easily digested food, with a calorific value equal to that of the subsistence diet, and at the same time to keep the weight and bulk within the smallest limits consistent with the above conditions. The following tabulation gives the percentages of nutrients in various substances used as food, with their calorific value. These percentages were partly obtained from Bulletin No. 28, issued by the Department of Agriculture, and partly by actual analysis of materials used, performed in the laboratories of the Agricultural Department and Surgeon-General's Office. The properties of other foods were looked into, but it was finally determined that this list contained everything that was liable to be of service in the investigation and everything else was therefore excluded from consideration. Looking over this table those foods may readily be selected that will give relatively the largest supply of the nutrients required.

The edible portions of food include water, nutrients, and salts. The water included in the food is no more nutritious than any other water, and if it can be got rid of in the preparation of the food and replaced at the time it is to be consumed, a distinct gain will be made in the bulk and weight to be transported in the meantime. This is illustrated in the items of fresh and evaporated beef in the table below, where with exactly the same composition, except the proportion of water, the latter has nearly four times the nutriment of the former.