126 ALIMENTATION. 



of men, subjected to exposure, and frequently called upon 

 to perform great labor, the question of food is of vital im- 

 portance, and the men collectively are like a powerful ma- 

 chine in which a certain quantity of material must be fur- 

 nished in. order to produce the required amount of force. 

 This important physiological fact is most strikingly exem- 

 plified in armies ; and the history of the world presents few 

 examples of warlike operations in which the efficiency of 

 the men has not been impaired by insufficient food. In the 

 Crimea, this was often the case with both the English and 

 French troops. The ration of the British soldier, at home 

 stations, is sixteen ounces of bread, or twelve ounces of bis- 

 cuit, and sixteen ounces of meat. This gives 6*48 ounces of 

 carbon, and 3*62 ounces of nitrogenized matter ; 1 a quantity 

 which is acknowledged to be insufficient; but the soldier is 

 expected to purchase certain articles for himself, such as 

 coffee, sugar, fresh vegetables, etc. In the Crimea it was 

 found necessary to deviate from the regular ration, and allow 

 to each soldier twenty-four ounces of bread and sixteen N 

 ounces of meat, with rice, sugar, coffee, and a little spirit. 2 



The United States army-ration is the most generous in 

 the world ; and the result has been that, in the recent civil 

 war, scurvy and other diseases which are usually so rife in 

 armies subject to the exposure and fatigue incident to grand 

 military operations have been comparatively rare. In some 

 of the long and arduous campaigns of the war, the marches 

 made by large bodies of troops and the labor performed 

 showed an amount of endurance heretofore unknown in mil- 

 itary history. The excellent physical condition of the men 

 was further evidenced by the remarkable percentage of re- 

 coveries after serious wounds and surgical operations, and 



1 Calculated from Pay en's table (lot: cit.). The bread is assumed to contain 

 the same principles as the white, French bread, and the meat to contain bone 

 equal to one-fifth of its weight. 



2 HAMMOND, A Treatise on Hygiene, with special reference to the Military Ser- 

 vice, Philadelphia, 1863, p. 561. 



