which no food could be taken while, on the other hand, all of the 

 meals were included within a space of about ten hours. An earlier 

 breakfast, say at 7 o'clock, and a later dinner would have been desir- 

 ahle, but the employment of the young men and -other conditions of the 

 environment, made any different arrangement from that adopted incon- 

 venient to the majority of those under observation. Further than this 

 it should be mentioned that the hours selected for the meals were those 

 which are customary for those who are engaged in the civil service 

 of the United States. For this additional reason it perhaps was wiser 

 not to attempt to change the hours of meals in order to avoid having so 

 : long a period between the dinner and the breakfast. 



The breakfast and dinner were made the principal meals, while the 

 luncheon was of a lighter character, no meat being served. 



THE BILL OF FARE. 



Since the young men were to be kept under observation for periods 

 of from 30 to 70 days, it was clearly desirable to make the bill of fare as 

 varied as convenient. To this end the meats selected were roast beef, 

 beefsteak, lamb, veal, pork, chicken, and turkey. Fish and oysters 

 were also used. The eggs, which were served twice a week, may also be 

 included with the meats. The butter was of the best quality which 

 could be made, and was free from coloring matter and salt. The milk 

 and cream were obtained from dairies carefully inspected by the authori- 

 ties of the District of Columbia and personally visited by the Chief of 

 the Bureau of Chemistry. The vegetables w r ere those of the season, and 

 where they could not be obtained otherwise, the best grades of vege- 

 tables preserved by sterilization alone were used. The soups, in order to 

 secure uniformity in their composition, were purchased of large manu- 

 facturing firms making a specialty of soups. The fruits were those of 

 the season or preserved without antiseptics. In all cases it was stipu- 

 lated that none of the foods furnished should be treated with any pre- 

 servative, and in no case was this injunction violated, in so far as our 

 examinations extended. All the preserved foods which were employed 

 had either been kept in cold storage, as w^as the case of the meats and 

 the fowls, or been subjected to sterilization and subsequent exclusion of 

 the air, as was the case with some of the vegetables, fruits, and soups. 

 Assurances that these bodies were free from any chemical preservative 

 or other antiseptic were secured from all the dealers, and the assurances 

 were confirmed by our own examinations. Coffee and tea were allowed 

 in moderate, uniform quantities to those who were in the habit of drink- 

 ing these beverages. Desserts of various kinds were employed at regu- 

 lar times, consisting of custards, rice pudding, and ice cream made 

 with the best cream, sugar, and a flavoring substance. A liberal supply 

 of fruits was incorporated with the food supply, either those in season 



those preserved by sterilization. 





