509 



is there any injury to the food value of ordinary cereals or 

 dry foods. However a food product is sterilized it will become 

 reinfested in these Islands within a few months unless pro- 

 tected in some manner. Even paper and cloth bags give a cer- 

 tain degree of protection and many efforts have been set forth 

 to secure a vermin-proof paper or pasteboard cartons, and some 

 of them have proved quite successful. However, any dry food 

 product intended to be stored for long periods under present 

 conditions should be sterilized in hermetically sealed tin con- 

 tainers. This is the method generally used in tropical coun- 

 tries. In case it is desirable to concentrate on this Island, 

 flour, beans, and other such products for a year, two, or three 

 years' rations there is no reason why it cannot be done in this 

 way. The better mills are now practicing sterilization of their 

 products and without doubt such products could be contracted 

 for on this scale ready for indefinite storage in tins. 



Even under present conditions considerable losses in the 

 home may be avoided by sifting all flour and meal as soon as it 

 is brought into the house and enclosing it in tight tins. Cereals 

 in these tins or in packages placed in the oven and heated dry 

 to any temperature not above the boiling point will be sterilized 

 and not injured in any way for storage. 



There are certain products which are not readily sterilized 

 and protected in tin containers but are subject to insect attack. 

 Many of these can be kept in ordinary cold storage while in 

 other cases precautions must be taken to reduce the humidity 

 of the air in order that the materials may not become water- 

 logged. 



It is extremely desirable that the problems here discussed 

 with reference to the food supply should be taken up by an 

 entomologist who could devote his entire time to the subject. 

 Our present knowledge of this subject is confined to the inci- 

 dental observations of men whose other work has commanded 

 the greater part of their attention. 



