500 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLVII. No. 1221 



sources and the coneem of the Surgeon 

 General for the nutritional interests of the 

 army, that led to the organization of the 

 Food Division of his office. The object of 

 this division might he expressed briefly in 

 this vi^ay ; to apply the science of nutrition 

 to the problems of feeding the army. We 

 wish to secure for the soldier perfect nu- 

 trition with the least possible waste of food. 

 The government is not in the least nig- 

 gardly with the army : indeed, we must not 

 conserve to the point of denying the soldier 

 anything he should have. 



It should not be understood that it is the 

 work of the Food Division of the Surgeon 

 General's OfSce to supply food for the 

 army. As already explained, this is done 

 by the quartermaster. The Quartermaster 

 Corps conducts practically all of the busi- 

 ness of the army, and the quartermaster at- 

 tached to the camp or to a tactical division 

 is, so to say, the business agent of that unit. 

 He purchases all the food, transports it and 

 places it in storage at some place available 

 for the camp or army. Upon requisition 

 by the different organizations, he issues the 

 food, as already explained, and carries in 

 stock the entire list of articles prescribed 

 in the garrison ration and in the list of sub- 

 stitutes. He may also have what is known 

 as a "Sales Department" which contains a 

 considerably wider range than the list of 

 substitutes. For example, the patent 

 breakfast foods — Post Toasties, Puffed 

 Wheat, Puffed Rice, and other package 

 foods — can be purchased through this sales 

 department. 



The work of the Food Division is largely 

 of an advisory or inspectorial nature. We 

 have been authorized now by the Secretary 

 of War to do three things : First, to inspect 

 all the food of a camp with reference espe- 

 cially to its nutritive value ; Second, to seek 

 to improve the mess conditions (cooking 

 and serving of the food) to the end that a 



properly balanced menu will be emploj'ed 

 and the food served in palatable form; 

 third, to determine the actual consumption 

 of the food and the amount of waste and 

 report these facts to the Division Com- 

 mander. The division contains now 65 ofS- 

 cers and some 50 enlisted men. A Nutri- 

 tional Survey Party, as it is called, consists 

 of four officers and several enlisted men. 

 This party visits a camp and spends from 

 two to four weeks studying food conditions 

 and making recommendations through the. 

 chief surgeon to the commanding officer of 

 the camp. We have nine such parties 

 operating at the present moment. Each 

 party makes a tour of from four to six 

 camps and then goes back over the same 

 ground to observe especially what improve- 

 ments have been made. 



A first contingent of six officers under 

 the leadership of Major Philip A. Shaffer, 

 dean of the medical department of Wash- 

 ington University, has gone abroad to re- 

 port to General Pershing for similar serv- 

 ice in France. Their duties will be to aid 

 in proper nutrition and messing of troops 

 and supervising the conservation of food so 

 that it shall be consistent with adequate 

 feeding of soldiers in campaigns. 



Already the Food Division has been able 

 to improve food conditions in a consider- 

 able number of camps. Our officers have 

 caught at the subsistence stores spoiled 

 meats and spoiled canned goods and have 

 condemned them. They have suggested im- 

 provements in mess arrangements, in 

 menus, and have given systematic instruc- 

 tion to the mess officers and mess sergeants 

 in food values and the proper uses of foods. 

 In many instances their recommendations, 

 having the full 'force of recommendations 

 from the Surgeon General himself, have 

 been adopted without question. In addi- 

 tion, we have already gathered a consider- 

 able bodj' of information regarding the ac- 



