506 



SCIENCE 



[X. S. Vol. XLVII. No. 1221 



syrup), cakes, pies, ice cream, etc., in other 

 words, articles of food which would be 

 classified as sweets. In this particular 

 camp it was found that the average soldier 

 bought in the neighborhood of 500 calories 

 of energy every day in the form of sweets. 

 This represents fairly typical conditions. 

 "Wherever it has been possible to estimate 

 with any degree of accuracy at all the con- 

 sumption of food from these exchanges, we 

 have found figures ranging in the neighbor- 

 hood of those just quoted. We may say, 

 then, that the average soldier craves in the 

 form of sweets, which represent quick 

 energy in much the same way that alcohol 

 in small quantity represents quick energy 

 for the body, food amounting to about 

 one eighth of his total daily requirements. 

 The question may fairly be asked whether 

 the government would not be well advised 

 to reduce the quota of meat and replace 

 the amount thus saved with sweets, pro- 

 vided as a part of the ration. 



Still another question of great interest, 

 not only for the army but for the entire 

 civilian population, is the question of de- 

 hydrated vegetables. As a means of pres- 

 ervation and therefore of conservation of 

 our food supplj'-, dehydration or drying has 

 already proved its place. By means of im- 

 proved appliances, this measure may now 

 be extended to classes of food stuffs not 

 ordinarily preserved by drying. Potatoes, 

 cabbage, spinach, strawberries and many 

 other articles usually preserved by other 

 means may now be dehydrated much more 

 effectively than by ordinary means of dry- 

 ing, and may be preserved in this dehy- 

 drated condition for a considerable length 

 of time, if not indefinitely. The importance 

 of this measure for the army lies in the sav- 

 ing of tonnage or cargo space in transpor- 

 tation of food materials across the country 

 and across the water. Major Samuel C. 

 Prescott, of the Food Division, has pre- 



pared an exhaustive report on the subject 

 of dehydration covering all phases of the 

 subject from the saving in the space to the 

 chemical composition and microbiology of 

 the product. Immediately after this re- 

 port was submitted to the Quartermaster 

 Department, that department began plac- 

 ing orders for dehydrated vegetables such 

 as potatoes, onions and carrots for the use 

 of General Pershing's army. As yet the 

 tonnage contracted for is not large, but in 

 all probability in the very near future de- 

 hydrated vegetables will become a staple 

 article in our army rations, as they have 

 already become in the ration of the British 

 army. Thousands of tons of dehj^drated 

 vegetables are being prepared in Canada, 

 some also in the United States for the Brit- 

 ish army. By simply soaking in water and 

 boiling in the same water, these vegetables 

 are brought back to the condition of fresh 

 vegetables so perfectly that very often they 

 can not be distinguished from the fresh 

 vegetables themselves. Another advantage 

 of such products is the very high saving 

 of time in the company kitchen. Dehy- 

 drated vegetables put up in packages are 

 ready for the kettle ; this saves the work of 

 one or two men a day. 



It is fairly safe to predict that before 

 very long methods will be found for the 

 dehj'dration of meat as have already been 

 found for the dehydration of milk. Such 

 measures remove many dangers of food 

 poisoning. iVIeat spoilage is almost entirely 

 due to imperfect refrigeration, but if the 

 water is taken out of the meat, it does not 

 need to be refrigerated. Bacteria can not 

 grow without water. The Food Division 

 through investigation made at the Harri- 

 pian Research Laboratory in New York, 

 has already found a satisfactory method 

 of making meat powder, by dehydration 

 at low temperature and a high vacuum. 

 This can be used as a component of soup 



