408 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIX. No. 1269 



group of regular army recruits mentioned by 

 Munson, wliose motility at enlistment averaged 

 2.8 inches. The regular army recruits in- 

 creased 0.6 inches in motility as a result of 

 three and a half months' training, while the 

 523 men of the 303d Field Artillery showed an 

 average increase of 0.7 inch in five months. 



The recruit study at Camp Pike indicates 

 the relation between gain in weight and food 

 consumption. It is of course obvious that 

 without proper feeding physical improvement 

 of the men is greatly retarded no matter how 

 favorable other conditions are. It is possible, 

 however, with conditions as they exist in the 

 army, to feed men very satisfactorily from a 

 nutritional point of view and at the same time 

 very economically. A consideration of the 

 remarkable physical gain outlined above of 

 men in the 303d Field Artillery, taken in con- 

 junotion with the* regimental waste record, 

 shows this very conclusively. During the 

 week of the survey made in order to determine 

 the food consumption of the men of the regi- 

 ment there was no waste of edible food. This 

 means that every man left the table with an 

 empty mess kit, and that all left-overs from 

 the kitchen were utilized in subsequent meals. 

 While such a remarkable record is exceptional, 

 mess economy in this regiment was at all 

 times of a high order. The beneficial effects 

 ■ of the discipline necessary to secure such re- 

 sults wiU probably never be lost by the men 

 who were in the organization. The average 

 energy value of the food consumed per man 

 per day in the 303d Field Artillery was 3,699 

 calories, a figure typical of the consumption 

 found in army messes generally. 



The material discussed in the above para- 

 graphs is summarized in Table I. It should 

 be said in closing this article that the typical 

 army mess furnishes a sufficient amount of 

 nutritious well-cooked food to meet the re- 

 quirements of the average soldiers. This is 

 supported by such evidence as has been ad- 

 duced above and obviously also by the fine 

 army turned out in the training camps of 

 this country for service overseas. 



F. M. HiLDEBEANDT 



SCIENCE 



A Weekly Journal devoted to the Advancement of 

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 ceedings of the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science 



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