164 BULLETIN 414, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGEICULTUEE. 



The cost of this ration in a camp of about 50 men was 41.4 cents, 

 which is more than the average free laborer could afford at his own 

 home. 



In the honor camps of the State of Washington the variety of food- 

 stuffs used and the amounts in which they were apportioned were 

 based to a certain extent upon the garrison ration of the United 

 States Army. The camp cooks were given hsts of the foods with the 

 quantities allowed each man, and using the amounts designated they 

 selected the food materials and prepared the meals for their respective 

 camps. All food supplies for the day were weighed out each morning, 

 and records of the amounts used were sent to the office for filing. In 

 this way it was possible to keep accurate cost data and to account 

 for aU food materials purchased for the camp. 



At the guarded camps this system was quite satisfactory and the 

 men were well fed at an approximate cost of 29 cents a man per day; 

 but at the honor camps the principles of the Army ration were not 

 strictly adhered to and butter, eggs, pies, cakes, canned fruits and 

 vegetables, and preserves, were used to such an extent that the cost 

 of the ration was at times well over 50 cents. 



The diets shown thus far include most of the foods which are in 

 common use throughout the country and are a fair indication of the 

 kinds of food served in camps composed mostly of white prisoners in 

 the Eastern and Western States. They contain a considerable variety 

 of foods, both animal and vegetable, and in general represent those 

 combinations which years of experience have proved suitable for 

 supplying the needs of the body. 



The average cost of camp rations in the Eastern and Western 

 States visited is as foUows: New York, 32.9 cents; New Jersey, 34.5 

 cents; Michigan, 40 cents; Colorado, 28.8 cents; Utah, 25 cents (esti- 

 mated); Wyoming, 45 cents (estimated); Washington, 42 cents; 

 Oregon, 50 cents (estimated); Arizona, 41.4 cents; New Mexico, 45 

 cents. General average, 38.5 cents. 



In convict camps in the South the negroes form by far the largest 

 proportion of the population and the food requirements are some- 

 what different from those of the white prisoners. The food which 

 they like and to which they are accustomed, consists mainly of salt 

 fat pork, com meal, white flour, molasses, salt fish, cowpeas, beans, 

 potatoes, and a limited amount of green vegetables and fruit. These 

 foods may be combined in such a manner as to make a well-balanced 

 diet quite suitable for supplying the needs of the negro laborer. 

 When the diet is limited to these few articles of food, however, much 

 greater care is necessary in order that the protein content may not 

 fall too low. Cowpeas, beans, and salt fish contain protein in 

 greater proportions than the other foods and it is very important 



