164 BULLETIN 414, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
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 lists 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 all 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 follows: 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, corn 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 
