436 MESS MANAGEMENT, 
at once that is not fresh and also their day-book must be carefully 
Messgarden. checked. Whenever there is a bit of garden attached to the Mess, 
make every use of it, really fresh vegetables are very often a great 
luxury ; however small the garden may be, you can grow parsley, 
salads, mustard and cress, radishes, horse radish and tarragon. 
Tee. Ice should not be purchased locally, but in large blocks from London, 
the freight is not expensive and small pieces of ice as supplied by local 
tradesmen do not keep and are expensive; a large sized refrigerator 
that will hold a 40 1b. block at a time should be in the pantry for soda 
and butter, and wine when required. 
Wine mer. for wine in a small Mess the best way is to go to some really first-class 
chant. firm, there is generally some good old-fashioned house in each county, 
such as Oldfred of York, Hervey of Bristol, Kenneway of Exeter and 
many others. Ask them to supply the Mess as you want it (Mess cellarage 
accommodation is not generally large), with each class of wine of the best; 
a really good champagne, port, light claret, after dinner claret, port, 
Pee sherry and marsala; avoid cheap new champagnes, so-called extra dry, 
poison, they are all poisons and artificially doctored to make them dry. When 
you do give champagne, give nothing but the best, it does not cost 
much more at the end of the year for it is not often drunk and few can 
drink it long. 
Also a couple of big dinners in a small station with bad cheap 
champagne and the battery or detachment may be socially damned for 
ever. 
It is a mistake to have too many wines in a Mess, and never fill up 
Don't keep your cellar with fancy wines; the taste for a novelty always goes off 
uy wen six weeks; pay your wine merchant every two months something 
on account and he will always take back what you do not want. In 
large Messes I am in favour of dealing direct with the growers for 
Bottle your Clarets, whiskies and Madeira, bottling them inthe Mess; you can sell 
met. + -Sound light claret much cheaper by so doing. 
Cigars, Keep in a small Mess three good cigars, 5d., 7d., and 1s.; put your- 
selves in the hands of a first-rate man, get a few boxes at a time and 
keep them in a cupboard near the ante-room fire-place or in the kitchen. 
I don’t know a better man to deal with than Duncan of Glasgow; get 
cigarettes weekly fresh by post, a stale cigarette is unsmokeable. 
Bad cigars. In a large Mess of course you can have many sorts of cigars, but 
whatever you do don’t allow the messman to supply them and don’t 
go to second-class dealers: bad wine is very nasty and unwholesome, 
but I think bad cigars to a connoisseur are a greater trial; you cannot 
get good cheap cigars, they do not exist. 
pieens,, All local tradesmen should be paid monthly by cheque. The wine 
paidregular, and cigar merchants may be paid as their goods are consumed. Bills 
should be rendered on the Ist of the month and paid about the 10th to 
15th. The catering account should be made out by the 38rd or 4th inst. 
and the Mess bills should be sent out checked by the Secretary about 
the 5th and should be paid by the 10th. 
Price of The price of messing will vary somewhat according to the numbers 
Messmé- in Mess and a great deal with management. In a Mess of from five to 
eight members I do not think you can have three real good meals a 
