HOW THE FORCES ARE SUPPLIED.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1974, 29 June 1900, Page 6

HOW THE FORCES ARE SUPPLIED.

Nearly everything connected with the cam-: paign has been described and criticised many • times over. There is, however, one excep- \ ,tion. One vitally important department! has passed without much notice. Except for such fresh provisions as may be pur- j .chased on the spot the army, man and horse jalike, is fed from Woolwich. Here at the sup- j ply reserve depot all stores of food, drink and "medical comforts" supplied to the troopsi are arranged for; here the bulk of them are: received, inspected, stored, and packed ; and i from here they are despatched. The head; of the department is Lieutenant-colonel W.; Dunne, D.A.A.G. for Supplies; his quartermaster and right-hand man is Lieutenant i Chase." THE WORK DONE. Perhaps a summary statement will best \ convey an idea of the work accomplished: at the supply reserve depot. There is now; in South Africa a four months' supply for 220.000 men and 90,000 animals, and it is .maintained by the regular weekly despatch of about one and a-half million rations. Rations include meat, vegetables, groceries,! biscuit, rum, limejuice, and forage. The j daily quantity allowed per head is as fol-1 lows:—Meat, lib; biscuit, lib; tea, ; coffee, £oz ; jam, |lb; sugar, 3oz; salt, juice, £oz ; rum, £-pint. Forage—Oats, 121b; hay, l2lb ; compressed forage, 201b. The number of rations shipped during the week ended February 3 (to take a specific instance) was as follows: Number of Rations. Meat 1,209,392 Biscuit 1,174,600 Tea and Coffee 6,109,296 Sugar 6,336,667 Jam 2,091.936 Salt 12,615,680 Pepper 1,869,696 Vegetable 2,257.492 Limejuice 1,505,280 Rum 5,047,744 Oats, 1,825 tons; hay, 412 tons. Such is a rather heavy week's shipment. A considerable proportion of some of the articles enumerated—particularly biscuit, tea and coffee, sugar, salt, and forage—is shipped directly by . contractors, but the greater part is "prepared at the depot, and despatched from there. Meat is, of course, a very important item. The ordinary reserve stock is 2.000,0001b. It is all preserved meat in tins, but it takes many forms, and comes from many corners of the earth. The business of preparing tinned or canned food has greatly developed and improved of late years. In addition to the plain meat, which 'is chieflv obtained from the United States and Australia, there arc various compound rations. These, are known under different names, but they may be generieally termed and vegetable rations." Each tin holds lib of beef and a large quantity of vegetables, jelly, etc. Such firms seem to "be pre-eminently successful in preparing this class of food, which is remarkably >avory and appetising. It is interesting to know that the tinned meat from Australia and New Zealand is superior to that ifrom the United' States. Canada is just entering the market. Then there is bacon, roast fowl, ovo (a preparation of egg powder), and pea sou))—the erbswurst Avhich came so prominently into notice in the Franco-German War. All these things are in tins, as are biscuits, jam, and marmalade, and they will keep good for years. The tins are packeod in cases of convenient size and weight, made of pine, and strengthened with elm battens. Vast stacks of them may be seen piled up in the numerous sheds, ready for shipment. It is a wonderful accumulation of food, constantly renewed day by day. Everything is perfectly fresh and the best of its kind. Thus, the sugar is pure Demerara—not colored beet—and the salt of the finest [quality. Both of these are packed in bags containing 801b, for convenience of carriage. All consignments are carefully .tested by opening a number of packages jtaken at random, and the contractor who falls below the mark obtains short shrift. If any sample is found defective the entire consignment is condemned, and must be removed. Expostulation is useless. Here, for instance, is a great pile of tins containing Scotch marmalade. Samples were found to bulge at the end, and to be resonant when tapped. They are not full, and contain air; the whole lot must go. A representative of the firm "comes down with national pertinacity, and tries to persuade Lieutenant Chase that marmalade is rather better in partially-filled tins, but his words are vain. And that is why our troops are i'i good health, and nobody mentions the supply department. THE EMERGENCY RATION. In the account given by Captain Haldane and Lieutenant Le Mesurier of their escape from Pretoria, some readers may have noticed that for two days they lived on an "emergency ration," which they happened ,to have with them. It was the only thing that was not spoilt by water, and they found is "most excellent, and nourishing stuff." This ration is a, very ingenious and fascinating multum in parvo. It consists of 4oz of "cocoii-paste" and 4oz of "pemnncan." The paste is a mixture of cocoa-honey and Iceland mo.ss ; the pemmican is dried oeei with fat, ground into a fine powder. It is made in Australia, and comes over in tinlined casks. Both of these articles are highly palatable, whether eaten dry or warmed "up and mixed with water. The quantum.of each that goes to make a, ration is packed in a small oval tin open at one end ; the two open ends are put together, a strip of tin is wound round them at the join and soldered down, thus binding them together and forming one hermeti-cally-sealed case, in shape like a short fat pocket flask, and containing half a pound of concentrated nourishment far more palatable than anything else of the kind yet invented. It is opened in a moment by tearing off the band of tin, which nas a handle'at the end. Every ration bears the date of. filling stamped on the metal, and the following printed instructions : EMERGENCY RATION. (Field Service.) This ration is not to be opened except by order of an officer or in extremity. It is to be produced at inspections. The ration is calculated to maintain strength for thirty-six hours if eaten in small quantities at a time. Further instructions for use arc contained inside. Perhaps the possession of this little case explains .how the detachment captured at Reddersburg was able to hold out so pluckily "without food'' until their ammunition was exhausted. Its value in similar situations is obvious. —' The Times.' m