Food
must also be tasty, for man, at least, is practically unable
to eat of tasteless or bad-tasting food such a quantity as is
necessary for the maintenance of his weight and strength.
For a similar reason changes of food are requisite, for mono-
tony in food also produces an aversion, which acts as a
hindrance to the full satisfaction of bodily wants. These con-
siderations, which are valid as regards mankind in general,
obtain particular emphasis in the case of armies in the field.
The German war of 1866, though very short, had never-
theless a severe outbreak of cholera in its train. But the
Franco-German war of 1870-71 was relatively free from
epidemic disease. This is ascribed to the rapid and great
success of the German armies, who cleared the land of
soldiers, or confined them in the fortresses, and were then
enabled to quarter themselves comfortably and live on the
entire wealth of the fertile country, almost without native
competition. While they were in the lines round Paris the
provisions were sometimes scanty, as beef was failing owing
to the cattle plague ; but the mostly excellent quarters
652
THE SPIRIT OF COOKER V
admitted of careful preparation of the food, and there was
no lack of good red country wine, and therefore disease had
very little chance of spreading. It was different in the lines
round Metz, where the soldiers had mostly to cook in the
open air under the greatest difficulties, and were badly
quartered ; here typhus and dysentery assumed cowards the
end of the siege threatening proportions; but as soon as, after
the fall of Metz, the besieging troops marched towards the
north of France and towards the Loire, they obtained good
quarters and good supplies of food, and the infectious diseases
disappeared.
The ordinary cooking of soldiers in the field does not in
any way satisfy the hygienic demands which we have for-
mulated above ; on the contrary, it is so unmethodical that
it forms a strange contrast to all the other well-arranged
military proceedings. When the cooking-pits are dug into
the ground, and the provisions are distributed, every man
pushes towards the fire and endeavours to find a place ; the
sergeants no longer practise any kind of supervision ; a con-
fusion arises which leads to deterioration and loss of food.
Thus, a man cooking has just lifted up the cover of his tin
pan, when another puts a handful of green wood under the
pan, and causes thick smoke to impart its flavour to the
contents of the pan. Another will take his kettle from the
gallows on which three other kettles are suspended, and
does it so clumsily that all three kettles lose a great part of
their contents. While one man, whose kettle is boiling hard
and running over, desires the fire to be less, his neighbour,
who has only just arriv'ed with a kettle full of cold water or
other contents, makes as big a blaze as he possibly can.
Most of the soldiers thus trying to cook have no idea at all
of the manner in which the food distributed to them ought
to be prepared. If at home they have perchance learned to
boil potatoes, while they are with the regiment they learn
nothing at all about cooking ; most of them take little trouble
FAILURES OF COOKERY IN THE FIELD 653
Page 411
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Food must also be tasty, for man, at least, is practically unable to eat of tasteless or bad-tasting food such a quantity as is necessary for the maintenance of his weight and strength. For a similar reason changes of food are requisite, for monotony in food also produces an aversion, which acts as a hindrance to the full satisfaction of bodily wants. These considerations, which are valid as regards mankind in general, obtain particular emphasis in the case of armies in the field.
The German war of 1866, though very short, had nevertheless a severe outbreak of cholera in its train. But the Franco-German war of 1870-71 was relatively free from epidemic disease. This is ascribed to the rapid and great success of the German armies, who cleared the land of soldiers, or confined them in the fortresses, and were then enabled to quarter themselves comfortably and live on the entire wealth of the fertile country, almost without native competition. While they were in the lines round Paris the provisions were sometimes scanty, as beef was failing owing to the cattle plague ; but the mostly excellent quarters
admitted of careful preparation of the food, and there was no lack of good red country wine, and therefore disease had very little chance of spreading. It was different in the lines round Metz, where the soldiers had mostly to cook in the open air under the greatest difficulties, and were badly quartered ; here typhus and dysentery assumed towards the end of the siege threatening proportions; but as soon as, after the fall of Metz, the besieging troops marched towards the north of France and towards the Loire, they obtained good quarters and good supplies of food, and the infectious diseases disappeared.
The ordinary cooking of soldiers in the field does not in any way satisfy the hygienic demands which we have formulated above ; on the contrary, it is so unmethodical that it forms a strange contrast to all the other well-arranged military proceedings. When the cooking-pits are dug into the ground, and the provisions are distributed, every man pushes towards the fire and endeavours to find a place ; the sergeants no longer practise any kind of supervision ; a confusion arises which leads to deterioration and loss of food. Thus, a man cooking has just lifted up the cover of his tin pan, when another puts a handful of green wood under the pan, and causes thick smoke to impart its flavour to the contents of the pan. Another will take his kettle from the gallows on which three other kettles are suspended, and does it so clumsily that all three kettles lose a great part of their contents. While one man, whose kettle is boiling hard and running over, desires the fire to be less, his neighbour, who has only just arriv'ed with a kettle full of cold water or other contents, makes as big a blaze as he possibly can. Most of the soldiers thus trying to cook have no idea at all of the manner in which the food distributed to them ought to be prepared. If at home they have perchance learned to boil potatoes, while they are with the regiment they learn nothing at all about cooking ; most of them take little trouble
FAILURES OF COOKERY IN THE FIELD 653