Camp cookery (Kephart)

Split Peas. — Used chiefly in making a thick, nourishing soup. Canned Vegetables. — Very heavy and bulky for their fighting value. Very toothsome in the woods. Tomatoes are a good corrective of a meat diet. A few cans of baked beans (without tomato sauce) will be handy in bad weather. The three-quarter pound cans are convenient for emergency rations. Canned Fruit. — Blackberries and pineapple go farthest. Cranberries for the bird season. Others are too watery. Preserved Fruit. — The commissaries of the British army were wise when they gave jam an honorable place in Tommy Atkins' field ration. Yes: jam for soldiers in time of war. So many ounces of it, substituted, mind you, for so many ounces of the porky, porky, porky, that has ne'er a streak of lean." So, a little currant jelly with your duck or venison is worth breaking all rules for. Orange marmalade goes far. Such conserves can be repacked by the buyer in pry-up cans that have been sterilized as recommended under the heading Butter. Evaporated Fruit. — Dried apples and apricots are best, owing to their tartness. Prunes are rather bulky. Raisins go far, and are useful in puddings. Dates help out an emergency ration, and so do figs, which also are very good stewed or in pudding. Nuts. — Shelled nuts pay well for their transportation. Peanut butter is more easily digested, and makes a good emergency food. Sugar. — Granulated. Take plenty, especially if you are short of other sweets. Men in the open soon get to craving sweets, because sugar is storedup energy. The ''substitute" variously known as saccharin, saxin, crystallose, is no substitute at all, save in mere sweetening power, and even this has been grossly exaggerated. The catalogues say "one ounce equals in sweetening power one ton of sugar." The real ratio is one ounce to eighteen pounds of sugar. This drug, which is derived from coal tar, has decided medicinal qualities and injures normal health if persistently taken. It has none of the nutritive value of sugar. Syrup. — A capital addition to pancakes, fried mush, etc. Useful in cookery (baked beans, cakes, etc.). Most maple syrup is adulterated. Be sure of your brands. Coffee. — The best coffee can only be made from freshly roasted berries. Have it roasted and ground the day before you start, and put up in air-tight canisters. Take plenty; it will lose strength rapidly in the moist air of the woods. Tea, — A much better pick-me-up than coffee or liquor, and more portable. English Breakfast suits most tastes. Chocolate. — Very sustaining, as well as a good beverage. A quarter-pound cake carried in the pocket will pull a man through a hard day's wandering. Acids. — The best way to carry vinegar is in one of the stone "pottles" that Holland gin comes in. If you carry pickles, let them be sour ones. Lemons are almost essential for hot- weather trips. A fair substitute is citric acid in crystals (any drugstore). Condiments. — Salt is best carried in a wooden box. The amount used in cooking and at table is small, but if pelts are to be preserved or game shipped out, considerably more will be needed. White pepper is better than black. Some cayenne or chili should also be taken. Worcestershire sauce and tomato catchup (if genuine) are worth carrying when practicable; also mustard.