St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1893-09-09
FEEDING OCEAN PASSENGERS.
What it Takes to Satisfy the Appetite
of Travellers.

What 1t Takes to Satisfy the Appetite
of Travellers.
OF the hundreds Of thousands of Dc0.
pie who cross the ocean probably not
one realizes at what an enormous cost
these levathan steamships are main
tanned. Take one Of the big liners ply
ing between New York and SouthamD-
ton, or Havre, or Bremen. One would
! naturally think that the steward would
make some allowance for that terror to
women and bilious men, NAL lie mere,
but he doesn't. He is given the number
OF passengers and provides for healthy
lot. If they are not healthy the canned
stuff is kept over, but the perishable
matter is lost or else distributed freely.
Sometimes it happens that nearly ship
load IS Scasrh, but o my what fearful
threads they DO make into the stewards
stores when they get their sea legs and
stomachs on. 1t is truly wonderful what
appetites can be developed by one
smooth sea day.
Sometimes the steward, when his COM
missary department bids fair to be ove~-
stocked, or when there is an unusual
waste at the table, sends the remnants
termediate tables, where it is hailed with
expressions of delight
The cuisine of the first cabin of most
of these steamships is as variable and ex-
pensiye as that Of the best Chicago
hotels. That Of the intermediate is Qua
par with a third class hotel in the back
woods of Wisconsin, and that o. the
Storage is prejudicial to good behavior,
for any hash house" in the United
States that would 'set up such grub x
would be looted by the boarders; but as
John Cavanaugh, the oldest purser who
crosses the sea, says, What can they
expect for J, 600 miles Of travel and three
meals a day for so.
AS to the cost of a trip, said Chief
Steward Allan Mcleod, of the Inman
Line: ";Such ships as the Etluria, City
of Rome. Majestic and the big Inman
liners, can carry 900 saloon passengers,
to say nothing of the 1000 intermediate
and steerage, though some of the lines
during the rush do not carry any steer
age passengers.
"If were stocking the ship would
store away 10000 to 1900 pounds of
fresh meat, ust as you see it hanging in
front of butcher shops in America. Then
5000 pounds of mutton and lamb-it all
comes off the same piece, you know
1000 pounds Of corned beef, 200 smoked
hams, 1900 dressed chickens or hens,
as the case might be, 5000 pounds of
fish, and 600 pounds of bacon. Now we
come to the deIcacies. Big sacks Of
smoked tongue. dried beef, dried and
smoked fish. salmon and halibut pm
cipaly. OF the fresh fruits we huve
10000 pounds Of tomatoes, pears, oranges,
peaches, bananas, fwatermelons, p!ums,
cherries, grapes and all other dain-
ties, which may be found in any
strictly tirst-class hotel. Now comes
the timed (canned) goods. We have
enough in stock always ~ furnish o
grocery store in pectable-sized town.
Several tons of canned sardines, potted
meats of all descriptions, peaches, april
cots, pears, apples, Boston baked beans
Iii fact, everything under the sun that ,
is preserved in cans can be found in my
store room. Then we come to the rel
shes, sauces and pickles of all descrip-
lions, besides fresh garden roots, such
as celery, radishes, etc. Thousands of
pounds of coffee, tea, chocolate and
cocoa, together with say 5000 bottles
of ale, 1900 bottles Of champagne,
1000 bottles of clarets and sour wines,
200 bottles of brandy and WHISTLES,
aud 1000 bottles of table waters, and
there you have the liquid part of the
stores.
Ppm not through yet. We can use
up three carloads of potatoes, beets,
parsnips, carrots, cabbages, etc. Now
we will add, 1,OJ0 dozens of eggs, twen-
ty barrels of sugar, more or less; two
tons of butter, half ton of lard, and
condensed milk enough 10 make pond
big enough to float the ship. Barrel afA
ter barrel of -four has its head knocked
in on the trip, and there are numerous
other small stores which are indispensa-
ble,'
1t is remarkable with what celebrity the
cooks and bakers, cramped for space as
they are, can arrange q meal. They are
always on time.
A question has been raised whether
these big ocean racers couldn't save
money on coal account by not rushing
ahead full steam. Each day saved in
port is from 81, 800 to So, 900 cleared by
the company on meals alone. To give
an idea of this saving, it has been esti- e
mated that during a busy season forty
pounds of meats are consumed every
minute from dock to dock Cincinnati
Commercial Gazette.