Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1895-10-30
AS 4 MARCHING RATION.
Y1E NOLDIERs wuEN cur orr
pR0T BNSE oE SUPPLIES
New o." tor the Koia Nut which
Commissioner uHrsdrnI
Propagaiing IIcrc.

When Frank Hastings was
United States Nice-Consul at Ho-
ro'0'u "a. took quite an interest,
rs he still does in his present po-
s.tion. N posming useful seeds
and plants for cultivation in Ha-
waii, Among other varieties he
got for Mr., Jaeger, who was then
iu charge of the government nur-
series, some KoIa nuts, which
were planted and the resulting
trees distributed. In the course
Of yral~ these useful trees were
not only lost SIGHT of but entirely
forg item until about two years
ago, wuen tree on Mr.. Damcn's
place at MOanaluu, whose name
and species were unknown, bore
some large nuts. These were sent
to the Commissioner of Agricul-
ture Wi" promptly identified them
as the Kola nut. The nuts from
Mr.. Damon's tree were saved and
planted In the government nur-
sery where there are at present
number of thriving plants Com.
missioner Marsden has some
doubts as to whether the soil aud
climate If Hawaii is suitable to
the PRODUCTION of the nut in pay.
ing quantities, but is inycstigat-
ing the subject closely. He says
the Kuln tie" thrives best in
marshy soil with hot moist tenn
perature, and he is supposed to
know.
Mich attention has been drawn
to this nut of late by reason of ex-
perimemts which are being made
with it by military authorities as
a marching ration for soldiers, the
particulars Of which are described
in .at' exchange. a marching
OF emergency ration is food sufii-
clcnt t. keep the soldier alive four
days when the army is cut off
from tue base of supplies. This
ration carried on the soldiers
back, like 50 much ammunition,
and is never touched except in
case Of extremity. 1t is therefore
important that the food so carried
should be nourishing, portable,
and adapted, as far as possible, to
the needs of the average soldier
on the march. Coffee has hither-
to been used for this purpose, aud
the tests in progress are to de.
termIie whet Ter kola can be sub
st,tuted for it with advantage.
Coffee ha' high therapeutic
value. 1t keeps the soldier in
good humor, and this always
makes him better fighter. An
consideration also is
that tho coffee drlnker must boil
bis water in order to drink his
COFFEE, and in forced marches
where the water is bad it is better
for men to drink coffee and water,
necessarily boiled and therefore
free from the risk of infection,
than to drink water straight.
Kola has been proved to possess
some remarkable characteristics.
The troops of the Twelfth Reg
ment Of infantry, at Laval, sub
sisted without the slightest in
convenience or difficulty for forty
hours on the nut, executing mean
while march for thirty-eight
ard half miles in thirteen hours
and fifteen minutes. Similar ex-
periences have been n ted at vari-
Gus military posts. The general
reports show that kola aIlays
thirst and hunger aud enormous
ly increases muscular strength,
while instead Of being attended
by b d aft reflect it regulates
the system N many and vital
W Us. An experiment was made
with the kola nut at Fort Sheri-
dan, when two soldiers undert Dok
to walk to Minneapolis and back,
a dist nee of about twenty-five
miles. Toe walk was taken in
the hot sun. o e soldier fed on
ly on kola and the other ate and
drank as usual. The koIa proved
the more satisfactory diet. The
soldier who had pirtaken of
ord,uary Diet came in almost
overcome by the heat and thor.
oughly tired and stiff from the
long walk. The other man, who
had but recently left a sickbed,
and had not fully regained his
strength, was much the fresher