The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1901-10-10
an OCEAN Liner.
WHAT IT CARRIES.
A Vast Cargo Of Provisions Indeed.

Virginian- Pilot.
How many people have reflected
upon the problem presented and solved
each week OF the year by the head
steward OF an Atlantic liner? 1t seems
perhaps a simple matter to feed the
passengers on an ordinary trip across
the Atlantic, con suming, say, a week
and requiring the provisioning OF
the ship only once in that time. But
the stewards say it is not a simple
thing at all, and the facts seem to bear
them out. They have to calculate
closely, SO that there shall be enough
| to last the voyage and still not be an
overplus to throw away when the ship
enters harbor. It was estimated not
long ago that ship the size of the
ocean greyhound Deutschland would
require for the ordinary consumption
OF Its passengers and crew not less than
IA steers (reckoning the beef as coming
aboard "on the hoof" instead OF dressed
and chilled), 10 calves, 30 sheep, 26
lambs, 10 hogs, big focks OF fowl suffi-
cient to furnish 8 tons OF poultry and
game and if alive enough to stock sew
eral farms with at least l,5CO hens,
chickens, turk eys, ducks and geese. In
the larder each week are slowed away
at least 1,70O dozen eggs, l,7OO pounds
of fish, 400 pounds of tongues, Is bar
rels of oysters-when there is an r in
the month 1000 quart bricks of ice
cream, held in 100 tubs; $500 pounds
OF butter, 2,4OO quarts of milk and 800
quarts of cream, besides scores of dozens
of condensed milk, which is kept on
hand as constant supply. Then there
are at least It's barrels of potatoes, Is
barrels of various vegetables, 20 crates
OF tomatoes and celery, 200 dozen heads
OF lettuce, besides about tons OF fresh
fruits, 100 barrels of flour, 800 pounds
of yeast, 600 pounds of oatmeal. In
addition to the 400 tons of potable
water constantly carried in stock there
will be other liquids known as "bottled
goods" to the amount of 5000 quarts
OF vine and 2O,0Na bottles of beer (on
French liner reverse these fgures), and
In order to keep the meats, vegetables,
ETC., fresh and sweet not less than 60
tons Of ice. There must be, as already
mentioned, very liberal margin for
CONTINGENCIES, and yet the careful stew
ard must see to it that there is not too
much thrown overheard in the port at
the end OF the trip.
Huge as these estimates may seem,
they are greatly exceeded In fact by
another Atlantic liner, the Celtic,
which, being built with view to COM
tort and convenience rather than speed,
ard taking its time to leisurely cross
the Atlantic, consumes vastly more
than any other ship adoat. i can car
ry almost double the total passenger
list Of the Deutschland and consequent
ly demands double the quantity OF pro-
visions. Take the estimate, then, given
for the German ship and multiply 1t by
two. For the II steers read % or 30,
and for the little flock of IS sheep and
lambs for the Deutschland substitute
over 100 for the Celtic, and so on pro-
portionately: In the end, Imagining
these animals to 60 aboard in their liy-
ing shapes, the Celtic would present
the appearance of modern Noah's
ark, only there would be more than two
OF each kind OF the lower animals, and
the higher grades OF b1peds would ex-
ceed Mr.. Noah's passenger list by about
5000. Three thousand people to be fed
three times day, not to mention the
little meal before retiring, when the
stewards kindly furnish sardines on
toast and ale-for confederation
means at least $4,000 meals on an av-
erage voyage across the Atlantic.
These $4,000 meals require on the Gel
tic 179 stewards to serve them. They
consume tons and tons of PROVISIONS,
droves OF beeves, herds of hogs, focks
of sheep and fowl, butter by the barrel,
bottled goods by the hundred dozen.
The wonder is how the surveyors for
the big steamers find their stores and
get them aboard in the short time they
have in dock. Another wonder ia that
there is anything left in market for the
landlubbers and stay-athomes after
these leviathans of the deep have swal-
lowed their weekly allowances.
Now, the demand for comestibles is
great on an Atlantic liner, but deep
down in the bowels OF the ship there Is
demon that deyours vastly moro than
all the passengers that can be carried
on many a trip across the pond. The
living passengers demand only three,
| or at the most tour or five meals day.