The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1908-12-04

One of the longest steps forward in
the way of providing for men Of the
army on the march is now being per-
fected by this department. That is
the construction of what is generally
known as the fireless COOKER
| modification of the Norwegian hay
oven. For two or three years past
we have been eXperim enting with
various devices submitted by manu-
facturers with a view to the adoption
of the best possible method for sup
plying hot meals to the troops in the
field in the quickest possible time.
| The freless cooker, or hay-oven, is
| no new thing 1t has been used in
Europe for a great many years. The
main idea is to partially cook a meal
and then to place the food in re-
ceptacle which will retain the heat,
with as little loss as possible, and to
permit the retained heat to finish the
| cooking operation. Everybody knows
| that water boils at two hundred and
twelve degrees Fahrenheit, but very
| few people realize that water never
gets any hotter than that and few
| seem to know that it is unnecessary
to bring food up to even the degree
of temperature required to boil water
provided the heat can be retained, to
insure perfect cooking.
Experiments have shown that par
TALLY cooked food can be thoroughly
cooked if kept at a temperature any
where above ITO for certain period
of time and that is what is being
done with the fireless cooker, which
we hope to be able to perfect so as
to make it available for the army.
There are in the market to-day
great many such appliances, ranging
from wooden boxes, packed with as
bestos or mineral wool, up to elab-
crate metallic contrivances, several
| inches thick in the rim packed with
some sort of non-conductor of heat,
such as wood fibre or asbestos. What
the army wants is Continuance Of
| this character in which partially
cooked foods may be placed which
will retain the heat for many hours
and to this end our experiments are
being made with fair degree of sue
cess thus far. Not long ago a squad
of men started on march from Fort
Riley, Kansas, followed by wagon
containing a partially cooked meal,
sufficient for the entire squad. After
march of six hours the fireless
cooker in which this meal was con-
tanned was opened and it was found
that the meat, vegetables and mac
aroni, contained therein, was per-
fectly prepared and ready for dinner.
The theory is simple one. 1t is
that heat retained by non-conductor
| and prevented from escaping will
complete the operation of cooking
food. The hay-box of Norway has
been used for a generation or more
and we want to adopt the idea into
the army of the United States; when
this is done squad of troops started
out on a days march can be followed
b. supply wagons with fireless cook
ers, that have been packed when
camp is broken in the morning, and
which will have nutritious hot meal
ready to serve to them Immediately
when camp is made again at night.
Heretofore it has been found neces-
sary in order to give our soldiers hot
food on march to carry a supply of
fuel from camp to camp. And even
then great deal of time is consumed
in building the fires and in cooking
the meals. 1t will be readily under
stood that any method which prom
ises the elimination of the necessity
OF hauling large quantities of fuel
and at the same time eliminate the
loss OF time will be of enormous adj
vantage and that the result will be
highly appreciated by the men to be
fed.
Manufacturers have in many in
stances prepared devices which are
entirely satisfactory in a small way
and which appear to be excellent for
domestic purposes, but up to the
present time none of them has de-
signed a "freless cooker" satisfactory
Tor the needs Of such a number of
men as the Subsistence Department
must provide for, We are looking
Tor lightness in weight, combined
with absolute stability in construc-
ton. We want a cooker which will
stand long travel over all sorts Of
roads and assure the perfection of
the contents at the end of the jour
ney. Each receptacle containing
foods must be absolutely air tight,
easily cleaned and readily adjusted.
We have secured, through our own
omcers, several devices which seem
TO NIL the bill, and / am confident that
before long it will be possible to start
out regiment of soldiers from camp
~ nfofn