El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-10-12

! great wire cages on the superstructure
deck, in order that they may have
plenty of light and air. When frost
threatens the cages will be covered
with tarpaUlins. In freezing weather.
! of course, it would not do to store such
/ Derishable products in this way, and
they will be placed in the cooling
room" of the cold storage plant, whore
the temperature is just above % de
Erees Fahrenheit
The ship will have two big flour
rooms in which nothing but flour will
be stored II will also have separate
rooms for coffee, for tea, for timed
vegetables, for timed meats. and so
{ forth such an arrangement makes the
supplies easier to get at when they
are wanted. 1t should not be supposed.
however, that a war vessel carries
enough food to last for an indefinite
period. No fleet nowadays goes out
without two supply ships, which might
be described as enormous floating re-
frigeratOr plants, with storage com
partments not only for meats, but for
vegetables, eggs and other things edi-
BILE, the temperature for each being
different. These two ships join the
fleet at certain places previously de-
termined- When one of them is empty,
it goes away TO fill up, and the other
one arrives to take its place
DesIccated Vegetables.
Desiccated vegetables have proved a
great boon to the navy. They are pre-
pared without the use Of high tempera-
lures Whichd would drive off the VOla-
tile oils and ethers that give them ia
TOr. Taken in the fresh state, they
are spread on trays and placed on small
cars IN tunneli through which a cur
rent of moderately warm dry air is
kept continually passing. The air sucks
the moisture out Of them until they
are reduced TO absolute dryneSs, incl
dentally reducing their bulk, so that
pound or Spinach thus treated equals
Is pounds Of fresh spinach; a pound
Of onions, IA pounds or fresh; a pound
of potatoes seven pounds Of fresh; and
pound OF soup greens, 81 pounds Of
the fresh article. There is no altera-
ton in flavor, and the material, packed
IN tin boxes with screw tops, keeps
indefinitely.
When wanted for use, cold water is
poured over the dried vegetables, and in
three hours they are ready to be
cooked. In effect, they are fresh veg
etables which have been held for a
time in a water-free state. The cram
berries and soup greens are particu-
larry good Potatoes do not respond
to the process so satisfactorily, and are
pronounced only passable But this
new idea has reYOlutiOnized to a great
extent the diet of the navy, and one
of its advantages is that the vegeta-
bles preserved in such fashion occupy
comparatively little room.
Somebody ought to write a poem
about the "blUejacket and the bean
Since time immemOrial beans have been
a LdFOLlLG aELlGle OF QleL OF Sailors. OOT1
in soup and baked with salt pork On
every Warship in the navy they are
served twice a week for breakfast
Sunday and Wednesday, So far as they
are concerned no improved method of
cookery has been evolved in centuries
Even to this day, for the preparat ton
OF baked beans, the old fashioned
"scOuse-kettle" is employed. It has an
iron top, is tin lined, and holds eight
gallons.
The Officers Mess.
The Pennsylvania will have two
kitchens, as is customary on board of
a Warship-the crews galley and the
officers galley. The latter, Of course.
will be much smaller than the other.
Twenty-Five officers will compose the
WardrOOm mess. The junior officers
mess will number Is and the u war
rant officers viii have. as is usual. a
mess Of their own. The ca plain nesses
all by himself being in this particu-
lar highly exclusive On the other
hand, the admiral, when the vessel is
serving as flagship will mess with
nine officers who compose his per-
will have a pantry of its own, with a
steam table.
The men will be split up into messes
of 20, each having two tables to eat at
Each mess will be served by a mess
man." temporarily appointed from its
own number, whose duty it will be to
get down the tables w hich are hooked
overhead during hours between meals)
to get the dishes and other gear" from
the scullery, to set the tables, and to
procure the eatables from the galley
The messing deck is cleared 10 min
uIcS IN advance of each meal, nobody
but the messmen being allowed on it.
When the meal hour arrives, the officer
of the deck tells the bosn's mate to
pipe" for breakfast or for dinner, as
the case may be He plays a little tune ,
on his pipe, and the men file in
The men are obliged to wait on them
selves. There are mess attendants, how
NNg#a n - arH L.
tables Of the Officers-12 for the ward
room, six for the admiral four for the
junior officers, and three for the war
rant officers These mess attendants.
their employment is of a men
ial character, are expected to take their
part in fighting the ship. They have
their own battle stations. being de-
tailed TO pass ammunition for the guns.
to carry wounded, or to do something
else useful There is no such thing as
a -cOmbataDt on board. Even the
2aymasters have work to do in case of = !
fight.
Navy Family Numbers $4,000.
With a total family" numbering As
900 to provide for, the United States |
navy is obliged to tackle the house
keeping problem in accordance with /
very scientific methods. 1t is neces- |
sary that the entire fighting force |
shall be kept in state of the highest !
efficiency, and to this end it must be 1
well fed The food must be not only /
adequate in quantity. but appetiZingIy |
cooked and served. To the men is al 4
lowed by law a certain ration. The |
warrant officers get the same ration.
and likewise the chaplain. But all of I
the commissioned officers. except the
chaplain, are obliged to subsist them
selves. Each of the niesses chooses
1ne of its own number for a certain
period as caterer and he draws the
supplies. rendering his accounts to I
he mess, which chips in" to meet the Z
bills.
All Of the food supplies are originally
bought by the navy department under |
l.llnLLa .u.----- q ---. Bill. IL !