Evening star., 1923-09-16
Naval Academys Dairy and Hog Plants Produce Healthier Nd

men mess More recently portion
of the annual home-fed meat crop has
been sweet-plckied or smoked.
Anxious parents in all parts of the
country who have sons that are mid
shipmen at Annapolis may be assured
that the boys are provided with plen-
ty Of the best food of every descrip-
ton that money can buy. Painstak-
ing care is taken In the purchase and
preparation of all foodstuffs. The
meat shop, bakery and Kitchens at
the Naval Academy are the acme OF
cleanliness and sanitation. Daily the
hungry "middies" consume between
one and quarter and one and a half
tons of meat All of this meat ex-
cept the pork is purchased and is Of
the finest quality All the meat is
carefully inspected and examined by
representatives of the United States
bureau Of animal industry and naval
experts before it is accepted and sane
toned for preparation and use on the
spacious tables of the Annapolis din
ing hall.
TEN butchers and their helpers are
Kept busy in the Naval Academy
meat shop cutting meat for the mid
shipman mess and for the families OF
the naval officers and instructors. All
the scraps from this butcher shop are
saved and subsequently, rendered into
non-edible grease that is sold for
soap making. This only goes to show
the thoroughness of organization and
the attention that is paid to the con-
serVation of every possible source OF
revenue.
The dining hall is one of the larg-
est mess halls-if not the Iargest-tu
use 1t is about 100 by 500 feet, and
seats 2,S00 comfortably. The organ
| fzation and functioning of the mess
hall activities are so perfect that
$500 midshipmen and their instruc-
tors can be served in the huge mess
hall in exactly thirty minutes.
whenever we read about the large
quantities of food that are Consumed
| at single meal by one of our large
/ circus companies we are amazed.
The daily consumption of food at the
| Naval Academy is probably one and
| one-half times as much as that of the
! largest circus. A special bake shop
is maintained and is manned by
thirty-two first and second grade
bakers. One of the unique feats Of
this branch of the culinary depart
ment is to convert four barrels of
-four daily into 1000 loaves of white
bread 100 loaves OF rye. and 100
Ioaves of graham bread.
Pie is served once week. 1t takes
at least 400 large pies to satisfy the
pastry hunger of the midshipmen.
Whenever cake is on the bill of fare
more than $50 pounds have to be
! baked OF go around. Twice week
the 'middies" enjoy ice cream-Io0
gallons of IL at each serving. The
officers in charge of the Naval Acad-
emy commissary have to keep books
on preserve purchase and home pro-
duction. Their Investigations have
demonstrated that it is cheaper to
make the jam, jelly marmalade and
preserves than it is to buy them. As
, a consequence, the Naval Academy
cooks now preserve more than 100
tons of fruit each fall.
The kitchen at the Naval Academy
1 - u AA4OoSl VI SSAnpuAOuS SdHlLdllOIl-
1t is so clean that you can almost
see your reflection in everything you
gaze upon. Every conceivable cleo
trical and mechanical device that les
sens hand labor is in use. Even the
potatoes are soaked and washed by
machinery and many bushels of them
have TO be groomed for table use
every twenty-four hours
Automatons of one kind or another
] measure, mix and prepare the food
for the ovens All the dishes are
washed and dried mechanically. 1t
is unlikely that there is any culinary
department in the country that can
eclipse that of Uncle Sans prize
sailor school. The ship kitchens on
shore abound with every convenience
and facility. Uncle San contends
that there is considerable in this
theory that the measure of the man
is the kind of food he eats. Accord
ingly the national midshipfnen have
abundant wherewithal to satisfy their
lumberjacl appetites.