the Crimean war,
and by our own army in Utah, and have been very generally approved.
They are prepared by cutting the fresh vegetables into thin slices and
subjecting them to a very powerful press, which removes the juice and
leaves a solid cake, which, after having been thoroughly dried in an
oven, becomes almost as hard as a rock. A small piece of this, about
half the size of a man's hand, when boiled, swells up so as to fill a
vegetable dish, and is sufficient for four men. It is believed that the
antiscorbutic properties of vegetables are not impaired by desiccation,
and they will keep for years if not exposed to dampness. Canned
vegetables are very good for campaigning, but are not so portable as
when put up in the other form. The desiccated vegetables used in our
army have been prepared by Chollet and Co., 46 Rue Richer, Paris. There
is an agency for them in New York. I regard these compressed vegetables
as the best preparation for prairie traveling that has yet been
discovered. A single ration weighs, before being boiled, only an ounce,
and a cubic yard contains 16,000 rations. In making up their outfit for
the plains, men are very prone to overload their teams with a great
variety of useless articles. It is a good rule to carry nothing more
than is absolutely necessary for use upon the journey. One can not
expect, with the limited allowance of transportation that emigrants
usually have, to indulge in luxuries upon such expeditions, and
articles for use in California can be purchased there at less cost than
that of overland transport.

The allowance of provisions for men in marching should be much greater
than when they take no exercise. The army ration I have always found
insufficient for soldiers who perform hard service, yet it is ample for
them when in quarters.

The following table shows the amount of subsistence consumed per day by
each man of Dr. Rae's party, in his spring journey to the Arctic
regions of North America in 1854:

Pemmican 1.25 lbs.
Biscuit 0.25 "
Edward's preserved potatoes 0.10 "
Flour 0.33 "
Tea 0.03 "
Sugar 0.14 "
Grease or alcohol, for cooking 0.25 "
----
2.35 lbs.

This allowance of a little over two pounds of the most nutritio