uld need in the way of provisions
for a given period. These boxes have given such general satisfaction,
not only to the explorers themselves, but to the surgeons who had the
responsibility of keeping them in good condition, that a few words
in regard to this feature of our equipment may not be unwelcome.

The best unit-food-box provides a balanced ration for two men
for eight days, breakfast and supper being hearty, cooked meals,
and luncheon light and uncooked. It was not intended that the men
should depend entirely on the food-boxes, but should vary their
diet as much as possible with whatever the country afforded, which
in southern Peru frequently means potatoes, corn, eggs, mutton,
and bread. Nevertheless each box contained sliced bacon, tinned
corned beef, roast beef, chicken, salmon, crushed oats, milk, cheese,
coffee, sugar, rice, army bread, salt, sweet chocolates, assorted jams,
pickles, and dried fruits and vegetables. By seeing that the jam, dried
fruits, soups, and dried vegetables were well assorted, a sufficient
variety was procured without destroying the balanced character of
the ration. On account of the great difficulty of transportation in
the southern Andes we had to eliminate foods that contained a large
amount of water, like French peas, baked beans, and canned fruits,
however delicious and desirable they might be. In addition to food,
we found it desirable to include in each box a cake of laundry soap,
two yards of dish toweling, and three empty cotton-cloth bags, to be
used for carrying lunches and collecting specimens. The most highly
appreciated article of food in our boxes was the rolled oats, a dish
which on account of its being already partially cooked was easily
prepared at high elevations, where rice cannot be properly boiled. It
was difficult to satisfy the members of the Expedition by providing
the right amount of sugar. At the beginning of the field season the
allowance--one third of a pound per day per man--seemed excessive, and
I was criticized for having overloaded the boxes. After a month in the
field the allowance proved to be too small and had to be supplemented.

Many people seem to think that it is one of the duties of an explorer
to "rough it," and to "trust to luck" for his food. I had found on
my first two expeditions, in Venezuela and Colombia and across South
America, that the result of being obliged to subsist on irregular
and haphazard rations was most unsatisfactory. Whi