ressed soups are excellent. The main
difficulty is that they are put up in flimsy paper packages, difficult
to carry without breaking. Also I have found that when you take but two
kettles, you are generally hungry enough to begrudge one of them to
anything as thin as even the best soup. However, occasionally a hot
cupful is a good thing; and I should always include a few packages. The
most filling and nourishing is the German army ration called
_Erbswurst_. It comes in a sausage-shaped package, which is an exception
to the rule in that it is strongly constructed. You cut off an inch and
boil it. The taste is like that of a thick bean soup. It is said to
contain all the elements of nutrition.

Knorr's packages make good soup when you get hold of the right sort. We
have tried them all, and have decided that they can be divided into two
classes--those that taste like soup, and the dishwater brand. The former
comprise pea, bean, lentil, rice, and onion; the latter, all others.

[Sidenote: Soup Tablets]

Maggi's tablets are smaller than Knorr's and rather better packed. The
green pea and lentil make really delicious soup.

Bouillon capsules of all sorts I have no use for. They serve to flavor
hot water, and that is about all.

_Desiccated Vegetables_ come in tablets about four inches square and a
quarter of an inch thick. A quarter of one of these tablets makes a dish
for two people. You soak it several hours, then boil it. In general the
results are all alike, and equally tasteless and loathsome. The most
notable exception is the string beans. They come out quite like the
original vegetable, both in appearance and taste. I always take some
along. Enough for twenty meals could be carried in the inside pocket of
your waistcoat.

_Julienne_, made by Prevet. A French mixture of carrots and other
vegetables cut into strips and dried. When soaked and boiled it swells
to its original size. A half cupful makes a meal for two. It ranks with
the string beans in being thoroughly palatable. These two preparations
are better than canned goods, and are much more easily carried.

_Potatoes, saxin, saccharine, and crystallose_ I have already mentioned.

[Sidenote: Quantity]

That completes the most elaborate grub list I should care to recommend.
As to a quantitative list, that is a matter of considerably more
elasticity. I have kept track of the exact quantity of food consumed on
a great many trips, and have come to the conclusio