FEEDING AN ARMY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1900, 7 November 1913, Page 3

FEEDING AN ARMY.

QUICK LUNCH "A LA MILITARIE."

HOW A WELLINGTON OFFICER SOLVED THE PROBLEM.

Lieutenant J, I<\ J. Roborts, Supply Officer for tho Wellington Coast Defence Command, has just returned from a visit to Australia, where ho has been preaching, very successfully, tho gospel of up-to-dateness in field commissariat. When Lieutenant Roberts was first heard of, he was quartermaster to tho Fifth (Wellington) Regiment, with a '"dead set" on old-fashioned methods in the regimental kitchen. Tho idea obsessod him that there must be some

/ of escape from the slow and vexatious delays which were the inevitable accompaqjment of conservative methods of boiling the army billy. Those who attonded volunteer encampments of the old days—and Territorial camps of quite recent days, be it noted —have a lively recollection of the camp kitchen— narrow, shallow trenches on tho gfound, two lengths of railway iron atop of these to act as supports for the camp boilers, and a screen of manuka, roofed, to shield the sorely-tried cooks from the_ wind and,the rain. The regimental fire' burned and smoked' drearily under the railway iron, and tho smoke _ drifted about as the wind listed, wafting into tho eyes of the cooks —a "red-eyed" squad of martyrs to the cause of feeding their fellows. Looking for Fight, Then came a brief interval of thought and invention, with tho result that various designs of portable kitchens were evolved, while scientific principles were applied to the old-fashioned fire trench, with the result that the efficiency of tho primitive field kitchen, whose materials were always of earth and stones, was materially raised. At Trentham during the last two winters, a corps of regimental cooks wero instructed ill the making and management of approved designs of field trenches, field ovens, and the like, and tho enhanced efficiency of the regimental kitchen was distinctly impressive. Thero was an additional merit attached to these earth ovens and cookers which was not possessed by the first portable field kitchens. They could be rapidly constructed, and need not bo earned about. Tho portable field kitchens were lieavy, liable to accident in transport, and were accounted gluttons for fuel.

But in all these the element of time had not been satisfactorily dealt with. The fighting efficiency of sn army is increased pro rata to its mobility, but its mobility has always been regulated, except in extreme cases, of eeurso, by the demands of its stomach. Hence,

the cook, so to was the real pacemaker if the mßving force, Tho objective, therefore, for all aspiring reorganisers of the field commissariat was the quick luncli idea. In other words, how. to increase the length of the inarches without reducing tho rations or deteriorating the quality of the food, so increasing tne offensive strength of the moving force by accelerating its movements aud sustaining its powers of endurance. _ The Idea, and the Result. Having these things in mind. Lieutenant Roberts, in tho midst of his multifarious dutios as battalion quartermaster, and later brigade and coast defence supply officer, devoted lmielj thought to the regimental kitchen. There were certain points to be considered—lightness, strength, economy of fuol, efficiency in cooking power, simplicity of construction, and, above all, mobility in transport. Was it possible to evolve something that could boil the billy while on the march, so that the regiment, when halted for meals, could bo served instantcr, and bo tip and away again? Tho "Roberts Field Triivellijig Oven," nicknamed., appropriately enough, tho "Salamander," was the result. The new kitchen can he mounted on a transport wagon, or on a gun limber, drawn rapidly _ from point to print, on the same priimplo as a fieM gun. On tho limber is carried a watertank, with a capacity of 150 gallons; a meat-safe designed to contain 5601b. of meat and four sacks of vegetables. Thero is also a watertight compartment, intended for tea; coffee, and sugar. The cost of cooking for 800 meiv during an eight-day camp by the ordinary system works out at about £28, whewas the same work can now bo done for 325. (3d. per week. Each oven is designed to provide for 500 men, and TO of t'nem aro at present in use in -ibe Now Zealand Defence Fqrccs, The arrangement of tho flues is said to be the secret of its success, and fuel of any kind may lie used. There is no arbitrary limit as to size, any encampment, from ten upwards, can be suited according to its wants, and the smaller the cooker the morci convenient of transport by camping parties. How It Captured Australia, While Lieutenant Roberts was in Australia lie was invited to submit his stove to the Federal military authorities. They saw it "in action," and as tho result certain stove-manufacturers had to work overtime. The management of tho bio; Sugar Company in Australia heard of it, saw it, and realised at once

its utility 'and economy. The commissariat of iho great Transcontinental Railway works were also captured, and tho "Salamander," harnessed up to a camel team, brought solace to advance gangs on the desert track. Nearer home, and more recently, the PageantCommittee were accorded the use of a single stove for its commissariat arrangements in Newtown Park, with the result that the cooks surpassed them* selves. The "snecials" at Alexandra barracks have also been introduced to the "Salamander," and been glad of the introduction.

Lieutenant Roberts is remaining in ■Wellington for somo time in connection with certain negotiations which he his at present on hand for a furthor supply of field kitchens for the New Zealand Territorial encampments. So far the Imperial Government has not been given a first-hand demonstration of the "Salamander" in action, but Lieutenant Roberts has every confidence that the proverbial conservatism of the War Office will wilt before the practical test of what is considered here to be the last word in portable field kitchens.