Table III.
| Weekly Scale. | Articles. | Weekly Scale. | Articles. |
| 3½ ℔ | Biscuits. | 7⁄8 oz. | Tea. |
| 3¾ ” | Salt beef. | 21 ” | Sugar. |
| 3 ” | “ pork. | 1½ ℔ | Molasses. |
| 1½ ” | Flour. | 9 oz. | Fruits, dried. |
| 2 ” | Meats, preserved. | ¾ pt. | Pickles. |
| 10½ ” | Bread, fresh (8 ℔ flour in lieu). | 1 ” | Vinegar. |
| 1 ” | Fish, dried. | 8 oz. | Corn Meal. |
| 7 ” | Potatoes or yams. | 12 ” | Onions. |
| 1 ” | Tomatoes, preserved. | 7 ” | Lard. |
| 2⁄3 ” | Peas. | 7 ” | Butter. |
| 2⁄3 ” | Calavances. | ¼ ” | Mustard. |
| 2⁄3 ” | Rice. | ¼ ” | Pepper. |
| 5¼ oz. | Coffee, green. | ¼ ” | Salt. |
In the British mercantile marine there is no scale of provisions prescribed by the Board of Trade; there is, however, a traditional scale very generally adopted, having the sanction of custom only and seldom adhered to. The following dietary scale for steerage passengers, laid down in the 12th schedule of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894, is of interest. See Table IV.
Table IV.—Weekly, per Statute Adult.
| Scale A. For voyages not exceeding 84 days for sailing ships or 50 days for steamships. | Scale B. For voyages exceeding 84 days for sailing ships or 50 days for steamships. | |
| ℔ oz. | ℔ oz. | |
| Bread or biscuit, not inferior to navy biscuit | 3 8 | 3 8 |
| Wheaten flour | 1 0 | 2 0 |
| Oatmeal | 1 8 | 1 0 |
| Rice | 1 8 | 0 8 |
| Peas | 1 8 | 1 8 |
| Beef | 1 4 | 1 4 |
| Pork | 1 0 | 1 0 |
| Butter | · · | 0 4 |
| Potatoes | 2 0 | 2 0 |
| Sugar | 1 0 | 1 0 |
| Tea | 0 2 | 0 2 |
| Salt | 0 2 | 0 2 |
| Pepper (white or black), ground | 0 0½ | 0 0½ |
| Vinegar | 1 gill | 1 gill |
| Preserved meat | · · | 1 0 |
| Suet | 0 6 | |
| Raisins | 0 8 | |
| Lime juice | 0 6 |
Certain substitutions may be made in this scale at the option of the master of any emigrant ship, provided that the substituted articles are set forth in the contract tickets of the steerage passengers.
In the British army the soldier is fed partly by a system of co-operation. He gets a free ration from government of 1 ℔ of bread and ¾ ℔ of meat; in addition there is a messing allowance of 3½d. per man per day. He is able to supplement his food by purchases from the canteen. Much depends on the individual management in each regiment as to the satisfactory expenditure of the messing allowance. In some regiments an allowance is made from the canteen funds towards messing in addition to that granted by the government. The ordinary field ration of the British soldier is 1½ ℔ of bread or 1 ℔ of biscuit; 1 ℔ of fresh, salt or preserved meat; ½ oz. of coffee; 1/6 oz. of tea; 2 oz. of sugar; ½ oz. of salt, 1⁄36 oz. of pepper, the whole weighing something over 2 ℔ 3 oz. This cannot be looked on as a fixed ration, as it varies in different campaigns, according to the country into which the troops may be sent. The Prussian soldier during peace gets weekly from his canteen 11 ℔ 1 oz. of rye bread and not quite 2½ ℔ of meat. This is obviously insufficient, but under
the conscription system it is reckoned that he will be able to make up the deficiency out of his own private means, or obtain charitable contributions from his friends. In the French infantry of the line each man during peace gets weekly 15 ℔ of bread, 33⁄10 ℔ of meat, 2½ ℔ of haricot beans or other vegetables, with salt and pepper, and 1¾ oz. of brandy.
An Austrian under the same circumstances receives 13.9 ℔ of bread, ½ ℔ of flour and 3.3 ℔ of meat.
The Russian conscript is allowed weekly:—