had a good idea of the calorific value and nutritive and sustaining qualities of the various foods.  It had a personal interest for us all.  In this way we added to our scanty stock between two and three tons of provisions, about half of which was farinaceous food, such as flour and peas, of which we were so short.  This sounds a great deal, but at one pound per day it would only last twenty-eight men for three months.  Previous to this I had reduced the food allowance to nine and a half ounces per man per day.  Now, however, it could be increased, and “this afternoon, for the first time for ten days, we knew what it was to be really satisfied.”

I had the sledges packed in readiness with the special sledging rations in case of a sudden move, and with the other food, allowing also for prospective seals and penguins, I calculated a dietary to give the utmost possible variety and yet to use our precious stock of flour in the most economical manner.  All seals and penguins that appeared anywhere within the vicinity of the camp were killed to provide food and fuel.  The dog-pemmican we also added to our own larder, feeding the dogs on the seals which we caught, after removing such portions as were necessary for our own needs.  We were rather short of crockery, but small pieces of venesta-wood served admirably as plates for seal steaks; stews and liquids of all sorts were served in the aluminium sledging-mugs, of which each man had one.  Later on, jelly-tins and biscuit-tin lids were pressed into service.

Monotony in the meals, even considering the circumstances in which we found ourselves, was what I was striving to avoid, so our little stock of luxuries, such as fish-paste, tinned herrings, etc., was carefully husbanded and so distributed as to last as long as possible.  My efforts were not in vain, as one man states in his diary:  “It must be admitted that we are feeding very well indeed, considering our position.  Each meal consists of one course and a beverage.  The dried vegetables, if any, all go into the same pot as the meat, and every dish is a sort of hash or stew, be it ham or seal meat or half and half.  The fact that we only have two pots available places restrictions upon the number of things that can be cooked at one time, but in spite of the limitation of facilities, we always seem to manage to get just enough.  The milk-powder and sugar are necessarily boiled with the tea or cocoa.

“We are, of course, very short of the farinaceous element in our diet, and consequently have a mild craving for more of it.  Bread is out of the question, and as we are husbanding the remaining cases of our biscuits for our prospective boat journey, we are eking out the supply of flour by making bannocks, of which we have from three to four each day.  These bannocks are made from flour, fat, water, salt, and a little baking-powder, the dough being rolled out into flat rounds and baked in about ten minutes on a hot sheet of iron over the fire.  Each bannock weighs about one and a half to two ounces, and we are indeed lucky to be able to produce them.”