Upon receipt, at a military post, of hams and breakfast bacon, the quartermaster will cause those articles to be removed from their original containers and hung in a cool, dry place, admitting of a free circulation of air. The room in which the articles are hung should be darkened and windows screened to exclude flies.

Beans, hominy, and other large-grained articles are easily kept by storing in dry places, in good packages, with frequent rolling or repiling.

The best rule to prevent spoiling of farinaceous goods is to keep them in well-ventilated, dry places, and to move them frequently to change the exposure of the packages.

Pork should, if possible, be stored in cellars, and if no cellars are available, on the first floor of the building. It should not be stored more than two tiers high. If there is plenty of floor space tiering should not be resorted to, as when thus stored it is not easy to "roll" it. The temperature of the storeroom, to prevent the pork from freezing, should not be lower than 36° F.

To "roll pork" means to roll the barrels containing pork, on their skids, through a distance equal to one-half the circumference of a barrel, and thereby reverse the position of the barrels and the pork with reference to the brine.

Salt beef is packed in barrels. The same care as is required in storage, etc., of salt pork should be taken in the storage, etc., of salt beef. It should be rolled frequently and never exposed to the sun.

Roasted coffee is very susceptible to damage by absorbing odors from other articles, and raw coffee is liable to damage in the same way.

Coffee requires dry, well-ventilated storage; and, as it readily absorbs foreign odors, it should not be stored near such articles as pepper, tobacco, etc.

Canned green corn keeps best in dry storage of equable moderate temperature.

Corn meal should be stored on skids, in a dry, well-ventilated storehouse.

Flour keeps best in cool, dry, and well-ventilated storage. In summer it should not be stored in enher a cellar or a garret, but in a room, preferably in the second or third story, where there is a full and free circulation of air. It keeps best in a moderate, equable temperature, and should not be exposed to a freezing temperature, nor to an intense summer heat or equivalent artificial heat, for any great length of time. It should not be stored with grain or other articles which are liable to heat. It is peculiarly sensitive to exhalations from other substances, and, therefore, should not be stored in the same room with sour liquids, vegetables, fish, or any other articles that emit unsavory or noxious exhalations, nor in close proximity to kerosene, coffee, or tobacco.

When hard bread is packed in the ordinary way, i. e., in wooden boxes, it should be stored in a dry place and issued before it is one year old.

Hominy should be stored in a cool, dry place. It is likely to become weevily in summer, and musty in moist, warm weather.

Lard should be kept in cold storage, where it will keep indefinitely. If subjected to heat sufficient to melt it, while in storage, it will become rancid; and it should be remembered that this is one of the marked characteristics of pure lard.

Mackerel should be stored in a cool, damp place (the basement of a building is the most suitable place) and kept well brined, as they soon become discolored, "rusty," and impaired in quality if the brine leaks out and leaves them dry.

Matches should be stored in a dry place, either on the first floor or in the upper stories, but never in the basement or any room under ground, as they are very susceptible to injury by dampness.

Oatmeal should be stored in a cool, dry place, not near articles that emit odors.

Onions are shipped in crates, ventilated barrels, or sacks. They should not be allowed to remain in sacks after receipt at destination, but should be emptied out of the sacks and spread as thinly as possible in a cool, dry place. The best method of keeping onions is to place them, by hand, only one deep, on narrow-slatted shelves, arranged one above the other, at convenient distances apart. They are of an easily perishable nature and require the best of care while in storage to prevent great loss. Potatoes should be stored in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated place, and should not be exposed to the light any more than is necessary.

Rice should be stored in a cool, dry place. The greatest dangers to it are weevils and moisture. Tea should be stored in a dry place, each kind by itself, separated from every other article from which it might absorb a foreign odor or taste.

Plug tobacco should be stored in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place, and never in a cellar or other damp place.

Smoking tobacco should be stored in a cool, dry place, free from moisture or dampness; should it become moldy, there is no remedy.

No extraordinary care is required in the storage of canned tomatoes; they will withstand a temperature as low as zero without serious injury. Freezing does not much damage them.

2745. The following are the principal insects that are destructive to articles of subsistence stores, viz: (a) The Dermestes lardarius or bacon bug. It is very destructive to bacon and all other kinds of dried meat. This insect, while in the imago or beetle state, deposits its eggs on bacon or other dried meats, and from these the larvæ are hatched. As soon as the larvæ are hatched they commence their ravages upon the meat. When full fed, they change into the pupa or chrysalid state, and from that in due time into the imago or beetle state. The beetles are about one-third inch long, and are of a dusky-brown color, except the upper half of the wing cases, which are of a whitish or ash color. These insects, when in the larvæ or

pupa states, are so concealed in the meat that they can not be effectually removed from it, but upon attaining the imago state they are no longer concealed and may be readily removed and destroyed.

(b) The Dermestes vulpinus or hide bug is similar to the bacon bug.

(c) The Musca vomitoria or meat fly is about one-half inch long, and has a thick hairy body of a black color, except the hind part, which is of a shining blue color. These insects are remarkable for their extraordinarily powerful sense of smell. They scent meat from long distances and come in swarms and deposit their eggs, commonly called flyblows, upon it. A piece of meat is never secure from their attacks unless it is well covered. These flies frequent meat shops, kitchens, and pantries. The period of their metamorphoses is very short, only about four days from the larvæ to the imago state; and hence their great fecundity. Among subsistence stores they are most likely to attack fresh beef.

(d) The Calandra granaria or grain weevil is about one-fourth inch long, without wings, and varies in color from a dark chestnut to pitch black. These weevils make their appearance in April or May, according to the climate, and continue their ravages until August. The weevil bores a hole in the grain of wheat with its rostrum, and deposits in it an egg. From the egg a larvæ is hatched. The larvæ feeds on the inside of the grain, changes into a pupa, and finally into an imago, within the husk, and then eats its way out. All kinds of grain are acceptable to this very destructive insect.

(e) The Sylvanus surinamensis is another grain weevil. It is smaller than the Calandra granaria, of flat shape and a rusty-brown color. It is coarsely punctured and sparingly clothed with short, yellow, depressed hairs of an orange color.

(f) The Bruchus granarius, another bean weevil. It has a black body, densely punctured with short brown hairs.

(g) The Bruchus pisi or pea weevil has a black body, densely clothed with short brightish-brown hairs on top, and hairs of a grayish color and silky appearance underneath. It resembles closely, but is smaller than the Bruchus granarius.

(h) The Calandra oryza or rice weevil, which is almost identical with the Calandra granaria or grain weevil. It has a smooth body of elliptical shape, and varies in color, some specimens being of a pale chestnut or ocherous color, while others are black, and others still are of every shade between the two extremes, according, it is presumed, to the age of the insects.

The best remedies against the insect evil are the destruction of the insects as fast as they appear, and the exclusion from the packages of stores and the storehouse of the flies or moths that lay the eggs that produce the insects.

As, because of the great fecundity of the insects that prey upon subsistence stores, all remedies against them are, in a greater or lesser degree, ineffectual, great care should be exercised not to receive on contracts any articles infested with weevils or any other injurious insects.

2746. Oranges on the trees will stand a temperature of 26° for an hour or so, but if exposed to that temperature for four hours will freeze inside. Oranges slightly frozen, when placed in a cool room and thawed out gradually, are sweetened, and considered by some people as improved, but when frozen solid and thawed they have a sickish sweet flavor. When oranges have been frozen they can be thawed without injury by putting them in cold water or tight barrels immediately after arrival and allowing them to thaw out gradually.

The temperature to which lemons, oranges, and bananas may be exposed without damage depends largely on the moisture present in the air, a dry atmosphere, with either high or low temperature, being less injurious than a moist one.

Tropical fruits in storage should be kept in rooms with the temperature between 60° and 70°.

While a temperature as low as freezing (32°) will not injure potatoes for eating purposes, yet they will fail to sprout in the spring.

Canned tomatoes when frozen become stringy, canned fish soft and mushy, lemons black and spotted, olives soft and rancid, pickles soft and unsalable.

Sauerkraut ferments at 90° and freezes at 15°, either of which conditions spoil it.

2747. The lowest and highest temperatures to which certain perishable goods may be subjected without injury under the conditions stated:

2748. Leather in storage, unlike leather in service which receives constant attention, is subjected to the danger of becoming molded or too dry. It is of the utmost importance that it be stored in a cool, dry place without artificial heat.

To guard against these two conditions, which would render the leather in storage unserviceable, it should be inspected at regular intervals. In temperate northern stations leather in sides should be inspected once during the winter and twice during the summer months (February, July, and September); equip ment at least once a year. The frequency of examination should be increased for semitropical and tropical stations until in the Philippines during the rainy season once a month is not too often to go over and examine the leather in sides, while the equipments should be inspected with corresponding greater frequency. Also, when leather or leather equipment is received, it should be unpacked at once and examined for mold and dampness, for it may have become wet in transit or while standing on wharves or platforms. If mold is promptly discovered and removed, little harm is done, but if allowed to remain it will very shortly attack the leather and render it unserviceable. When, therefore, mold or dampness is discovered, the surface should be immediately cleaned and exposed to the air to dry before returning to storage.

Leather equipment in storage should not contain as much oil as equipment in use, for the tendency to mold is increased thereby, but in no case should it be allowed to dry out entirely. Should examination indicate that it is very dry, a light application of oil should be given,

2749. The size and other details of construction of buildings of a permanent character for the storage of supplies for Army use, as at military posts and stations, are determined in the office of the Quartermaster General; but during field operations or for emergency use on other occasion, these items must sometimes be worked out by a local quartermaster for his use in constructing a temporary storehouse or in renting a suitable one.

Owing to the deteriorating effect that odors have on certain articles of food, as outlined in paragraph 2744, other supplies in general, and especially clothing in tar-paper lined boxes or packed with napthalene, should be stored in rooms or buildings separated from those where subsistence stores are kept. The size of storehouses is largely governed by the character and maximum quantity of supplies to be stored at one time and the aisles required. Suitable aisles and an orderly arrangement of packages are indispensable to ready accessibility.

The two warehouse systems which are in general use for arranging packages in a storeroom are known as the block system and the numeral system.

In the block system, the packages are arranged in solid blocks three or more packages deep; each package of a block contains the same kind, and the same number, of articles; lateral aisles are used between blocks only; and the markings of all boxes in the same pile face in the same direction, so that as successive boxes are removed the markings showing contents come into view. It is used where large quantities of supplies are stored and deep piles are not inconvenient.

In the numeral system, the packages are arranged in piles not more than two packages deep, with lateral aisles between every second row, and with markings showing contents of each package exposed to view. It is the more generally used system when the quantity of supplies to be handled is relatively small, as at mobilization or concentration camps, or for other temporary use where the forces to be supplied do not exceed one division. It facilitates issues and shipments. A combination of both systems may be used to advantage on any occasion.

The principal doorways of a large storeroom should preferably be at the sides. The main aisles should, as a rule, start from a doorway and lead to the opposite wall or doorway. A clearing space of such size as to accommodate, without confusion, the receipts and issues at any one time should be provided near a principal doorway. In large depots, the clearing space may, for example, be of such size as to hold a carload, or more, of supplies; but even in the smaller storehouses it should afford room for a wagon load without having to pile boxes on each other or to block the doorway. The greater the demand for a particular article, the nearer, in general, should it be located to the clearing space.

The main aisles should be of such width as to readily permit the passage, without loss of speed, of trucks moving in opposite directions. With ordinary trucks (30 inches wide), a main aisle 6 feet 6 inches wide will be required. The corresponding lateral aisles are perpendicular to the main aisles, and accommodate one truck only; they should be 3 feet 2 inches wide. A passageway, for use in case of fire, should be left next to the walls, and should be about 24 inches wide in order to permit a man to go through with fire hose or bucket. Lines indicating the sides of the main aisles should be chalked, painted, or otherwise suitably shown on the floor. It may happen in the case of large packages that the size of packages to be stored, rather than the width of the truck used, will determine the width of a lateral aisle. Each pile should be started from a main aisle.

All serviceable articles of the same description should be arranged together, a separate location being reserved for all unserviceable ones. To facilitate issues, inspections, and stock taking, packages containing articles of the same size should be kept together; each tier of a pile should have the same number of packages, if practicable, and each package which has not been opened since receipt should be so arranged that the markings showing contents are exposed to view.

It is often impracticable, with very small packages, to have the markings exposed; but, with package. of standard size-each 38 inches long by 19 inches wide by 15 inches deep-it may be accomplished by placing them end to end, two deep, perpendicular to and with the markings toward the lateral aisles. The depth of each of such piles thus arranged, and likewise the distance between consecutive lateral aisles, is 6 feet 6 inches, and the requisite floor space of the lateral aisles for ordinary trucks is approximately one-half that occupied by the piles; and therefore the available floor space for piling is roughly two-thirds of the total floor space after that required for the main aisles, fire passages, and as a clearing space has been deducted.

In order that there may be a free use of fire apparatus, even though nothing more than fire buckets are available, and to facilitate the removal of packages, the upper tier of each pile should be far enough from the ceiling to permit the upending of the top package high enough to lower the package into the aisle. The height of piles is further governed by the maximum safe load which the floor will sustain. Special precautions in this regard must be taken when it becomes necessary to store supplies in buildings which were not constructed for such use. While first-class modern practice, as shown in various building laws, requires the construction of warehouses having floors that will sustain a load, per superficial square foot, of at least 250 pounds, it also sanctions dwellings and apartment floors sustaining but 50 pounds. If standard packing boxes of quartermaster supplies are arranged, in 5 tiers, in piles about 74 feet high, the weight per superficial square foot of piling space will average about 100 to 120 pounds.

Where the issues are frequent, shelving will prove convenient for storing small articles, and it may be improvised by removing, or hinging, one side of each of the necessary number of empty packing boxes, and stacking them with the open side outward.

The distance between main aisles should ordinarily not exceed 40 feet, as otherwise too much time is lost in removing packages farthest from main aisle.

2750. In estimating storage space for rations, if sales articles are to be included, an additional space for the latter must be allowed dependent upon the requirements of the troops to be supplied and the accessibility they have to good markets. A comparison of the actual issues, and sales, of subsistence stores at maneuver camps in 1910 and 1911 shows that the cubical contents of the sales articles were about 64 percent. of the cubical contents of the issue articles. In general, exchanges were maintained in these camps and the market for outside purchases was good.

The necessary office room space for a sales counter and for sales transactions and cold storage for perishable articles, such as meats and butter, must also be considered in determining the requisite size of a subsistence storehouse for issues and sales.

2751. The floor plan of a clothing storehouse, containing a reserve supply of clothing based upon the requirements of 742 officers and 22,400 enlisted men for the period of approximately four months is shown in Appendix No. 13. The number of boxes of each article is shown in the plan, and also an arrangement of the boxes, aisles, shelving, clearing, and issue spaces.

Other and perhaps better arrangements of the supplies might be made, and it is therefore not intended that the one shown on the plan must necessarily be followed. An aisle space of 34 inches, except for the center aisle, will suffice. Making this reduction, and increasing the center aisle accordingly, it is thought will be an advantage.

The storehouse is of the width prescribed for mobilization camps, and is made up of the standard bays in storehouse plan, Appendix 16-12.

2752. The reserve supply of clothing based upon the requirements of 742 officers and 22,400 enlisted men for a period of four months, and the actual quantity shown in the plan of clothing storehouse in Appendix 13, are as follows:

Four months'

reserve

supply.

Article.

Shown in plan of clothing storehouse.

24 cases, 300 each.. 7,200 311 cases, 48 each.. 14,926 18 boxes, 550 each.. 10,017 487 boxes, 23 each.. 11,201 428 boxes, 70 each.. 29,960 2 boxes, 200 each... 400 15 boxes, 200 each.. 3,000 42 boxes, 192 each.. 8,064 139 boxes, 42 each.. 5,838 1 box.. 18,646 112 boxes, 95 each.. 10,640 16 boxes, 40 each.. 640

249 boxes, 45 each.. 11, 205 930 boxes, 20 each.. 18,600 249 boxes, 180 each. 44, 820 1 box.. 1,878 311 boxes, 90 each.. 27,990

2753. Only one quartermaster sales room will be maintained at a military post or station for subsistence stores and quartermaster supplies. (G. O. 81, W. D., 1914.)

2754. Barrels with close-fitting covers, being easily cleaned, and readily exposed to the air and sun, are to be preferred as receptacles for loose subsistence stores (beans, rice, hominy, etc.) taken out of original packages for retail sales.

Holes bored in boxes and barrels are objectionable, as mice, roaches, etc., get in and injure the contents. 2755. Owing to lack of storage facilities, it is sometimes necessary to stack supplies, especially forage, in the open.

Provision should be made for dry foundations, ventilation where overheating is liable, and protection for tops and sides.

A foundation to keep the supplies off the ground and sufficiently high to protect against the accumulstions of surface water must be laid. Any available material, such as logs, stones, or cordwood may be used, or a regular platform may be constructed. Passages for ventilation, as necessary, should be arranged as the piling proceeds. Paulins are provided, for field use, to protect piles of supplies against the weather, and when used as a top or side covering should be lashed in place.

The arrangement of packages within a pile, whether indoors or out, should be such as will facilitate count. ing and inspection.

2756. In building a pile, packages of uniform dimensions only should be used. Packages of more than one article should not be mixed. As a rule, sloping roofs should be added. Space should be left between the piles-say 15 feet-for the free passage of vehicles. It will tend to solidity if alternate rows of headers and stretchers are used, and joints are broken uniformly.