An effort was also made to discover a possible commercial outlet for spent tea-leaves. This beverage is particularly popular in the army, and the accumulation of this waste is enormous. At one period the Home Commands were called upon to handle over 13,500,000 pounds of this refuse a month. The thought was entertained that the extraction of the caffeine from this residue might prove a profitable venture, but the experiments were inconclusive, and so the proposal was abandoned. Then the circumstance that the tea-leaves carry a certain proportion of potash suggested another line of application--conversion into fertilizer. But here again success failed to be recorded. The profitable exploitation of spent tea-leaves still awaits conclusive resolution. But it happens to be one of those problems beset with supreme difficulties, while it is imperative that every precaution should be observed to prevent this waste finding its way into unscrupulous hands to be turned to base account to the disadvantage of the community. I have already mentioned that, while every effort was made to recover the uttermost ounce of fat-yielding residue from the kitchens, every encouragement was extended to the troops to cultivate the consumption of the nourishing dripping. Although it would seem as if these two recommendations were in utter conflict, no such trouble as might have been anticipated has been recorded. The troops appreciated the concession, and the request for this fat has led to considerable fertility of thought and individual resource among the officers of the various units. Such initiative received commendation from headquarters because it not only contributed to the economical consumption of food in the army, but reacted to the advantage of the civil population who, unable to obtain dripping owing to the rigorous meat rationing in operation, were compelled to depend upon butter and margarine for their fat requirements. The increasing consumption of dripping by the soldiers to whom it was readily available served to permit increased quantities of the restricted supplies of other articles to be distributed among the community.