Food for the hiker, as we have said, must with the least weight and bulk furnish appetizing and digestible nourishment to an active man. It should be composed of the proper proportions of fat, protein (which comprises the elements of lean meat) and cereal. It should pack easily under all conditions of heat, moisture and rough handling and must cook simply. The following items are looked upon as the essentials in diet lists for campers:--flour, bacon, beans, tea, sugar. They represent the three classes of foods necessary to health. For increasing the palatability and variety of the bill of fare other items creep in and they are admissible if they represent in food value and concentration of bulk the same as a given amount of the essential food for which they were substituted. Bush life develops a great appetite, therefore figure well on the necessary amounts to be packed. Too much means discomfort and fatigue in packing and too little means hunger and perhaps privation. Little dependence should be placed upon securing game or fish en route unless one is certain that he is in a country where such are present in reasonable abundance and that there is nothing to interfere with procuring them. In general it may be said that for each week about twenty pounds of food stuff are needed per man. The following proportions of the various items will be found about right:-- FOOD FOR ONE MAN ONE WEEK Wheat flour 5 pounds Corn meal 4 pounds Bacon 5 pounds Beans 1¾ pounds Sugar 1¾ pounds Dried fruit 1 pound Rice 1 pound Baking powder ¼ pound Tea ¼ pound Salt ¼ pound Pepper small amount. Dried Egg substituting a portion of the meat ration. Dried soup and vegetables substituting a portion of the bean or flour ration. On the trail count on cooking but two meals a day, morning and night with a noon-day stop with lunch and hot drink. This allows time for a day’s work. Foods will keep well if care is taken to exclude moisture by packing in provision bags of closely woven muslin, size 6 by 10 inches with tie strings for closing the open end. They are made waterproof by painting with paraffin, which has been liquefied in gasoline. Mark each bag well. They stow away nicely in odd corners of the pack sack. Bacon is the great standby in the meat line. Only the leanest should be chosen: trim off the rind before starting on the hike and wrap it in a piece of waterproof muslin to protect it from other items of the outfit. Do not seal it too tight as it will mold. As bacon grease will be used instead of lard the latter can be omitted entirely.