Monday, July 10, 2006

No Salad Bar?

In a time when wellness programs proliferate, consider the daily diet of sailors in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars:

Sunday, 1 lb of biscuit, 1 lb of salt pork, half a pint of dried peas.
Monday, I lb of biscuit, half a pint of oatmeal, 2 oz of sugar and butter, 4 oz of cheese.
Tuesday, 1 lb of biscuit, 2 lb of salt beef.
Wednesday, 1 lb of biscuit, half a pint of peas and oatmeal, 2 oz of butter and sugar.
Thursday, 1 lb of biscuit, 1 lb of pork, half a pint of peas, 2 oz of cheese.
Friday, 1 lb of biscuit, half a pint of peas and oatmeal, sugar, butter, and cheese as before.
Saturday, 1 lb of biscuit and 2 lb of beef.

Beer, if available, a gallon a day.

Otherwise, grog (rum mixed with water and lemon juice), 2 pints a day.

[Source: Men-of-War by Patrick O’Brian]

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