For canoe cruising, cooking supplies should be carried in a single box or chest. If on a long cruise, the large portion of food supply may be kept in different parts of the canoe, but the box should be sufficient for at least three meals, and can be replenished from the larger store when stopping for the night or at a camping place for any length of time. The larger the box that his stowage room will allow, the greater will be the comfort of the canoeist.
Each canoeist should first determine what amount and variety of items he will carry, and then construct the box according to his needs. The box may be made of wood, tin or galvanized iron. It must be water-tight, and if made of wood, the nicest joining and dove-tailing must be done, and it should be varnished inside and out with shellac or boat varnish. If made of wood quarter inch or 5/16 stuff (pine) will do, and if the box is to be used as a seat the top and bottom pieces should be heavier, say 3/8 of an inch. The cover should be two inches deep and the handle by which the box is carried should be a thin, wide, flat strap tacked to the cover.
To carry food in the box, water-tight tin cans should be used for the following:
Perishable items should be wrapped in macintosh and stored near the top of chest. The stove and utensils necessary to cook a meal should go in the box as well, such as coffee pot, cup, fork, knife, spoon, frying pan and plates. The surplus supplies of items should be carried in waterproof bags.
The "flamme forcé" canoe stove is probably as good as any. It takes up a little more room than the folding "pocket" variety, and it does not give more heat; but it burns for a longer time, and is not top-heavy when a heavy pot or pan is set on it. For cooking larger amounts, have three of these flamme forcé alcohol lamps, light them and place them side by side, and you can cook in this way a dozen slapjacks at once on a big griddle, if you like. BEWARE of "folding stoves" to use ashore and burn wood in. They are the greatest possible nuisances—smutty, red-hot and cumbersome. DO NOT carry an oil stove.
As it may puzzle prospective canoeists to know how much of each article of food to take on a cruise, I give below the exact amount of food I carried on a cruise of a week: