During the War and especially at Vicksburg, there was a shortage of meat. So families and soldiers would share meat to boil for their stew. So one family would boil the meat then pass it to another, well after about three or four boilngs of this meat there wouldn't be much to the broth except what spices you threw in. You also had folks like me who would have had to whack off a piece of that meat before passing it on,,,,ROFL !!! So as it passed, it got smaller too,,,,