Observations on the Diseases of Seamen

But besides these recent infections, it sometimes happens that the seeds of disease adhere to the timbers of a ship for months and years together, and can be eradicated only by a thorough cleansing and fumigation. Sweeping, washing, scraping, and airing, are not sufficient entirely to remove the subtile infectious matter; but they will assist and will prepare it to be acted upon by heat and smoke, which are the only means to be depended upon. A complete fumigation can only be performed when the ship is in dock; and I shall here transcribe a method recommended by Dr. Lind.

“It will be proper to remove every thing out of the ship, so that the hold may be swept, and, when the men have withdrawn, to light a number of charcoal fires in different parts, and to throw a handful or two of brimstone on each. The steam of these should be closely confined by shutting the ports and hatchways from morning till evening, no person in the mean time being allowed to go below, nor for some time after opening the ports and hatchways, that the steam may be dispersed.

“In order to purify the men’s clothes, it would farther be proper to fumigate the hulk into which they are removed with tobacco once or twice a week while their ship is in dock, the men remaining below as long as they can bear it.

“The clothes and hammocks of the men should be exposed in the hulk to the smoke of the tobacco, and those which are more particularly suspected may be hung up the ship, and exposed to the steam of the charcoal and brimstone.

“The ship having been already fumigated with tobacco, it will be sufficient to use the fumigation of charcoal and brimstone above described for three days, and, after the last day’s fumigation, the inside of the ship should be well washed with boiling vinegar, and, before the men return on board, all the decks should be scraped and washed.”

When a ship is at sea, these precautions cannot be taken so completely; but if infection is present, or is suspected, then cleansing and fumigating may be practised in a less degree. I have known a ship at sea fumigated with gunpowder kneaded with vinegar, so as to prevent it from exploding, and to make it burn slowly with a spattering flame. Flowers of sulphur[51 - It is remarkable that this method of purifying was practised in the most ancient times, as we learn from the following passage in Homer, where Ulysses is represented fumigating the apartments of his palace in which the suitors had been slain:Τὴν δ᾿ἀπαμειζόμενος προσεφη Πολυμητις ὈδυσσευςΠυρ νυ̃ν μοι πρώτιστον ἐνὶ μεγάροισι γενέσθω.Ως ἔφαθ’. ουδ’ἀπιθησε φιλη τροφος ἘυρυκλειοςἨνεγκεν δ᾿ ἄρα πυρ και θηιον. αυταρ ὈδυσσευςἚυ διεθέιωσεν μέγαρον και δῶμα και ἀυλήν.ΟΜΗΡ. ΟΔΥΣ. Χ.Bring sulphur straight, and fire, the Monarch cries;She heard, and at the word obedient flies.With fire and sulphur, cure of noxious fumes,He purg’d the walls and blood-polluted rooms.Pope.This practice was probably founded in superstition, rather than the knowledge of nature. That some divine influence should be ascribed to fire was very natural, as the principal deities of the ancients were only personifications of the elements; and it is worthy of remark, that their name for sulphur signifies something divine το θεῖον, which was probably owing to its being found in those chasms of the earth, in Sicily and Italy, which were supposed to communicate with the infernal regions; for the whole Greek mythology relating to these was taken from the phænomena attending the subterraneous fires in those parts. It is curious farther to remark, in other instances, how facts useful to mankind, the truth of which has been confirmed in later times by the more enlightened knowledge of nature, were first suggested by some superstitious circumstance. Thus the wound received by Sarpedon could not be cured, according to the Poet, till, by divine intimation, he was desired to apply to it the rust of the spear with which it had been inflicted, in consequence of which it healed. But the weapons in those days were made of brass, so that the rust of the spear must have been the ærugo æris, which has been found by the experience of modern surgery to be one of the best detergents in ill-conditioned sores. It is probably, from a false analogy, founded on some such incident, that an idea prevails among the vulgar, which has become proverbial, that some part taken from the offending body is good in all external injuries. Thus some part of a mad dog is said to have a virtue in curing his bite. Herein may be seen the difference of that knowledge which is suggested by superstition, and that which is acquired by the observation of nature.], with about an eighth part of nitre, will answer still better. A quantity of these is placed in each interval of the guns between decks, every person being turned up, and the ports and hatches shut till they are consumed, and till the smoke has dispersed. It has also been recommended to burn resinous bodies, such as the woods of fir, spruce, and juniper, as the smoke of these is more salutary. Upon the same principle, the effluvium of tar is thought wholesome; and the cables that are coiled in the lower parts of a ship being soaked with tar, like most of the other ropes of a ship, probably conduce to the health of a place otherwise dank and unwholesome. Fumigation may also be performed by means of tar, either by throwing it on red-hot irons, or a wood fire, which may be carried about between decks in a pot or moveable grate, or over some cannon balls in a tub, or by immersing a red-hot loggerhead[52 - A loggerhead is a large round mass of iron, with a long handle to it.] in a bucket of tar. If this is done in the place occupied by the sick, it will have a still better effect; and it will be of service to them to be removed for a short time under the half deck or forecastle till this or other means of purification are put in practice. In whatever manner fumigation is performed, it will be of service to spread out the clothes and bedding of the men, or to hang them upon lines, that they may be exposed to the heat and smoke.

It will also be of great service to make the men expose their frowsy clothes to the sun and wind. If a strong infection is suspected, and it cannot be afforded to destroy the clothes, the best means of eradicating the poison is to hang them for a length of time over pots of burning brimstone in a large cask standing endways, with small apertures to admit air enough for the brimstone to burn.

Fire in every shape is to be considered as the principal agent of purification, by its heat and the ventilation it occasions, perhaps, still more than its smoke. It has already been repeatedly inculcated, that the great enemies of infection are ventilation and heat. I have mentioned smoke and the effluvia of balsamic bodies, but these are not to be depended on; and it is the more necessary to mention this, as the attention bestowed on more trifling means may divert the mind from a proper regard to what is more essential. It is mentioned by the benevolent Mr Howard, that it is the custom in some parts abroad to scatter fresh branches of pine or spruce in the hospitals, in order to purify the air; but, trusting to this, they neglect the admission of fresh air, which is the only effectual method of sweetening the air.

There is reason to think that the open air very soon dissipates and renders inert all infections of the volatile kind, and of course the warmer the air is the more readily it will have this effect. It is accordingly observed, that infection is much less apt to be generated about the persons of men, and that it adheres to them for a much less space of time in a hot climate than in a cold or temperate one. This is a remark, which, so far as I know, has not been made by any author; and, till observation suggested it to me, I fancied the reverse to be the truth. I have seen so many instances of filth and crowding in ships and hospitals in the West Indies, without contagion being produced, and which in Europe could hardly have failed to produce it, or to render it more malignant, that I am convinced there is something in tropical climates unfavourable to the production and continuance of infectious fevers[53 - A fact, related in Anson’s Voyage, is also strongly in proof of the same opinion. When the rich Spanish prize was taken, it was necessary to crowd the prisoners into the hold, for fear of an insurrection, which was to be dreaded from their numbers; yet, when they arrived in China, none of them had died, nor had any disease broke out. They suffered only in their looks, being wan and emaciated to a great degree.]. The ships which bring this fever from Europe in general get rid of it soon after arriving in a warm climate; and nothing but the highest degree of neglect can continue or revive it.

The facts above mentioned brought into my mind what is related of the plague at Smyrna and other places, that it disappears at the hottest part of the year. It is also curious and important to remark, that the true pestilence never has been heard of between the tropics. It is not easy to assign the cause of this effect of heat upon infection, as every thing relating to this subject is very obscure. We can conceive it to be owing to the greater degree of airiness which the heat of the climate makes necessary, or to the use of fewer woollen clothes. There may be something in the state of the body, particularly in the pores of the skin, which disposes them less to imbibe or produce the poisonous effluvia, or, when imbibed, it may more readily be thrown out by perspiration with the other acrimony of the blood; or more probably, as has been hinted above, the virulent matter is of such a degree of volatility as to be readily dissipated in a certain degree of heat[54 - It may be brought as a farther proof of a warm climate being unfavourable to every sort of infection, that though the itch is very common in ships and hospitals in Europe, I do not remember ever to have met with it in the West Indies, except in ships newly arrived from England.].

There is a fact, which, though seemingly of a contrary tendency, yet is in reality in proof of the same opinion. It is, that these same diseases disappear in circumstances of great cold. When England was last visited by the plague, it disappeared in winter; and the same is observed at Moscow and other places. In this case the infectious matter is rendered inert, but not extinct, and the return of heat sets it afloat in the atmosphere, so as to expose it to human respiration. Dr. Guthrie informs us, that infection is entangled and fixed by the cold of winter on the doors and walls of the houses of the Russian peasants, and that upon the return of the warm season it is set loose by the thaw, and then becoming active, produces diseases.

With regard to the West Indies, the precautions that have been laid down are chiefly necessary when a ship newly arrives in the climate; for it is during the first three or four months that sickness is apt to prevail.

This does not depend upon any thing peculiar to the climate; for I have known ships arrive without being visited with any sickness. It seems to be owing, for the most part, to that flock of infection and disease imported from Europe exerting its effects, and when this has spent itself, the men remain in good health, unless exposed to the land air or other accidents; for the air at sea in those climates, as well as every where else, is extremely pure and wholesome, and there is no where that seamen are more healthy or comfortable.

SECT. III.

Of the Foul Air generated in a Ship

I mean here to distinguish the unwholesome vapour produced by the contents of the ship from the infection produced by the effluvia of men’s persons, which was treated of in the last section.

The means of preventing this foul air from being generated are, cleanliness, dryness, and ventilation.

All parts of a ship may, if neglected, become dirty, and emit an offensive vapour; but the parts under water consisting of the orlop and hold, are more particularly so from the materials they contain, and from the want of free access to the fresh air; accordingly, there is always more or less stench in those parts, even in the best-regulated ships.

It was mentioned in the first part of this work, that an opinion was entertained by some that no foul air was productive of fevers but such as proceeds from the living human body. I alledged that this was otherwise, at least in hot climates; and some proofs of this opinion were adduced, particularly from the French prizes. Though the neglect of personal cleanliness is the principal source of disease, yet cleanliness of every kind, and purity of the air in every respect, is to be anxiously studied.

With regard to general cleanliness, it is hardly necessary to mention sweeping, washing, and scrubbing of the decks; for the natural propensity of the English[55 - This circumstance, in the character of the English, is only of modern date; for we learn from Erasmus, who was in England about two hundred and fifty years ago, that they were then extremely slovenly. The following passage is extracted from a letter he wrote to a physician in York, after his return to Holland: – “Conclavia solâ fere strata sunt argillâ, tum scirpis palustribus, qui subinde sic renovantur ut fundamentum maneat aliquoties annos viginti sub se fovens sputa, vomitus, mictum canum et hominum, projectam cerevisiam et piscium reliquias, aliasque sordes non nominandas.” He adds, that the windows were very ill calculated for ventilation, and imputes to the closeness and filthiness of the houses the frequent and long continued plagues with which England was infested, and particularly the sweating sickness, which, he says, seemed peculiar to this country. He mentions that his own country had been freed from the pestilence by certain changes that the State had made in the houses, in consequence of the advice of some learned man. Erasm. Lib. xxii. Epistol. 13. – It is probable that the greater number of those epidemics, called plagues, were only bad infectious fevers. What would contribute still more to the production of infection was the want of linen, which was hardly in use in those days. The disappearance, or at least the great diminution of such complaints in modern times, particularly in London, has been ascribed to the great increase in the proportion of vegetable food; but it is certainly more owing to the improvement in personal cleanliness, and to the greater spaciousness and neatness of houses. As a farther proof of this, it may be mentioned that in the charity, called the Charterhouse, in London, founded by Henry the Eighth, for the maintenance and education of poor boys, their sustenance is all animal food, as it was at the original institution, yet they are extremely healthy. The same observation applies to Winchester school, which was founded some ages before that.There are some passages in ancient history in confirmation of the same opinion. Herodotus relates, that the ancient Egyptians were the most healthy of all the nations, except the Libyans, and he imputes this to the invariableness of their weather, and the serenity of their sky. But he mentions in another part of his works, that they were also the most cleanly of all people, not only in their household utensils, but in their persons, and that their clothing was chiefly of linen, which it was one of the principal studies of their life to wash and keep clean – ἑιματα δε λινεα φορεουσι ἀιει νεοπλυτα ὲπιτηδευοντες τουτο μαλισα. Herodot. Euterp. 37. – It is remarkable that he makes no mention of the plague, though he gives a very minute account of the country from his own observation, from whence it may be naturally inferred, that it did not then exist there, though Egypt is now so subject to it, that the plague is supposed by many to be an endemial disease in it. It would appear also from another passage in this historian, that he uses the word λοιμος, which we translate plague in a loose sense to signify any violent acute distemper; for he relates that a great part of the army of Xerxes, in their retreat from Greece, perished by the plague λοιμου and dysentery, in consequence of famine. Herod. Lib. viii. cap. 115.] nation to neatness seldom allows any neglect of these. Lord Howe, to whose virtues as a man, and abilities as an officer, his country is so much indebted, gave it in general orders to wash the upper decks every day, the lower decks twice a week, and the orlop once a week at least. He also ordered that, every washing, smoking, mustering, and review of clothes, or any other means taken for the health of the ship, should be marked in the logbook, and the reason to be assigned there if omitted at the stated times. These rules are a good specimen of the order that ought to prevail in every branch of public duty; for it is well known to every experienced officer that it is a methodical proceeding of this kind which can alone render service either easy or effective.

The loss of men’s lives from the foul air of the well is a common accident in ships, and I have been myself witness to several instances of it. Where there is the least suspicion of this, a candle should previously be let down, and if it should be extinguished, it may be concluded that the air is deadly. It becomes safe for men to breathe in it by leaving it open for some time, or, more expeditiously, by letting down fire in a pot or grate, which soon changes the air, by producing a draught of it upwards.

It is a very salutary practice to let down fires frequently into the well, both in order to purify the air and to dry the surrounding parts. It was formerly mentioned that this was daily done in the Intrepid, and the effect of it was to remove the wetness of the ballast and the mouldiness which had overspread the sides and beams; and having had the effect of sweetening and purifying the air, it seemed to be the principal circumstance that tended to make this ship extremely healthy from being the most sickly of all the fleet. This precaution, as well as every other point of cleanliness, is more necessary in large ships, because the mass of foul air, as well as the quantity of corrupting materials, is greater[56 - It is proper also to observe here, that those ships which are built of winter-felled timber are much drier than those built of what is summer felled; and this circumstance should have been mentioned with regard to the Montague, for the cause of her healthiness, notwithstanding her being a new ship, was probably from being built of winter-felled timber. It should, therefore, be strictly enjoined to fell the wood in winter; for those who are employed to do it have an interest in doing it in summer, on account of the value of the bark.].

The following fact strongly evinces the good effect of fire and smoke: – When it was the custom for frigates to have their kitchens between decks, they were much more healthy than in the present construction, in which they have them under the forecastle, where the heat and smoke are dissipated without being diffused through the ship, and causing a draught of air upwards, as formerly. The men derived then also great benefit and comfort from having a large fire, round which they might assemble to warm and dry themselves in a sheltered place. I leave it to those who preside in the construction of the navy to determine how far it would be advisable to return to the old manner of construction. The French ships of the line have their kitchens and ovens between decks, and this must tend to counteract the effects of their want of cleanliness. The Dutch ships of the line have their kitchens on the orlop deck, which must be still more conducive to the general purity of the air.

Moisture is pernicious both in itself and as the instrument of putrefaction. All the complaints, called colds, are more owing to wet than cold; and moisture may be the means of producing, or at least of exciting dangerous fevers, when they would not otherwise appear. It besides contributes greatly to the production of scurvy. Ships built of ill-seasoned wood are found to be very unhealthy on account of the moisture contained in it. The moisture of timber arises not only from being used too soon after being felled, but also, as I am informed, from being stripped of its bark and outer surface when piled and exposed to the weather in dock yards. This method of smoothing and piling the wood is only a late practice; and the advantage in point of convenience and neatness seems to be more than overbalanced by the detriment it thereby receives.

A wet hold diffuses moist vapour all over the ship; and it was a rule with some of those commanders whom I observed to be most successful in preserving the health of their men, not only to have daily fires in the well, but to bail out the water when the pumps could not exhaust it all, and never to allow it to collect to more than the depth of a few inches. It is, therefore, very doubtful whether it is a good practice to let in water, as is very commonly done in order to sweeten the hold, for the same sweetness will be preserved if it is kept strictly dry. If it should happen, indeed, that there should be a great deal of putrid matter in the lower parts of the ship, from previous neglect or unavoidable leakage, it may be adviseable to let in a quantity of water in order to loosen and wash off what is offensive, and then to pump it out.

There is a circumstance in the first fitting out of a ship well worth attention, as highly conducive to the dryness and cleanness of the hold. I mean the choice of the ballast; for that which is called shingle, consisting all of pebbles, is far preferable to that which is sandy and earthy, as it does not so readily soak and retain the moisture and filth. Water or fluid of any kind readily subsides in it, and should any putrid matter be entangled in it, there will be less difficulty in washing it out.

The decks should not be washed so often when the weather is moist as when it is fine, as it will be more difficult to dry them, and more harm may arise from the moisture than benefit from the cleanness. Washing should also be performed very early in the morning, even in the best weather, in order that there may be time for the decks to become dry in the course of the day. It is after a general washing that the moveable fires, formerly described, are most proper and useful.

Every contrivance should be fallen upon to change the air in the orlop and hold. Ventilators and windsails[57 - A windsail is a long cylinder of canvass, open at both ends, kept extended with hoops, and long enough to reach from the lowermost parts of the ship through all the hatchways into the open air.] are well adapted for this purpose, and should be used as frequently and for as long a time as possible. It has also a good effect in cooling the air in the lower parts of a ship in the West Indies, to lift the gratings of the hatches, raising them on their edges, and lashing them to the staunchions. It contributes likewise to cleanliness and coolness to keep the decks as clear as possible from[58 - It is not necessary that seamen should have chests, for bags or wallets answer their purpose equally well, and are much more convenient in respect of stowage.] chests and other lumber, which are in the way of sweeping and washing, and prevent also the free course of the air.

Particular attention to ventilation is necessary in frigates, for almost all that part in which the men sleep is excluded from the air, and they are therefore very uncomfortable in the West Indies unless small scuttles are cut in the sides. But if this should be objected to as weakening or endangering the ship, there is a good contrivance for the same purpose, which I met with on board of the Nymphe frigate. It consists of a square wooden pipe, of about nine inches in the side coming from between decks, running along the side of the ship, and opening over the gunwale of the forecastle. There was one on each side.

SECT. IV.

Means of guarding against Infection and Bad Air

Infection never prevails to such a degree, as to affect every person indiscriminately who is exposed to it. Even where the plague and small-pox prevail to the greatest degree, there are some persons who, though susceptible of these diseases, yet escape them. There are certain other infections of a weaker nature, as was before observed, and these will remain entirely inactive, till they find constitutions so disposed as to be fit subjects of their action. The seeds of disease may be compared to those of vegetables, which lye dormant, unless they happen to fall into a situation peculiarly adapted for exciting their activity. It is very difficult to account for this uncertainty in the operation of infection, but it is extremely providential, that under the most calamitous state of sickness, there are always some who are in health and who survive, for the necessary purposes of life. If this were not the case, it might happen that every person on board of a ship might perish from sickness in the course of a voyage, a circumstance which I believe has never been known to happen.

There is an endless variety in the constitution of the human frame, both in mind and body, as well as in the features of the face. There are, perhaps, no two individuals in the world in whom the same effect precisely is produced by the same food, air, medicine, poison, or passions of the mind. The different effects of infection, therefore, upon different people, seem to depend, in many cases, on peculiarities of constitution too obscure to be explained; but there are also known circumstances which resist or encourage its effects.

The great power of habit[59 - Since the first edition of this work, I have met with a fact in confirmation of this principle, with regard to the cutaneous complaint called the ring-worm. This had prevailed in a private school in the neighbourhood of London, which I visited, but it had to all appearance become extinct; yet it nevertheless affected those boys who were newly sent to the school.] in taking off the effect of infection, has already been mentioned, and it would appear that novelty gives an increased energy and activity to all impressions, as well as those on the senses. If a person, therefore, escapes the first attack of infection, he will be more likely to continue exposed to it with safety in future.

There are certain precautions necessary to be attended to by those who are unavoidably exposed to contagion, particularly in the first instance. Those who can afford a full diet, and a liberal use of wine, have been observed to resist infection better than those who use food and drink that is meagre and watery. It is also a good rule not to go among the sick, nor otherwise to expose one’s self to infectious air, with an empty stomach; for whether it is that the body is then more susceptible, or that the pores of the skin and lungs are in a more highly absorbing state, so as with greater readiness to inhale the poison of disease, it is certain that a person in that situation is more apt to catch harm from foul air of any kind. Whatever else weakens and exhausts the body, renders it also more susceptible of noxious impressions. Under the head of weakening powers, I comprehend not only what empties the body of its fluids, such as loss of blood, or a diarrhœa, but intoxication, fatigue, fasting, watching, and certain affections of the mind, such as care and grief.

Cold and moisture may also be enumerated among the causes that invite the attack of infectious diseases. They are of themselves simply productive of catarrhs, rheumatisms, and the like disorders; but if an infection should be accidentally present when the body is exposed to them, then instead of these complaints, the disease peculiar to that infection will be produced[60 - It is mentioned by Thucydides, that while the plague raged at Athens, the people were affected with no other disease; from which it would appear that those persons who would otherwise have been attacked with some particular indisposition, were seized with the plague in place of it. Vide note p. 247.]. This was illustrated in the last reinforcement we had from England; for while bad fevers were breaking out in most of the other ships, the [61 - Part I. Book II. Chap. VI.]Union was affected with those complaints only which are simply the effects of cold and moisture. It would be more proper, perhaps, to say, exposure to the air, than to call it cold; for exposing the naked body to the open air, even in the warmest climate, is prejudicial to health. This holds at least with regard to Europeans who are accustomed to clothing, however the natives of hot climates who are naked, may expose themselves with impunity.

It is of the greatest consequence to ascertain the extent of the influence of infection, for the means of avoiding and preventing it will very much depend upon this. It is now known, that infection extends itself to a very small distance. There are, indeed, some morbid poisons, such as that of the bite of a mad dog, and that of the venereal disease, which require actual contact to make them take effect. Others are more volatile, and seem to he inhaled by the breath, or absorbed by the skin, but these do not extend far. That of the plague[62 - It is related by the travellers into Turkey, that the Christians save themselves from it, merely by shutting themselves up in their houses, and the inhabitants, who sleep on the open roofs of the houses, do not catch it even from those of the adjacent buildings, though the wall that separates them is of no great heighth.] does not reach above a few yards, and that of the small-pox and of fevers is probably equally limited. This discovery is very valuable, by ascertaining the limits of danger; for when a person imagines he runs the same risk when at a considerable distance from the seat of disease, as if he were in contact with the person affected, he will be apt to expose himself wantonly and unnecessarily to the infection.

It seems to be owing to the ignorance of the extent of its influence, that the plague has in general been so fatal; for in consequence of the opinion that the whole surrounding atmosphere was affected, it was vainly attempted to purify it by large fires in the open air, or by [63 - Vide Opera Ambrosii Parei.]firing off artillery, instead of trusting to the separation of the sick so as to avoid their near approach, and to the confinement of those in health to their own houses, which are all the precautions necessary to prevent its progress.

CHAP. II.

Of Aliment

SECT. I. Of Solid Food

The most unnatural circumstance in a sea life is the food which men use, and the disease most peculiar to it is one which is owing chiefly to the nature of the aliment; for though other causes conspire in aggravating the scurvy, the depraved state of the INGESTA is the main and fundamental cause of it.

It is this disease that is most fatal to seamen next to fevers. It was formerly as fatal, if not more so; but some modern improvements have rendered it less frequent and violent. The habitual use of salt provisions, besides producing evident symptoms of scurvy, begets such a state of the constitution, that, upon the least scratch being received, particularly on the lower extremities, a large and incurable ulcer ensues; and this circumstance, trifling as it appears, is the cause of losing an incredible number of men to the service, especially in the West Indies. The greater part of the food of a ship’s company is necessarily salted meat. Biscuit and pease, though of a vegetable nature, are hard of digestion; and though they qualify the animal food, they do not answer the purpose of fresh vegetables. Though officers have a supply of live stock even for the longest voyages, it would be impracticable to carry a quantity sufficient to preserve a whole crew from the scurvy. But certain articles have of late been introduced into use, of a durable and portable nature, which so qualify the salt provisions, that they can be used without inducing this disease. These are either such as are articles of common diet, viz. melasses and sour krout, or those which are intended only for the sick and recovering, such as portable soup and the preserved juice of lemons and oranges.

It is one of the most ancient and real grievances in the service, that there has not been a sufficiently ample supply of nourishment and cordials for the weak and recovering. This complaint is made by [64 - See Essay on Sea Diseases.]Dr. Cockburn, who was physician to the fleet in the end of the last century; and it is a complaint that has not yet been entirely redressed, nor has the subject been considered with the attention it deserves. The only improvement in the sea victualling that I know of from that time till of late, has been the use of raisins for puddings, and the occasional use of vinegar, which is an article extremely salutary, and was looked upon as the great preservative of health in the Roman armies.

After the force of disease has been subdued at sea, men are frequently lost by relapses, or pine away in dropsies and other chronic complaints, for want of being supported by some cordial and nourishing diet. It is mentioned in my memorial to the Admiralty, how insufficient the small quantity of surgeon’s necessaries are; and it is recommended that a large quantity of certain species of refreshment should be put in the purser’s charge, which, being substituted for the common sea victualling while men are ill or recovering, would cost Government little or nothing. Besides the articles already mentioned, it was recommended to set apart a quantity of the best wines, and to be provided with brown sugar, dried fruits, barley, rice, sago, and salep. To these might be added eggs, which, if greased and put in salt, may be preserved fresh for a great length of time. Carrots and other roots might also be preserved for the longest voyages by means of sugar; and green vegetables might in like manner be preserved by means of salt. But of all the articles, either of medicine or diet, for the cure of the scurvy, lemons and oranges[65 - Limes, shaddocks, and perhaps all the other fruits of that class, possess the same virtues; but I have most frequently observed good effects from lemons.] are of much the greatest efficacy. They are real specifics in that disease, if any thing deserves that name. This was first ascertained and set in a clear light by Dr. Lind. Upon what principle their superior efficacy depends, and in what manner they produce their effect, I am at a loss to determine, never having been able to satisfy my mind with any theory concerning the nature and cure of this disease, nor hardly indeed of any other. An ingenious treatise has been published on this subject by Dr. Milman, to which I refer the reader, meaning to confine myself in this work chiefly to what is practical.

Every person who has beheld with attention and feeling the tedious and languishing series of suffering which the sick and recovering endure for want of the means of supporting and recruiting their strength and spirits, must wish that those who preside in the civil department of the navy would seriously consider this subject, and complete the reform that has already been begun.

With regard to the victualling of men in health, a most commendable attention has been paid to the improvement of it. The ordinary articles of victualling have not only been of excellent quality, but some new articles have been added, from which the greatest benefit has been derived. The chief of these are sour krout and melasses. The latter was first brought into use by Captain Ferguson in the beginning of the late war. He ordered it to be served with rice to the men who were affected, or threatened with the scurvy, in the ship under his command. The benefit experienced from it in this and other instances was so great, that during the last two years of the war it was made a regular article of sea victualling, and substituted in place of a certain proportion of oatmeal[66 - In the course of the passage from England to the West Indies in February, 1782, the following directions for using the sour krout and melasses were given in public orders by the Admiral to the different ships of the squadron:“The allowance of sour krout made by the public boards in England, is two pounds to each man every week; and the Admiral orders that from a pound and a half to two pounds (beginning with the lesser quantity, and increasing as the men may find it palatable) be boiled with every gallon of pease on a pease day. The cooks are desired not to wash it, nor to put it into the coppers till the pease are sufficiently broken. “Half a pound is directed to be issued raw to each man on beef days, and a quarter of a pound on pork days. It is recommended that the allowance of vinegar be saved, particularly on meat days. When sour krout runs short, the pease and beef days to have the preference; when shorter still, the pease days. Melasses having been allowed in lieu of part of the oatmeal, in the proportion of eleven pounds to two gallons, the Admiral directs, that a pound of melasses be boiled with every gallon of oatmeal on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, mixing it and stirring it round with the burgoo immediately after it is drawn off. He directs that half a pound of melasses be issued with every three pounds of flour over and above the common proportion of raisins; and to prevent any abuse, it is directed that the purser’s steward pour it into the platter with the flour of which the pudding is made. The Admiral forbids the use of pease in lieu of oatmeal, as has sometimes been the practice.”These rules were suggested by Sir Charles Douglas, captain of the fleet, whose benevolence is equal to his known professional skill; and he had ascertained the utility of the preceding directions when captain of the Duke in the former part of the war.].

As bread is one of the principal articles of diet, the utmost care should be taken in preserving it, and great advantage would arise from stowing it in casks that are water tight, instead of keeping it in bags, or letting it lie loose in the bread room. Captain Cook, by this method, and by giving it a cast in the oven in the course of the voyage, preserved his biscuit found in every respect for more than three years. But the greatest improvement in this article of diet would be to have, in the form of flour, a greater proportion of what is now allowed in bread. The flour might be made into puddings, and seems, in this form, to be more nutritious and antiscorbutic than biscuit which has undergone a strong force of fire. This sort of mess would be still more proper and agreeable now that melasses is a stated article of diet. Flour, by being well pressed and rammed, will keep as long as biscuit, and it can be stowed in one fifth part of the space; it will, therefore, cost much less in freight than the same quantity of it in that form, and it may be baked abroad if necessary[67 - In the French ships of war there is an oven large enough to supply not only all the officers and sick, but part of the crew, with soft bread every day. The advantages attending the use of flour in place of bread are so great and obvious, that the former will probably, in time, be substituted entirely for the latter. There is a proof of its being practicable to use it in place of bread in British ships of war, even with their present conveniences, communicated to me by Captain Caldwell. When he commanded the Agamemnon, of 64 guns, at New York, in the end of 1782, there happened to be no bread in store to supply that ship on her passage to the West Indies, and flour was given in place of it. The men, without any inconvenience, were able to bake it into bread for themselves, and it proved so salutary, that Captain Caldwell ascribed the uncommon degree of health which his men enjoyed to the use of the flour. The only objection that can be made to it is the greater consumption of wood occasioned by baking; but this may be obviated by adopting the grates invented by Mr. Brodie, in which the ovens are heated by the same fire with which the victuals are boiled.]. Malt, by being well rammed, may also be preserved for a great length of time.

Of all the former articles of sea victualling, there was none more abused than oatmeal. The quantity allowed to each man was twice as much as he could consume, and the overplus went to the purser’s profits, or was wasted by being given to the hogs, or even wantonly thrown overboard. Melasses have, with great advantage, been substituted for part of it, in the proportion of eleven pounds for two gallons of oatmeal. The first trial of melasses was in the[68 - Mr. Napeane, afterwards Under Secretary of State, was at that time purser of the Foudroyant, and acted a very benevolent and disinterested part, by being instrumental in introducing this reform in the navy victualling.] Foudroyant, and it answered so well, that, in a cruise under Admiral Geary in 1780, this was the only ship free from the scurvy, and out of two thousand four hundred men that were landed at the hospital with this disease, there were none from this ship. It appears to be so similar in its nature and effects to essence of malt, that it seems hardly worth while for Government to be at the expence of providing the latter.

A certain proportion of barley has also of late been substituted for part of the oatmeal, which being more light and palatable, makes a pleasing variety, particularly to the sick and recovering. Captain Cook carried wheat with him, and found it to answer equally well. Might not potatoes also be a proper and salutary substitute, as they will keep a considerable length of time in a warm climate, and they have been successfully employed in their raw state for the cure of scurvy? It would not be right, however, to abolish oatmeal entirely; for there is a certain preparation of it which is an antiscorbutic of equal efficacy with any whatever, except the juice of lemons and oranges. This is flummery, or sowins, which is prepared by letting oatmeal and water stand together till they grow acidulous, and then boiling them into a jelly. I know of some well-attested instances of the crews of ships being saved from the scurvy by this alone.