It appears that the greatest mortality i_Observations on the Diseases of Seamen

of the fluxes, of which the greatest number sent to hospitals are such

as have languished for some time under this disease, in which state it

generally proves fatal in the West Indies, in consequence of incurable

ulcers in the great intestines, to which the heat of the climate, as

well as the scorbutic habit and sea diet, is particularly unfavourable.

But the whole of the mischief arising from it does not appear in the

table; for it was the most apt of any disease to supervene upon other

complaints which were under cure at the hospital. It more particularly

attacked those who were recovering from the scurvy, and was the cause

of the greater number of deaths under this head in the table. It was

found to be more contagious than fevers, either because the men’s

constitutions were more predisposed to it, or, perhaps, because the

infectious matter of it being more gross and less volatile, it is not

so readily dissipated by the heat of the climate; for, either from

this, or some other circumstance, infectious fevers are not so easily

generated, nor so apt to spread, as in Europe. That these fluxes were

owing to infection may be inferred from hence, that, when men ill of

the scurvy were cured on board of the ships they belonged to, they

were not liable to this disease, neither did they prevail at these

hospitals afterwards, when great care was taken to separate infectious

diseases from the others.

The only regular hospital on this station is that at Antigua. This

island being the seat of the royal dock yard, there is an established

hospital in time of peace as well as war. It so happened, that great

fleets never came here to put their sick and wounded on shore, as at

Barbadoes; so that the greater number of those received into it were

from single ships that came to careen. As there was, therefore, less

necessity for crowding, and as the slighter cases could be admitted,

there was a less proportion of deaths here than at most of the other

hospitals.

There were two other establishments for the reception of the sick and

wounded on this station, but they were only temporary. These were at

St. Lucia and St. Christopher’s, where the men being received in great

numbers at a time from large fleets, and as there were accommodations

only for the most urgent cases, the mortality approached more nearly

to that of Barbadoes. There died at St. Christopher’s, in the years

1780 and 1781, in the proportion of one in six, and at St. Lucia, in

the same time, one in five and a half, or two in eleven. The air of

the hospital at St. Lucia was remarkably pure, and this degree of

mortality was owing to the sick having been accommodated in tents and

huts. In the two last years of the war, when an hospital was built, and

regularly established, the mortality was not much above one half of

this.

Some authors have endeavoured to form an estimate of the success of

practice from the different rates of mortality; but this is extremely

fallacious; for the fatality of diseases will depend on their violence,

the proportion of deaths being very different in cases that are slight,

from what it is in those that are dangerous. We shall take a view,

however, of the hospital at Barbadoes at another period, in which

there seemed little or no difference in the violence of the disease,

and when the superior success seemed to be owing to the hospital’s not

being so crowded, and to the better attendance and treatment of the

sick. The following is a view of the diseases that were admitted in

the last three months of the year 1782, the greater part of which were

landed from the reinforcement of eight ships of the line that joined

the fleet at Barbadoes in the beginning of December:

+--------------------+-----------+-------+----------------+

+--------------------+-----------+-------+----------------+

| Fevers | 224 | 29 | { 8 |

| | | | NEARLY { |

| Fluxes | 17 | 6 | { 3 |

| | | | |

| Scurvy | 50 | 5 | { 10 |

| | | | ONE IN { |

| Ulcers | 25 | 10 | { 2½ |

| | | | |

| Other Complaints | 46 | 8 | { 6 |

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-NEARLY-{-------+

| Total | 362 | 58 | { 6 |

+--------------------+-----------+-------+----------------+

It happened on this, as on the former occasion, that none were sent on

shore but such as were very ill, or had contagious complaints, the rest

being provided with refreshments on board of their ships. There were no

wounds at this time, but there was a greater proportion of fevers; so

that the complaints, upon the whole, might be said to be about equally

dangerous. The mortality now was, however, considerably less, and this

is to be imputed to the more favourable situation of the hospital,

which I did not allow to be overcrowded; and the men had all manner of

justice done them in point of attendance and accommodation.

I shall give another example of the same kind in the hospital at

Jamaica, when our fleet went there after the battle of the 12th of

April. All the men accounted for here were landed from the fleet under

Lord Rodney in May, June, and July, 1782[26].

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

| Fevers | 224 | 71 | 3 |

| Fluxes | 65 | 23 | 3 |

| Scurvy | 48 | 10 | 5 |

| Ulcers | 92 | 21 | 4 |

| Wounds | 70 | 18 | 4 |

| Other Complaints | 40 | 18 | 2 |

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

| Total | 539 | 161 | 3½|

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

This uncommon degree of mortality was not owing to the bad air of the

place, for Port Royal is naturally as healthy as most parts in that

climate; nor was it owing to bad accommodations, or to neglect of any

kind; but is imputable entirely to this circumstance, that the hospital

being extremely small, those only were sent to it who were very ill.

There were at this time upwards of forty ships of the line at Jamaica,

and an hospital, containing only three hundred beds, could afford but

a very inadequate relief. Some officers are unwilling that any man

should die on board of their ships, for fear of dispiriting the others;

and many were sent to the hospital, in the most desperate stage of

sickness, that they might there die.

There cannot be a stronger proof than this of the fallacy of judging

of the success of practice by the proportion of the deaths; for the

sick on this occasion were better accommodated, better provided for in

every respect, and as regularly attended, as at any other period of my

service in the West Indies, yet the mortality was greater than at any

other time.

Having given instances of the common rate of mortality in hospitals in

Europe and the West Indies, I shall next give examples of the success

we had in North America, when the fleet was there in the autumns of

1780 and 1782.

ACCOUNT of the Sick landed at New York from the West-India Fleet,

consisting of eleven Ships of the Line, in Autumn, 1780.

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

| Fevers | 34 | 9 | 4 |

| Fluxes | 229 | 27 | 9 |

| Scurvy | 433 | 40 | 11 |

| Ulcers | 47 | 8 | 6 |

| Other Complaints | 82 | 10 | 8 |

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

| Total | 825 | 94 | 9 |

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

ACCOUNT of the Sick landed at New York from the West-India Fleet,

consisting of twenty-six Ships of the Line, in Autumn, 1782.

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

| Fevers | 104 | 14 | 7 |

| Fluxes | 131 | 14 | 9 |

| Scurvy | 617 | 30 | 20 |

| Ulcers | 74 | 10 | 7 |

| Other Complaints | 70 | 4 | 17 |

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

| Total | 996 | 72 | 14 |

+--------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

The difference of mortality here, from what occurred in the West

Indies, is partly imputable to climate, and partly to the smaller

number of acute diseases. In the two accounts last stated, the

difference in favour of the latter seemed chiefly to arise from the

superior attention to the sick, and the better treatment of them. It

was mentioned before, that in autumn, 1782, at New York, they were

better supplied, both at hospitals and on board of their ships, with

every thing that could be wished, and that on this occasion almost

every scheme I had proposed was realised. The extraordinary success

in the scurvy was owing to the great quantities of vegetables that

were supplied; for several fields of cabbages had been planted in

the neighbourhood of the hospital for the use of the sick. This was

owing to the humane attention of Admiral Digby, who had also caused

cows to be purchased to supply the hospital with milk. Cleanliness,

and the separation of diseases, were also strictly attended to; and

I am persuaded that many of the scorbutic men were saved by keeping

them separated from the fevers and fluxes; for it has been observed,

that men ill of the scurvy, or recovering from it, are very apt to be

infected, particularly with the flux.

It appears, that the disease in which climate makes the greatest

difference is the flux. It was observable, that though the dysentery

at this time was more fatal on board of the ships at New York than in

the West Indies, yet it was less so at the hospital. The cause of this

seems to be, that the acute state of this disease, of which men die on

board before there is time to remove them to an hospital, is more fatal

in a cold climate; but when it becomes more protracted, which is the

case with most of the cases sent to hospitals, they then do much better

in a cold than in a hot climate.

I shall here subjoin an account of the numbers that were admitted, and

died, during the whole war, at the hospitals of the different parts at

which the fleets I was connected with touched.

+----------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

+----------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

+----------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

| At Gibraltar | 2131 | 203 | 10 |

| Barbadoes | 4604 | 861 | 5 |

| Antigua | 6099 | 914 | 7 |

| St. Lucia | 3363 | 478 | 7 |

| St. Christopher’s | 853 | 142 | 6 |

| Jamaica | 10088 | 1672 | 6 |

| New York | 17880 | 2179 | 7½|

+----------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

| Total | 45018 | 6449 | 7 |

+----------------------+-----------+-------+-------------+

I have been able to calculate the numbers of deaths from disease in

this great fleet, both on board and at hospitals, during the period

of my own service, which was three years and three months, and they

amounted to three thousand two hundred[27] independent of those that

were killed and died of wounds.

There died of disease in the fleet I belonged to, from July, 1780, to

July, 1781, about one man in eight, including both those who died on

board and at hospitals[28]. But the annual mortality in the West-India

fleet, during the last year of the war, that is, from March, 1782,

to March, 1783, was not quite one in twenty[29]. This difference was

partly owing to the general increase of health in fleets as a war

advances, partly to some improvements in victualling, and partly to

better accommodations as well as regulations in what related to the

care of the sick.

Though the mortality in fleets in the West Indies is, upon the whole,

greater than in Europe, yet it has so happened, that, in the late war,

the fleet at home has, at particular periods, been considerably more

sickly than that in the West Indies was at any one time. I was informed

by Dr. Lind, that, when the grand fleet arrived at Portsmouth in

November, 1779, a tenth part of all the men were sent to the hospital.

It appears[30], that in the years 1780 and 1781, a period at which the

fleet in the West Indies was most sickly, the medium of the numbers on

the sick list was one in fifteen, and many of these were very slight

complaints; whereas, in the fleet alluded to in England, the diseases

were mostly fevers, and so ill as actually to be sent to the hospital.

It appears likewise, that there was the greatest proportion of sick in

our fleet when it was on the coast of America in September, 1780[31].

This difference is owing to the greater prevalence of the ship fever,

and of the scurvy, in a cold than in a hot climate.

With regard to the mortality at hospitals, the comparison is greatly in

favour of those in England. This is owing to the greater regularity,

and the better accommodation and diet, which an hospital at home

admits of, as well as to the difference of climate. It has also been

mentioned, that, on most occasions, the hospitals I attended abroad

were so limited as to contain only the worst cases, in consequence of

which there would of course be a greater proportional mortality than

in the great hospitals of England.

The following is an account of the whole loss of lives from disease,

and by the enemy[32], in three years and three months, in the fleets

and hospitals with which I was connected:

Died of disease[33] 3200

Killed in battle 648

Died of wounds 500

----

Total[34] 4348

PART II.

OF THE CAUSES OF SICKNESS IN FLEETS, AND THE MEANS OF PREVENTION.

INTRODUCTION.

In the year 1780 I printed a small treatise for the use of the fleet,

containing general rules for the prevention of sickness; and this part

of the work is chiefly taken from it.

My own opportunities of experience, as exhibited in the preceding

Part, have been sufficiently extensive to suggest many observations on

this subject; but as my object is utility, rather than the praise of

originality, I shall not confine myself to these. Great part of what

is to be advanced is taken from books[35] and conversation, as well as

my own experience, my design being to exhibit a concise view of all

the discoveries on this subject that have come to my knowledge. I have

assumed nothing, however, from mere report or testimony, having had

opportunities, from my own observations, of verifying or disproving the

assertions of others.

More may be done towards the preservation of the health and lives

of seamen than is commonly imagined; and it is a matter not only of

humanity and duty, but of interest and policy.

Towards the forming of a seaman a sort of education is necessary,

consisting in an habitual practice in the exercise of his profession

from an early period of life; so that if our stock of mariners should

come to be exhausted or diminished, this would be a loss that could not

be repaired by the most flourishing state of the public finances; for

money would avail nothing to the public defence without a sufficient

number of able and healthy men, which are the real resources of a

state, and the true sinews of war.

In this view, as well as from the peculiar dependence of Britain on her

navy, this order of men is truly inestimable; and even considering men

merely as a commodity, it could be made evident, in an œconomical and

political view, independent of moral considerations, that the lives and

health of men might be preserved at much less expence and trouble than

what are necessary to repair the ravages of disease.

It would be endless to enumerate the accounts furnished by history

of the losses and disappointments to the public service from the

prevalence of disease in fleets. Sir Richard Hawkins, who lived in the

beginning of the last century, mentions, that in twenty years he had

known of ten thousand men who had perished by the scurvy. Commodore

Anson, in the course of his voyage of circumnavigation, lost more

than four fifths of his men chiefly by that disease. History supplies

us with many instances of naval expeditions that have been entirely

frustrated by the force of disease alone: that under Count Mansfeldt in

1624; that under the Duke of Buckingham the year after; that under Sir

Francis Wheeler in 1693; that to Carthagena in 1741; that of the French

under D’Anville in 1746; and that of the same nation to Louisbourg in

1757[36].

That the health of a ship’s company depends in a great measure upon

means within our power, is strongly evinced by this, that different

ships in the same situation of service enjoy very different degrees of

health. Every one who has served in a great fleet must have remarked,

that out of ships with the same complement of men, who have been the

same length of time at sea, and have been victualled and watered in

the same manner, some are extremely sickly, while others are free from

disease. Is it not naturally to be inferred from hence, that the health

of men at sea depends in a great measure upon circumstances within the

power of officers, and, indeed, upon their exertions, much more than

medical care[37]?

It has appeared in the preceding part of this work, that the diseases

most prevalent among seamen are fevers, fluxes, and the scurvy. These

are indeed some of the most fatal that can attack the human body; but

there is a numerous tribe of complaints, which are also some of the

most severe scourges of human nature, from which they are in a manner

entirely exempt.--These are the diseases to which the indolent and

luxurious are subject, and which so far embitter their life as to

render their portion of worldly enjoyment nearly on a level with that

of the poor and laborious. The diseases alluded to are chiefly the

gout, stomach complaints, hypochondriac and other nervous disorders.

In all countries it is the better sort of people that are most subject

to these; for they are owing to the want of bodily exercise, to the

great indulgence of the senses, and a greater keenness and delicacy in

the passions and sentiments of the mind. Man being formed by nature for

active life, it is necessary to his enjoying health that his muscular

powers should be exercised, and that his senses should be habituated

to a certain strength of impression. Animal and vegetable nature may

be aptly enough compared to each other in this respect; for a tree or

plant brought up in a greater degree of shelter and shade than what is

suitable to its nature, will be puny and sickly; it will neither attain

its natural growth nor strength of fibre, nor will it be able to bear

the influence of the weather, nor the natural vicissitudes of heat and

cold to which it may be exposed.

It is to be remarked, however, that exercise and temperance may be

carried to excess, and that in these there is a certain salutary

medium; for when labour and abstinence amount to hardship, they are

equally pernicious as indulgence and indolence. This is strongly

exemplified in seamen; for, in consequence of what they undergo, they

are in general short lived, and have their constitutions worn out ten

years before the rest of the laborious part of mankind. A seaman, at

the age of forty-five, if shewn to a person not accustomed to be among

them, would be taken by his looks to be fifty-five, or even on the

borders of sixty[38].

The most common chronic complaints which a long course of fatigue,

exposure to the weather, and other hardships, tend to bring on, are

pulmonary consumptions, rheumatisms, and dropsies. It is also to be

considered, that these complaints, particularly the last, are farther

fomented by hard drinking, which is a common vice among this class of

men, and they are led to indulge in it by the rigorous and irregular

course of duty incident to their mode of life.

With regard to gout, indigestion, hypochondriac complaints, and low

spirits, there is something in hard labour of every kind that tends to

avert them, and particularly in that rough mode of it peculiar to a sea

life. There is also something in the harsh sensations from the objects

which seamen are in use to see, hear, and handle, which so modifies

their constitutions and hardens their nerves as to make them little

liable to what may be called the diseases of excessive refinement,

such as those above mentioned. I have, indeed, met with such diseases

at naval hospitals; but I always remarked that they were in landsmen

who had been pressed, and who had been bred to sedentary and indolent

occupations.

The diseases above enumerated, as well as most other chronic

complaints, being the offspring of indolence and luxury, while fevers

and feverish complaints fall equally on all ranks and descriptions

of men, it was a saying of some of the ancients, that acute diseases

were sent from heaven[39]; whereas chronic diseases were of man’s own

creation. But I shall endeavour in the course of this work to evince,

that, with regard to seamen at least, acute diseases are as much

artificial as any others, being the offspring of mismanagement and

neglect; with this difference, that they are imputable not so much to

the misconduct of the sufferers themselves, as of those under whose

protection they are placed.

If I were to add any other complaint to the three already mentioned,

as most prevalent, and peculiar to a sea life, it would be those foul

and incurable ulcers which are so apt to arise at sea, particularly

in a hot climate. The slightest scratch, or the smallest pimple, more

especially on the lower extremities, is apt to spread, and to become

an incurable ulcer, so as to end in the loss of a limb. The nature of

the diet, and the malignant influence of the climate, both conspire in

producing them.

The diseases most frequent and prevalent at sea have this advantage,

that they are more the subjects of prevention than most others, because

they depend upon remote causes that are assignable, and which increase

and diminish according to certain circumstances, which are in a great

measure within our power.

The prevention of diseases is an object as much deserving our attention

as their cure; for the art of physic is at best but fallible, and

sickness, under the best medical management, is productive of great

inconvenience, and is attended with more or less mortality. The means

of prevention are also more within our power than those of cure; for

it is more in human art to remove contagion, to alter a man’s food

and cloathing, to command what exercise he is to use and what air he

is to breathe, than it is to produce any given change in the internal

operations of the body. What we know concerning prevention is also more

certain and satisfactory, in as much as it is easier to investigate the

external causes that affect health than to develope the secret springs

of the animal œconomy.

This part of the work, therefore, is chiefly addressed to those who

direct the navy either in a civil or military capacity; for the general

health of ships depends so much upon the victualling and manning in

the first instance, and, afterwards, on the degree of discipline and

order which are kept up, that I am persuaded that a certain degree of

attention on their part would almost entirely eradicate disease from

our fleets.

Several remarks in this part of the work will be found so obvious,

that it might seem superfluous to mention them. But it has been my

intention to omit nothing that I have heard of or observed as a matter

of ascertained utility, and, I believe, the most experienced will find

either something new, or what they had not before sufficiently attended

to. Though the design of it is that of being extensively useful, yet my

trouble would be compensated, should it prove the means of health and

comfort to a single ship’s company; nay, I should not repent my labour,

could I enjoy the conscious certainty of its being the means of saving

the life of one brave and good man.

The prevention of disease has relation only to the external causes that

affect health, and I shall consider these under the four heads of

I. AIR,

II. ALIMENT,

III. EXERCISE,

IV. CLOATHING.

CHAP. I.

AIR.

Under this head I shall not only consider the natural state of the air

of the atmosphere in point of heat and cold, moisture and dryness,

purity and corruption, but also the different artificial impregnations

of it from the holds or other parts of a ship, or from the persons of

men who have been neglected in point of cleanliness.

The common air of the atmosphere at sea is purer than on shore, which

gives to a sea life a very great advantage over a life at land. This

advantage is still greater in the tropical regions, where the land

air, especially such as proceeds from woods and marshes, is so fatal,

and where the heat is also considerably less at sea than on shore. But

this superior purity of the air at sea is more than counterbalanced

by the artificial means of propagating diseases on board of a ship.

Since a sea life, however, has this great natural advantage to health,

the causes of disease peculiar to it are chargeable rather to the

mismanagement of men than to any thing unavoidable in nature; and we

are from this encouraged to exert our endeavours in removing them.

The effects of land air, however, are not to be neglected by those who

are studious of preserving the health of a ship’s company, for seamen

are exposed to it in various ways while they are in harbour; and this

is what we shall first treat of.

SECT. I.

Of the noxious Effects of LAND AIR in particular Situations.

All the diseases incident to a fleet, except the scurvy, are more

apt to arise in a harbour than at sea, and particularly the violent

fevers peculiar to hot climates. There are generally woods and marshes

adjacent to the anchoring places in the West Indies, and the men are

exposed to the bad air proceeding from thence, either in consequence of

the ship’s riding to leeward of them, or of people’s going on shore on

the duties of wooding and watering. Instances of this, without number,

might be adduced from the accounts of voyages to all the tropical

countries. Our fatal expeditions to the Bastimentos, and to Carthagena,

in former wars, are striking proofs of it; and we have seen the same

effects, though in a much less degree, while the fleet was at Jamaica

in 1782.

I have known a hundred yards in a road make a difference in the

health of a ship at anchor, by her being under the lee of marshes in

one situation, and not in the other[40]. Where people at land are so

situated, as not to be exposed to the air of woods and marshes, but

only to the sea air, they are equally healthy as at sea. There was a

remarkable instance of this on a small island, called Pidgeon Island,

formerly described, where forty men were employed in making a battery,

and they were there from June to December, which includes the most

unhealthy time of the year, without a man dying, and with very little

sickness among them, though they worked hard, lived on salt provisions,

and had their habitations entirely destroyed by the hurricane. During

this time near one half of the garrison of St. Lucia died, though in

circumstances similar in every respect, except the air of the place,

which blew from woods and marshes.

The duties of wooding and watering are so unwholesome, that negroes,

if possible, should be hired to perform them. In general, however, the

employing of seamen in filling water and cutting wood is unavoidable,

but it should be so managed as not to allow them, on any account,

to stay on shore all night; for, besides that the air is then more

unwholesome, men, when asleep, are more susceptible of any harm, either

from the cold or the impurity of air, than when awake and employed.

As the service necessarily requires that men should be on shore more

or less, however unwholesome the air may be, means are to be used

to prevent its pernicious impressions on the body. Certain internal

medicines, such as bitters, aromatics, and small quantities of

spirituous liquors, tend to preserve the body from its bad effects.

Of the bitters, Peruvian bark is, perhaps, the best; and there is a

well-affected instance of its efficacy in the account given by Mr.

Robertson of a voyage in the Rainbow to the coast of Africa; and by

the same means Count Bonneval and his suite escaped sickness in the

camps in Hungary, while half of the army were cut off by fevers. In

consequence of Mr. Robertson’s representation of the effects of bark

in curing and preventing the fevers of that climate, the ships of

war fitted out for the coast of Guinea have been supplied with it

gratuitously, and Government would find its account in extending this

bounty to all the tropical stations.

We have seen, in the former part of this work, that the fever produced

by the impure air of marshes may not appear for many days after the

noxious principle, whatever it is, has been imbibed; men having been

sometimes seized with it more than a week after they had been at sea.

It naturally occurs, therefore, that something may be done in the

intermediate time to prevent the effects of this bad air; and nothing

is more adviseable than to take some doses of Peruvian bark, after

clearing the bowels by a purgative. Some facts, related in the first

part of this work, show that an interval of ten days or a fortnight may

elapse between the imbibing of the poison and its taking effect. And,

in order to guard against the diseases of this climate in general, it

would be more proper to take some large doses of bark once in either

of these periods, than to make a constant practice of taking a little,

as I have known some people do, by which they may also render their

body in some measure insensible to its good effects. I knew a physician

of some eminence in the West Indies, who always enjoyed uninterrupted

health, and he imputed it to his taking from half an ounce to an ounce

of bark every change and full of the moon, as he thought that fevers

of the intermitting and remitting kind, were more apt to occur at

these periods. Whether this idea be well founded or not, the practice

is proper, upon the other principle that has been mentioned, and the

phases of the moon will at least serve as an aid to the memory.

The spices of the country, such as capsicum and ginger, for which

nature has given the inhabitants of the torrid zone an appetite, have

also been found powerful in fortifying the body against the influence

of noxious air. Either these, or the bark, or similar substances, of a

bitter and aromatic nature, given in a glass of spirits to men going

upon unwholesome duty, have been found to have a powerful effect in

preventing them from catching the fevers of the climate. The practice

may be thought too troublesome in the hurry of service in a great

fleet; and I in general avoid mentioning any thing but what is easily

practicable, and highly important to the body of seamen at large; but

such a precaution may be of service at least to officers, or to a

ship’s company, when service is easy, or on a small scale.

But besides the poisonous effluvia of woods and marshes, the sensible

qualities of the air are also to be attended to. If I were required to

fix on the circumstances most pernicious to Europeans, particularly

those newly arrived in the West Indies, I would say, that they are too

much bodily exercise in the sun, and sleeping in the open air; and the

practices most hurtful next to these are, intemperance in drinking,

and bad hours. The sickness and mortality among new comers may, in

general, be imputed to some one of these causes. It is in favour of

this opinion that women are not subject to the same violent fevers as

the other sex, which is probably owing to their not giving into the

above-mentioned irregularities.

The last direction I shall mention with regard to the preservation of

health in a harbour is, that the ship should be made to ride with a

spring on the cable, that the side may be turned to the wind, whereby

a free ventilation will be produced, and the foul air from the head,

which is the most offensive part, will not be carried all over the

decks, as it must be when the ship rides head to wind.

Having little experience of my own with regard to diseases at sea in

cold climates, I cannot recommend any particular precautions; but

Dr. Lind thinks that garlick infused in spirits is one of the best

preservatives against the bad effects of cold and wet. The French ships

of war are furnished with great quantities of garlick as an article

of victualling, and its effects seem to be very salutary. It would

appear, that substances of this kind are very conducive to health in

hot climates also. I was informed by Capt. Caldwell, that, when he

commanded a sloop of war on the coast of Guinea, he was supplied with

a large quantity of shalots by a Portuguese about the time he left the

coast, and his men were remarkably healthy on the passage to the West

Indies, while the other ships in company, who wanted this supply, were

very sickly.

But besides the obvious and sensible qualities of the air above

mentioned, there are certain obscure properties which we do not

understand, and which we find difficult to investigate; for there are

diseases prevailing in certain places which seem to depend on some

latent state of the air. Of this kind is the complaint of the liver,

so common in the East Indies, yet almost entirely unknown in the West

Indies; and in the West Indies there are certain diseases which prevail

in one island and not in another; such as the _elephantiasis_[41]

of Barbadoes, which is an affection of the lymphatics peculiar to

that island. In the climates of Europe there are also certain obscure

conditions of the air that favour one epidemic more than another, and

in some years more than others[42]. All this is very mysterious to us;

and although we could detect these properties of the air, we probably

could not prevent their bad effects, since man must every where breathe

the air, whatever its qualities may be.

SECT. II.

Of FOUL AIR from the Neglect of Cleanliness in Men’s Persons--INFECTION.

Nature has wisely so contrived our senses and instincts, that the

neglect of cleanliness renders a person loathsome and offensive to

himself and others, thereby guarding against those fatal diseases that

arise from bodily filth. The noxious air we speak of is generated

by men keeping the same clothes too long in contact with the body,

while they are at the same time confined and crowded in small and

ill-ventilated apartments. Such is the origin of the jail fever,

otherwise called the ship and hospital fever; and it seems to be with

reason that Dr. Cullen ascribes the low, nervous fever of Britain to

a similar origin, being caused, as he thinks, by an infection of a

milder kind, arising in the clothes and houses of the poor, who, from

slovenliness or indigence, neglect to change their linen, and air

their houses.

Man is evidently more subject to disease than any other species of the

animal creation, owing partly to the natural feebleness of his frame,

but still more perhaps to the artificial modes of life which his reason

leads him to adopt. There is no circumstance of this kind by which

health is more affected than by clothing. Some of the most fatal and

pestilential diseases are produced and communicated by it; for we see

that the greater number of fevers, particularly those of the low and

malignant sort, may be traced to the want of personal cleanliness.

There are few subjects more mysterious and difficult of investigation

than this of infection. The origin of specific contagions, such as

the small pox and the venereal disease, seems to be almost beyond the

reach of a conjecture; and why all the contagions we know, excepting

that of the bite of a mad dog, should be confined to one species of

animal, their effects not being communicable to any other, is equally

unaccountable. Why is the body incapable of being affected more

than once by certain morbid poisons; and whence comes the striking

and curious differences of susceptibility to infection in different

individuals at the same time, and of the same individual at different

times?

It would appear that the infection of fever, which we are chiefly to

consider here, does not, like some of the diseases above mentioned,

depend on the continued propagation of a certain poison, but that it

may spontaneously arise from a concurrence of circumstances, producing

a long stagnation of the effluvia of the body on the clothes, for want

of clean linen, while people are excluded from the free air, as in

jails, hospitals, or ships.

In order, therefore, to preserve the crews of ships from such diseases,

means should be taken not only to prevent the introduction of infection

already existing, but to prevent the generation of it on board.

1. Means of preventing the Introduction of Infection.

War being a state of violence and confusion, in which the hurry and

emergency of service may be such as to render it impossible to put

in practice all the rules which might be laid down concerning the

preservation of health, yet it is necessary that those who direct

the navy, either in a civil or military capacity, should be aware of

the causes of sickness and mortality, in order to guard against them

as far as is practicable. From an indolent acquiescence in this idea

of the hardships and inconveniences of war being unavoidable, I have

known neglect to arise in the conduct of officers with regard to those

under their command, as if it was not the duty of a commander to employ

his utmost attention to alleviate the misfortunes and mitigate the

sufferings of his fellow creatures; and we have seen that much more

of the calamities of war arise from disease than from the sword. The

like excuse might be framed for the neglect of stores and arms, which,

the hurry of service might equally expose to injury. We see, indeed,

infinite pains taken to prevent cordage from rotting, and arms from

rusting; but however precious these may be as the necessary resources

of war, it will not be disputed that the lives of men are still more

so; yet, though there is the additional inducement of humanity to

watch over the health of men, I do not think that this, in general, is

studied with a degree of attention equal to what is bestowed on some

inanimate objects.

Ships of war are exposed to infection chiefly by receiving such men

as have been raised by pressing, who are frequently confined in

guardships, under such circumstances of bad air and bodily filth

as tend to generate the most virulent infection. The service also

requires sometimes that men be received from jails, and they are either

criminals delivered over by the civil jurisdiction of the country,

or captives who have been restored by the enemy after a course of

confinement in their prisons. It may happen too, as we have seen[43],

that the enemy, who are made prisoners at sea, may have infection about

them, and will communicate it the more readily that they are strangers.

There are few fevers but what are infectious at some stage or other of

the disease; but it is not necessary that fever should actually exist

in order to create infection. In the most violent and pestilential

fevers, such as have sometimes originated in the jails of England, the

persons who communicated them were not affected with it themselves[44].

Infection, like some other poisons, does not affect those who are

accustomed to it, and therefore those who are in the habit of being

exposed to it frequently escape its bad effects, especially if it is

gradually applied, as must be the case with those about whose persons

it is generated. For the like reason, physicians and nurses are less

susceptible than others; and strangers, who are accustomed to a pure

air, are the most susceptible of any. It is observed by Dr. Short,

that contagious epidemics are more frequent and fatal in the country

than in London, and this may probably be accounted for on the same

principle; for every person in a great town is exposed to the breath

and effluvia of others, and to a variety of putrid exhalations, which

are unavoidable where multitudes inhabit together; but they are so

used to them, that they are not affected by them; whereas in the

country, where people are less accustomed to each other’s company,

and less used to impure air in general, they are the more readily

affected when infection is introduced among them. It may even admit

of a doubt if any society of men, living together, are entirely free

from morbid contagion. It certainly sometimes happens, that a ship,

with a long-established crew, shall be very healthy; yet, if strangers

are introduced among them, who are also healthy, sickness will be

mutually produced. This principle in the human constitution, by

which the presence of strangers affects it, is well illustrated by a

fact[45], founded on the best testimony, that, in one of the small

western islands of Scotland, which is so remote, that the inhabitants

are frequently without any communication with strangers for several

months together; they become so susceptible, in consequence of this

long interruption of intercourse, that they are seized with a catarrh

when strangers of any description come among them. It was said before,

that cleanliness was founded on a natural aversion to what is unseemly

and offensive in the persons of others; and there seems also to be

implanted in human nature, for the same purpose, an instinctive horror

at strangers, as is visible in young children and uncultivated people.

In the early ages of Rome, one word signified both a stranger and an

enemy[46].

These observations naturally suggest several useful and practical

remarks. It would appear that the utmost attention is necessary not

only to guard against the actual presence of disease, but to be

jealous of all new draughts of men, especially if they should come

from guardships, jails, or tenders, and have been turned over from

ships where disease is known to have prevailed; nay, that it is best

to avoid mixtures of any kind.

The infection of fevers seems different from most others in this,

that it is very various in its degrees of virulence. There is reason

to think that the poison of the small pox, and that of the venereal

disease, are in their own nature invariable, and that the difference

of these diseases, in point of malignancy, depends on the constitution

and other circumstances of those affected; whereas that of fevers

being of different degrees of activity, and being frequently obscure

and latent, is, on that account, the more treacherous, and ought to be

watched with the greater circumspection.

The mode of manning the navy by pressing, I take it for granted, is

unavoidable; at any rate, it would not become me to arraign a practice

which has had the public sanction for ages. It is, however, one of

the principal means both of generating and spreading the seeds of

disease, in consequence of the indiscriminate seizure of men for the

public service, and the confinement that is necessary to secure them.

And as the exigences of the service make it necessary to admit persons

of every description, there is no other remedy for this evil but to

annihilate, if possible, the contagion that may thus be conveyed into

ships of war. This is done by stripping and washing the new recruits

who may be suspected of importing infection; also by cutting off their

hair, clothing them with new clothes, and destroying the old, before

they are allowed to mix with the ship’s company in which they are to

enter.

Those who have put these methods strictly in practice, have been

sensible of their great utility; and the most exact attention is

necessary, as a single infected man, or even any part of his clothing,

may spread sickness through a whole ship’s company. When we reflect

what havock an infectious fever sometimes makes in a ship, it will

appear how very important this fort of attention is; and when the

cause of the sickliness of particular ships is traced to its source,

it will generally be found to have originated from taking on board

infected men at Spithead, or wherever else the ship’s company may have

been completed.

After the first edition of this part of the work was printed, an

excellent institution was established at Portsmouth for the prevention

of infection. A ship was appointed for the reception of the recruits

of the fleet to which they were carried, to be stripped, washed, and

provided with new apparel, before they joined their respective ships.

This had a visible good effect on the health of the fleet; and it was

planned and executed by Sir Charles Middleton, Comptroller of the Navy,

whole unwearied assiduity, as well as integrity and ability in that

important post, claim the highest praise and gratitude from his country.

It follows farther, from the preceding observations, that there is a

sort of risque in mixing two different sorts of men, even when there

is no actual disease or suspicion of infection; for, whether it is from

dormant infection, or merely from the circumstance of change of air,

such mixtures are known from experience to be sometimes productive

of sickness. The late Admiral Boscawen was so sensible of this, that

he avoided it, unless when some evident utility or necessity of

service made it proper; and upon this principle he used to resist the

solicitation of captains when they requested to carry men from one ship

to another upon changing their commands.

One probable reason, among others, for ships of the line being more

sickly than frigates or smaller ships is, that in greater numbers there

is a greater chance of men of various descriptions and modes of life

being mixed together.

2. Means of preventing the Production of Infection.

The infection of fever is not always imported from without, but may

be originally and spontaneously generated on board. The causes of

this, as mentioned before, are want of personal cleanliness, and also

confinement and crowding in close apartments.

In order to promote cleanliness, care should be taken that every man,

on his first entering into the service, be provided with a proper

change of linen, and that a frequent muster and review be made, in

order to inspect their persons, and to examine their stock of apparel.

A true seaman is in general cleanly, but the greater part of men in

a ship of war require a degree of compulsion to make them so; and

such is the depravity of many, that it is common enough for them to

dispose of their clothes for money to purchase spirituous liquors. A

muster and review, therefore, wherein men should be obliged once in

the week to present themselves clean before their officers, and to

produce a certain necessary quantity of clean apparel, would conduce

both to sobriety and cleanliness. The exertion of authority, and the

infliction of punishment, is so far from being considered by the men

as a hardship, that they expect it; and it is the duty of an officer,

as it is of a parent to a child, to constrain those entrusted to his

care to perform what is for their good. It is common also for men to

lay up their clothes in a wet and unwashed state, which in time is

productive of the most offensive and unwholesome vapours; and this can

be prevented only by their chests and bags being frequently inspected

by their superiors.

It must be evident to any one who reflects on this subject, that a

regulation of this kind is as necessary as any other part of duty; and

it deserves to be made an article in the public instructions, instead

of being left to the discretion of officers. This sort of discipline

is particularly necessary in ships of the line, in which one cause of

the greater unhealthiness is the difficulty of taking cognizance of

so great a number; for, unless some regular method, as by muster, is

established, there will be men who will escape notice, and skulk below,

indulging in laziness and filth.

The good sense and humanity of many captains in the late war, led

them to adopt certain methodical regulations for the preservation of

cleanliness and order. The only public sanction given to this sort of

discipline, was that of Lord Howe, who gave it in orders to those under

his command, that each ship’s company should be divided into as many

divisions as there were lieutenants, and that these should be divided

into squads, with a midshipman appointed to each; and that the officers

should be respectively responsible for the good order and discipline of

the men assigned to them.

It is an excellent custom, and pretty general in the navy, to allow

the men one day in the week for washing, when the weather and other

circumstances will admit of it. It would be a farther improvement in

the rules of the service to supply sope in the same manner as tobacco

and slops are supplied, that is, to let the men have what quantity

they want from the purser, who is allowed to charge it against their

wages[49].

Next to want of cleanliness, the circumstances most apt to give rise

to infection are, close air and crowding. A certain length of time is

necessary, in order that these should have this effect, and the longer

they take place, the more certainly will infection be produced, and it

will be the more virulent[50].

In order to admit air freely, the ports should be kept open whenever

the weather will permit this to be done. The great objection to free

ventilation is the danger of exposing men to the air in cold climates.

But it fortunately happens, that fire, while it is the most effectual

means of counteracting the cold air, is also the best means of

promoting ventilation; for wherever there is fire, there is a constant

change of air taking place by means of the draught to which it gives

occasion. This cannot be done with safety and convenience in all parts

of the ship; but frequent fires in the lower parts of a ship will prove

extremely salutary by drying up the moisture, and producing a change of

air, and also in a cold climate by the warmth it produces.

The hammocks and bedding should also be aired by exposing them upon

deck, especially after the ports have been long shut in consequence

of bad weather. They cannot be thoroughly aired unless they are

unlashed; and as this could not be conveniently done daily in men of

war, it might be done from time to time by the different divisions

in rotation[51]. When the men come to sleep upon them after these

operations, they experience the same agreeable sensations as from a

change of linen; and this must conduce to health as well as pleasure,

like all other natural and moderate gratifications. It may be farther

remarked in favour of cleanliness, that it is not only directly

conducive to health, but is naturally connected with habits of good

order, sobriety, and other virtues. The most cleanly men are always the

most decent and honest, and the most slovenly and dirty are the most

vicious and irregular.

A ship of war must have a much greater number of men on board than what

are necessary to navigate her; for, besides the marines, a great many

hands are necessary to man the great guns in time of action. For this

reason, there is a greater risque of the inconveniences of overcrowding

than in ships intended for commerce, and therefore much greater

attention is necessary with regard to ventilation and cleanliness.

There is a piece of management which tends also in some measure to

obviate the necessity of crowding. This is to berth the watches

alternately, by which it is meant, that one half of each watch should

lie on different sides, whereby they do not sleep so close, and are not

so much exposed to each other’s breath and to the heat and effluvia of

each other’s bodies. This has the farther advantage of preserving the

trim of the ship.

What has been said of the ship and men in general, applies still more

strongly to the sick, and the berth[52] assigned to them; for there is

nothing so apt to increase, and even generate, contagion, as a number

of sick together, unless uncommon attention is paid to cleanliness

and ventilation. This is so true, that, unless where the complaint is

very catching, it is best not to separate the sick; for if they are a

good set of men on board, those who are confined by sickness will be

better nursed and tended by their messmates than in a sick berth. But

if the state of infection renders separation necessary, the best part

for the accommodation of the sick, in a ship of the line, is under the

forecastle in a warm climate, and on the fore part of the main deck in

a cold one. When they are under the forecastle, however, they ought

to occupy only one side, as they would otherwise be disturbed by the

men who must pass to and from the head, and the men in health would, in

this case, be exposed also to contagion. As infection is most likely

to arise among the sick, attention to cleanliness and air is doubly

requisite where they lie; and it has a good effect to sprinkle hot

vinegar and diffuse its steams among them once or twice a day.

Thus we see that cleanliness and discipline are the indispensable and

fundamental means of health, without which every other advantage and

precaution is thrown away. Government never bestowed more attention

and expence upon the victualling of the navy than during the late war;

but it would be to little purpose to provide the most nourishing and

antiscorbutic diet, the most wholesome and cordial wines, the most

efficacious remedies, and the most skilful physicians and surgeons,

if the men are not constrained to keep their persons sweet, their

clothing and bedding clean, and their berths airy and dry. It is,

therefore, upon officers more than any others that the health of the

fleet depends; and I should be excused in the frequent mention I make

of this, were it known how often I have been the witness of the fatal

effects of the neglect of these rules.

3. Means of eradicating Infection.

When, from a neglect of the means above mentioned, an infectious

fever comes actually to prevail, and the infection, perhaps, adheres

obstinately to the ship in spite of cleanliness, good air, and diet,

and all the other means, which, if employed in due time, would have

prevented it, then some measures are to be taken for eradicating this

subtile poison.

The first step towards this is, to prevent the disease from spreading,

and this is done by separating the sick from the healthy, and cutting

off all intercourse as much as possible. For this end, it is necessary

to appropriate a particular berth to contagious complaints, and not

only to prevent the idle visits of men in health, but to discover and

separate the persons affected with such complaints as soon as possible,

both to prevent them from being caught by others, and because recent

complaints are most manageable and curable. Officers might be very

useful in making an early discovery of complaints, by observing those

who droop and look ill in the course of duty; for seamen think it

unmanly to complain, and have an aversion to be put on the sick list.

I have heard of a method practised in some ships, of keeping a book on

the quarter deck for the officer to mark the names of such men as might

look ill, or might be missed from duty upon calling the roll, in order

to afford the surgeon a means of finding out those who should be the

objects of his care.

Those whose profession it is to superintend the health of the ship,

would find it for their ease and interest, and should consider it as

their duty, to walk over the different decks once a day, or every other

day, in order to make an early discovery of those who may be taken

ill. Though I have laid great stress on the duty of the commander, as

the proper guardian of health, yet his assiduity will not avail unless

the surgeon also does his part, by such acts of attention as I have

mentioned, joined to skill in his profession.

Surgeons are, perhaps, more regarded in our service than in that of

other nations; but it would be for the public benefit if they were

still more respected and encouraged. To men of liberal education

and sentiments, as surgeons ought to be, and generally are, the

most effectual inducements for them to do their duty are flattering

attentions, and a certain degree of estimation in the eyes of their

officers. Liberality of manners, on the part of superiors, is the most

likely means of encouraging a conscientious performance of duty in this

profession; for though strict and distant behaviour may operate upon

the minds of those whose functions are merely mechanical, how can it

infuse that tender attention to human sufferings, and that sense of

duty, which may induce a man entrusted with the health and lives of his

fellow creatures to act his part with propriety and effect?

In order to prevent sickness from spreading, it is not sufficient to

cut off all personal intercourse. The clothes of men are as dangerous

a vehicle of infection as their persons; and it should be a strict and

invariable rule in case of death from fever, flux, or small pox, to

throw overboard with the body every article of clothing and bedding

belonging to it.

Upon the same principle, in case of recovery from any contagious

disease, as it would be too great a waste to destroy the clothes and

beds, they should be smoked, and then scrubbed or washed before the

men join their messes and return to duty. This precaution is the more

necessary, as infection in a ship is extremely apt to be communicated

by bedding, from the custom of stowing the hammocks in the netting, by

which they are brought in contact with each other. This, however, is

an excellent custom, as it not only clears the ship below, and serves

to form a barricade on the gunwale, but tends to air the bedding; and

this salutary effect should not be prevented, except in case of rain,

by the coverings, called hammock-cloths, by the use of which utility is

evidently sacrificed to an excess of neatness.

It sometimes happens that the number of sick in a ship is so great,

that it is not possible to take proper and effectual measures on board

for stopping the progress of disease. But when she can be cleared of

the sick by sending them to an hospital, no pains should be spared to

extirpate the remaining seeds of infection.

For this purpose, let their clothing and bedding be sent along with

them; let their hammocks, utensils, and whatever else they leave

behind, be smoked, and either scrubbed or washed before they are used

by other men, or mixed with the ship’s stores; let the decks, sides,

and beams of their berths, be well washed, scraped, smoked, and dried

by fire; then let them be sprinkled with hot vinegar, and, finally,

white-washed all over with quick lime.

Should any officer object to the trouble and inconvenience of all

this, let him reflect for a moment how much more troublesome and

inconvenient, as well as noisome and disagreeable, sickness itself

proves to be; let him reflect that the efficiency of the ship,

considered as a bulwark of defence, or an engine of annoyance, depends

on the number of healthy hands, and that his own character is to depend

on the exertions to be made by them in the day of battle, not to

mention the attention due from him as a man to the sufferings of the

objects themselves.

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[53], 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[54] 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[55]. 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[56].

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[57] 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[58].

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[59] 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[60] 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[61] 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[62]. 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 [63]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[64] 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 [65]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

[66]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[67] 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[68].

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[69]. 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[70] 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.

Butter is a good article of victualling in so far as it renders that

part of the diet which consists of grain and vegetables more palatable,

and thereby induces men to eat more. But as it is extremely corruptible

in a warm climate, hardly any being used by the seamen but what is

more or less rancid, it should never be sent to a tropical station.

Greater quantities of it are condemned than of any other article of

victualling, and it is therefore the most expensive to Government.

There are certain articles that are the natural produce of the

West-India islands, which may be substituted for it with the greatest

advantage. These are sugar and cocoa[71], which, during the last year

of the war, were served in place of butter with great success, and

this proved an alteration in diet not only salutary, but agreeable

to the seamen, whose inclinations are always to be consulted in such

changes[72].

When a ship is in port, encouragement should be given to the sale

of roots, greens, fruits, and sugar. The men have a good custom of

exchanging part of their bread, beef, and pork, for what they can

get from the shore; but as they in general prefer spirituous liquors

to the above-mentioned articles, the greatest care and vigilance

should be used to preclude men from such opportunities of injuring

themselves[73]. Every ship should be furnished with a seine, and other

implements for fishing, when in harbour.

When captures are made, in which there are such articles as sugar,

wine, rice, or fruits, it would be much better in many cases to allow

the immediate use of them at sea, where the men may be disposed to

scurvy or other diseases, than to wait for the conversion of them into

money.

Though it has been my object to introduce as many articles of diet as

possible, independent of salt provisions, it does not follow that these

are in themselves unwholesome. They are pernicious by being made almost

the sole and exclusive article; but if used in moderate quantity,

they are even in some respects well adapted for the food of seamen.

The nature of their life gives them a strong digestion: in their

duties they not only employ violent exercise, but use more muscles

and a greater variety of postures and motions than men of any other

profession. To such constitutions may not food of a refractory nature

and hard of digestion have even an advantage over what is more delicate

and digestible?

It does not appear that it is the salt quality of the provisions used

at sea that makes them productive of scurvy, but the want of their

native juices and of the nutritious principle. A small quantity of

salt is necessary to make all food palatable and wholesome, in so much

that it is reckoned one of the necessaries of life. All animals have a

craving for sea salt, and nature has kindly made it the most abundant

and universal of all saline bodies. Food, without this seasoning, not

only comes to be loathed, but the want of it renders the animal weak

and flabby. As it not only assists digestion, but invigorates all the

bodily functions by stimulating and bracing the fibres, it is in some

cases a valuable medicine. It is remarkable that men are very apt to

tire of a long continuance of fresh provisions[74], but never of what

is salt; and even under the scurvy the latter will be relished, and

sometimes preferred to most other kinds of food. It has been a practice

with some to make the scorbutic men drink sea water; but though it

is not attended with any manifest benefit, I never heard that it

aggravated the disease.

I was told by the gentlemen of the army at New York in 1780, that the

soldiers in cantonments were not near so subject to agues as the people

of the country; and the only difference in their mode of life was,

that the former had in their allowance a certain, proportion of salt

provisions.

In an unhealthy country I should think a free use of salt, as well

as spice[75], would be salutary; and when ships are in port it would

perhaps be better to allow a certain proportion of salt provisions,

because it would not only be wholesome and agreeable, but the men’s

constitutions would probably be more reconciled to an entire salt diet

when necessary: but I would except from this the crews of such ships

as have newly arrived from a long cruise or voyage, in which it may be

necessary to alter the constitution as quickly as possible by a diet

entirely fresh.

Nothing that I have collected from my own observation, or that of

others, has been neglected under this head, except one particular

caution with regard to the preparation of the victuals. The large

utensils employed to boil the provisions are made of copper, and it

sometimes happens from neglect that these are allowed to contract a

rust, which is one of the most active poisons we know. The neglect

consists chiefly in allowing any thing acid, or what is liable to

become acid, such as gruel or burgoo, to remain for a length of time

without being washed out; for when victuals have been prepared in

the boilers thus uncleaned, they produce the most violent effects,

even to the loss of life, as once happened in a ship belonging to our

fleet[76].

SECT. II. Of DRINK.

As the solid part of sea diet is very dry and hard, and as the salt it

contains is apt to excite thirst, a freer use of liquids than at land

is necessary, particularly in a hot climate.

It has been the custom, as far back as we know, to allow seamen the

use of some sort of fermented liquor. We need hardly inquire if this

is salutary or not; for it would be impossible at any rate to withhold

it, since it is an article of luxury, and a gratification which the

men would claim as their right. There is a great propensity in seamen

to intoxicating liquors, which is probably owing to the hardships

they undergo, and to the variety and irregularity of a sea life. But

there is reason to think that all sorts of fermented liquors, except

distilled spirits, are conducive to health at sea.

There is no doubt that malt liquor is extremely wholesome and

antiscorbutic. The common quantity of small beer allowed daily is so

liberal, that few men make use of their whole allowance; and there is

no objection to the constant use of it, except that it is apt to spoil

in the course of a few weeks, and that upon foreign stations the stock

can seldom be renewed. One of the greatest improvements that could

be made in the victualling of the navy would be the introduction of

porter[77], which can be preserved in any climate for any length of

time that may be necessary.

Spruce beer seems to possess similar and equal virtues with malt liquor

and it has this advantage, that the materials of it can at all times

be carried about and used occasionally. It agrees with malt liquor in

being a fermented vegetable sweet, the principal ingredient of it being

melasses. The other ingredient, from which it takes its name, being a

balsamic substance, seems to be more medicinal and antiscorbutic than

hops, and is therefore, perhaps, preferable to malt liquor. There have

been sufficient proofs of its virtues in single ships; and all the men

of war that go to America and the West Indies might be conveniently

supplied with it. Admiral Pigot provided a sufficient quantity for the

whole fleet; but the peace coming on prevented the trial of it.

The most salutary kind of drink next to malt liquor, and spruce beer,

is wine. The benefit which the fleet derived from it at different

times, and the advantage it has over spirits has been often taken

notice of in the former part of this work. It seems to be owing to this

that the French fleet sometimes enjoys superior health to ours, and

is less subject to the scurvy[78]. Wine is also preferable to every

other medicine in that low fever with which ships are so much infested;

and there is no cordial equal to good wine in recruiting men who are

recovering.

Spirits differ from wine in this respect, that they are a mere chemical

liquor, incapable of assimilation with our fluids, having lost in

distillation the native vegetable principle in which the whole of its

nutritious quality and great part of its medical virtue resides.

The abuse of spirituous liquors is extremely pernicious every where,

both as an interruption to duty, and as it is injurious to health. It

is particularly so in the West Indies, both because the rum is of a bad

and unwholesome quality, and because this species of debauchery is more

hurtful in a hot than in a cold climate.

It is with reason that the new rum is accused of being more unwholesome

than what is old; for, being long kept, it not only becomes weaker and

more mellow by part of the spirit exhaling, but time is allowed for the

evaporation of a certain nauseous empyreumatic principle which comes

over in the distillation, and which is very offensive to the stomach;

therefore, though this is the produce of the West-India islands, yet

what is supplied there is inferior to that which is brought from

England.

It was originally the custom to serve seamen with their allowance of

spirits undiluted. The method now in use, of adding water to it, was

first introduced by Admiral Vernon in the year 1740, and got the name

of _grog_. This was a great improvement; for the quantity of half a

pint, which is the daily legal allowance to each man, will intoxicate

most people to a considerable degree, if taken at once in a pure state.

The superiority of wine over spirits in any shape was so conspicuous,

that towards the end of the war the fleets in the West Indies and

North America were supplied with nothing but wine, and with a success

sufficient to encourage the continuance of the same practice in future.

Of WATER.

As water is a necessary of life, and as the health and comfort of men

at sea depend upon its quality, it deserves particular attention.

Spring water is to be preferred to running or stagnated water; for,

unless it is taken at the source, or near it, it is apt to be

impregnated with decayed vegetable and animal substances, such as

leaves, grass, wood, and dead insects. This inconvenience is greatest

in a hot climate, where every thing teems with life, and where the

materials of putrefaction are both more abundant and more prone to

corruption. This is the most pernicious kind of impurity; for the

mineral impregnations common in springs are seldom, in any degree,

unwholesome, and do not tend, like the other, to make the water

corrupt. At many of the West-India watering places the water is found

stagnated just above high-water mark; and care should be taken to go

higher up to take it where it is running.

The purest water is apt to spoil by producing a putrid glare upon

the inner surface of the cask which contains it. There is a great

difference in this respect between a new cask, especially if made of

moist wood, and that cask which has been hardened and seasoned by age

and use. Several contrivances have been proposed for preparing the

vessels that hold the water; but none have been found by experience so

effectual as letting them stand for some time full of sea water; and it

is a great advantage of this method, that it is so easily practicable.

It is in few places we meet with water such as that of Bristol,

which, in clean vessels, may be kept for any length of time. We may

consider all water kept in wooden vessels as more or less liable to

putrefaction; but there is a substance, which is neither rare nor

costly, that effectually preserves it sweet. This is _quick lime_,

with which every ship should be provided, in order to put a pint of it

into each butt when it is filled. It has the advantage of not being

injurious to health; but, on the contrary, is rather friendly to the

bowels, tending to prevent and check fluxes. In the year 1779 several

ships of the line arrived in the West Indies from England, and they

were all afflicted with the flux, except the Stirling Castle, which

was the only ship in which quick lime was put into the water. Nor does

it spoil the water for any culinary purpose. Its action in preventing

putrefaction consists, in part at least, in destroying vegetable and

animal life. An addition of putrescent matter is produced in water by

the generation of small insects; and the glare that collects on the

sides of casks, and also what collects on the surface of the water, is

a species of vegetation of the order called by naturalists _algæ_[79].

Quick lime is a poison to this species of vegetable life as well as to

insects: but upon whatever principle it depends, the property of it in

preserving water sweet is so well ascertained, that it is inexcusable

ever to neglect the use of it.

Quick lime is equally efficacious for this purpose, whether slacked or

unslacked; and though the latter form is more convenient for stowage,

by having less weight and bulk, yet the other is to be preferred for

the sake of safety; for if water should by chance reach the unslacked

lime, a great degree of heat is thereby produced, which has been known

to give occasion to the most formidable accidents.

The only other objection I know of to the use of quick lime is, that it

converts the water into a lime water, rendering it thereby disagreeable

to the palate and stomach: but the quantity necessary to preserve it

makes but a very weak lime water; for part of the lime is precipitated

by the mephitic air, or the aerial acid, as it is otherwise called, of

which there is some contained in the water. The accidental exposure to

the atmosphere, which also abounds with this sort of air, tends farther

to lessen the acrimony of the quick lime[80].

There are other substances which have been found useful in correcting

bad water. Alum and cream of tartar, as antiseptic bodies, have been

employed for this purpose. Vinegar and the vegetable acid juices and

fruits, such as tamarinds, may be used occasionally to take off the

putrid offensive taste which may have arisen in case the use of quick

lime has been neglected. In the fleet under Sir Charles Saunders, the

water of the river St. Lawrence having been found to produce fluxes,

this quality was removed by throwing four pounds of burnt biscuit into

each cask before it was used. But there is nothing so effectual, and

subject to so few inconveniences, as quick lime.

The next method to be mentioned of purifying water is filtration,

which not only separates the gross impurities, but removes the putrid

smell and taste. It is performed with a dripping stone, which is a

convenient contrivance for officers, but cannot furnish a supply for a

whole ship’s company.

When the water of wells or brooks is found loaded with mud, the

following expeditious method of filtration, described by Dr. Lind, has

been practised with success:--Let a quantity of clean sand or gravel

be put into a barrel placed on one end, without the head, so as to

fill one half or more of it, and let another barrel, with both ends

knocked out, of a much smaller size, (or let it be an open cylinder of

any kind) be placed erect in the middle of it, and almost filled with

sand or gravel. If the impure water be poured into the small barrel or

cylinder, it will rise up through the sand of both barrels, and appear

pure above the sand of the large one in the interval between it and the

small one.

But when water is offensive in consequence of being long kept, the most

effectual and expeditious method of sweetening it is by exposing it

to the air in as divided a state as possible. Boiling will not expel

the putrid effluvia contained in water; but such is the attraction of

air for this offensive matter, that the water need only be thoroughly

exposed to it to be rendered quite sweet. This is best done by a

machine invented by Mr. Osbridge, a lieutenant of the navy. It consists

of a hand pump, which is inserted in a scuttle made at the top of a

cask, and by means of it the water, being raised a few feet, falls

through several sheets of tin pierced like cullenders, and placed

horizontally in a half cylinder of the same metal. The purpose of it is

to reduce the water into numberless drops, which being exposed in this

form to the open air, is deprived of its offensive quality. The same

method will serve to separate the superfluous quick lime in the water.

It is a machine very deservedly in common use, and the working of it is

a moderate and salutary exercise to men in fair weather.

The following contrivance will be found to afford a sufficient supply

of sweet water to particular messes, and may be considered as an

artificial and more expeditious sort of dripping stone.--Let the

narrow mouth of a large funnel be filled with a bit of sponge, over

which let there be a layer of clean gravel or sand covered with a

piece of flannel, and over the whole another layer of sand. Muddy or

offensive water being poured upon this, runs or drops out clear; and

care must be taken to change the sand, sponge, &c. frequently, as they

will become loaded with the impurities of the water[81].

There should be in every ship an apparatus for distilling water in

case of distress. This consists merely of a head and worm adapted to

the common boiler, and distillation may go on while the victuals are

boiling. More than eight gallons of excellent fresh water may be drawn

off in an hour from the copper of the smallest ship of war[82]. I refer

for a more particular account of all this to the works of Dr. Lind,

who was the original inventor and recommender of this method.

This invention seems to have escaped others so long, from the idea that

the _desideratum_ in freshening sea water was some substance to be

added to it while under distillation. No such substance is necessary,

and, the more simple the mode of distillation, the fresher the water

will prove.

Rain water at sea is always pure and wholesome, and may be saved

occasionally by means of a sail or awning.

CHAP. III.

Of CLOTHING.

Nature has made man so defenceless, that even the rudest nations, in

the hottest climates, in general, adopt some sort of covering to guard

themselves from the weather. We may affirm, that clothing is the most

artificial circumstance in the life of man; and there is none, of which

the errors subject him to more inconvenience and hardship. Insensible

perspiration is performed by the pores of the skin, and being one of

the most important functions of the body, the suppression of it seems

to be one of the principal causes, or at least one of the most frequent

attendants on feverish and inflammatory complaints; and one of the most

common causes of this suppression is the application of cold to the

skin.

In order to keep up perspiration, it is necessary that the orifices

of the pores of the skin should be bathed, as it were, in the vapour

already secreted from them; and clothing seems to act in confining

this, as well as in preventing the escape of the natural heat and the

access of the external air. Though the air should not be cold, it will

check perspiration by carrying off this vapour and drying the skin.

In the warmest climates exposure of the skin to the external air is

unsafe; for it not only produces a feverish and uneasy sensation at

the time, but occasions the most dangerous internal disorders. In

consequence of the great sensibility and sympathy of the body, and from

the pores of the skin being open in a warm climate, exposure is in some

respects even more dangerous than in a cold one. Nothing is more apt to

bring on the locked jaw and tetanus than sleeping in the open air; and

it was observed in Jamaica, that when it was the custom to wear cotton

and linen clothes, the dry belly-ache was much more common than now

that it is the custom to wear woollen cloth.

We know besides, that the pores of the skin can absorb not only the

moisture that floats in the atmosphere, but a variety of foreign

bodies, whether noxious or medicinal, which may be applied to their

orifices; and as the air is in certain places loaded with noxious

matter, may not clothing be considered as a filter, as it were, to

separate the impurities of the air before it comes in contact with the

surface of the body?

It is therefore every where of the utmost consequence that sufficient

and suitable clothing should be provided.

It would certainly be for the benefit of the service that an uniform

should be established for the common men as well as for the officers.

This would oblige them at all times to have in their possession

a quantity of decent apparel, subject to the inspection of their

superiors. It would also be less easy to dispose of their clothes for

money without detection, and desertion would also thereby be rendered

more difficult.

It is of great consequence that the purser should lay in a sufficient

stock of clothing and bedding suited to the climate for which the

ship is destined, in order that there may be a sufficient supply

after having been on a distant station for a certain length of time.

I have known men suffer the greatest inconvenience and hardship, and

infectious diseases kept up, from the neglect of this.

The greatest evil connected with clothing is the infection generated

by wearing it too long without shifting; for to this cause we have

attributed the jail, hospital, or ship fever. The great importance of

cleanliness appeared when we were treating of infection, from whence we

may judge of what consequence it is that men should be provided with a

shift of linen, as that part of the clothing which is in contact with

the skin is most likely to harbour infection[83].

As clothing is not the gift of nature, being left to man’s own reason,

it is subject to caprice, and thereby productive of inconvenience

and disease. The necessity of it depends very much upon habit, like

every thing else relating to the human body, and therefore sudden and

unseasonable changes of apparel are very unsafe to health. It is also

found that a partial exposure of the body is more pernicious than a

general exposure. If I were writing for the more delicate part of the

world, I should illustrate this by the danger of exposing the feet

alone to cold or wet. It is seldom that seamen are susceptible to so

great a degree, for their hardy and exposed life steels them against

such impressions. But there is another circumstance which renders it of

the utmost consequence to defend the feet against external injury. It

frequently happens, that, without any visible symptoms of scurvy, the

constitutions of seamen are such, that, upon the least scratch being

received on the feet or legs, a large spreading incurable ulcer arises;

which sometimes ends in the loss of a limb; but at any rate disables

them from duty till a cure can be effected by the use of a fresh and

vegetable diet, or a change of climate. Next to acute diseases and

scurvy, this is the most destructive complaint incident to a sea life,

particularly in a hot climate; and I have known great numbers of good

men thereby lost to the service. It is, therefore, of the utmost

consequence that men should not only be supplied with shoes, but be

obliged to wear them, which is found to require a degree of compulsion;

for in the West Indies it is observed that seamen always wish to go

barefooted.

It appears that the greatest mortality in any class of disease was that