BEFORE we proceed farther in the buſineſs of this day, permit me to acquaint you with the judgment of your Council, in the diſpoſal of Sir GODFREY COPLEY'S medal; an office I have undertaken at their requeſt, and with the greater ſatisfaction, as I am confident you will be no leſs unanimous in giving your approbation, than they have been in addreſſing you for it upon this occa⯑ſion. For though they were not inſenſible of the juſt title that ſeveral of the Papers, compoſing the preſent vo⯑lume of your Tranſactions, had to your particular notice, yet they did not heſitate in preferring that which I pre⯑ſented to you from Captain COOK, giving An account of the method he had taken to preſerve the health of the crew of his Majeſty's ſhip the Reſolution during her late voyage [2]round the world ^*. Indeed I imagine that the name alone of ſo worthy a member of this Society would have in⯑clined you to depart from the ſtrictneſs of your rules, by conferring upon him that honour, though you had re⯑ceived no direct communication from him; conſidering how meritorious in your eyes that perſon muſt appear, who hath not only made the moſt extenſive, but the moſt inſtructive voyages, who hath not only diſcovered, but ſurveyed, vaſt tracts of new coaſts, who hath diſpelled the illuſion of a terra auſtralis incognita, and fixed the bounds of the habitable earth, as well as thoſe of the na⯑vigable ocean, in the Southern Hemiſphere.

I ſhall not, however, expatiate on that ample field of praiſe, but confine my diſcourſe to what was the inten⯑tion of this honorary premium, namely, to crown that Paper of the year which ſhould contain the moſt uſeful and moſt ſucceſsful experimental inquiry. Now what in⯑quiry can be ſo uſeful as that which hath for its object the ſaving the lives of men? and when ſhall we find one more ſucceſsful than that before us? Here are no vain boaſtings of the empiric, nor ingenious and deluſive theo⯑ries of the dogmatiſt; but a conciſe, an artleſs, and an incon⯑teſted [3]relation of the means, by which, Under the divine favour, Captain COOK, with a company of a hundred and eighteen men, performed a voyage of three years and eigh⯑teen days, throughout all the climates from fifty-two degrees North to ſeventy-one degrees South, with the loſs of only one man by a diſeaſe ^*. What muſt enhance to us the value of theſe ſalutary obſervations, is to ſee the practice hath been no leſs ſimple than efficacious.

I would now inquire of the moſt converſant in the ſtudy of Bills of Mortality, whether in the moſt healthful cli⯑mate, and in the beſt condition of life, they have ever found ſo ſmall a number of deaths in ſuch a number of men, within that period of time? How great and agreeable then muſt our ſurprize be, after peruſing the hiſtories of long navigations in former days, when ſo many periſhed by marine diſeaſes, to find the air of the ſea acquitted of all malignity, and in fine that a voyage round the world may be undertaken with leſs danger to health than a common tour in Europe!

But the better to ſee the contraſt between the old and the preſent times, allow me to recall to your memory [4]what you have read of the firſt voyage for the eſtabliſh⯑ment of the Eaſt-India Company. The equipment con⯑ſiſting of four ſhips, with four hundred and eighty men, three of thoſe veſſels were ſo weakened by the ſcurvy, by the time they had got only three degrees beyond the Line, that the merchants, who had embarked on this adventure, were obliged to do duty as common ſailors; and there died in all, at ſea, and on ſhore at Soldania (a place of re⯑freſhment on this ſide of the Cape of Good-Hope) one hundred and five men, which was near a fourth part of their complement. And hath not Sir RICHARD HAW⯑KINS, an intelligent as well as brave officer, who lived in that age, recorded, that in twenty years, during which he had uſed the ſea, he could give an account of ten thouſand ma⯑riners who had been conſumed by the ſcurvy alone? Yet ſo far was this author from miſtaking the diſeaſe, that I have peruſed few who have ſo well deſcribed it. If then in thoſe early times, the infancy I may call them of the commerce and naval power of England, ſo many were carried off by that bane of ſea-faring people, what muſt have been the deſtruction afterwards, upon the great aug⯑mentation of the fleet, and the opening of ſo many new ports to the trade of Great-Britain, whilſt ſo little advance⯑ment was made in the nautical part of medicine?

But paſſing from thoſe old dates to one within the re⯑membrance of many here preſent, when it might have been expected that whatever tended to aggrandize the naval power of Britain, and to extend her commerce, would have received the higheſt improvement; yet we ſhall find, that even at this late period few meaſures had been taken to preſerve the health of ſeamen, more than had been known to our uninſtructed anceſtors. Of this aſſertion the victorious, but mournful, expedition of Com⯑modore ANSON affords too convincing a proof. It is well known, that ſoon after paſſing the Streights of Le Maire, the ſcurvy began to appear in his ſquadron; that by the time the Centurion had advanced but a little way into the South-ſea, forty-ſeven had died of it in this ſhip; and that there were few on board who had not, in ſome degree, been affected with the diſtemper, though they had not been then eight months from England. That in the ninth month, when ſtanding for the iſland of Juan Fernandez, ſhe loſt double that number; and that the mortality went on at ſo great a rate (I ſtill ſpeak of the Commodore's ſhip) that, before ſhe arrived there, ſhe had buried two hun⯑dred; and at laſt could muſter no more than ſix of the common men in a watch capable of doing duty. This was the condition of one of the three ſhips which reached that iſland; the other two ſuffered in proportion.

Nor did the tragedy end here; for after a few months reſpite, the ſame fatal ſickneſs broke out afreſh and made ſuch havock, that before the Centurion (which now con⯑tained the whole ſurviving crews of the three ſhips) had got to the iſland of Tinian, there died ſometimes eight or ten in a day; inſomuch that when they had been two years on the voyage, they had loſt a larger proportion than that of four in five of their original number; and, by the account of the hiſtorian, all of them, after their entering the South Sea, of the ſcurvy. I ſay by the account of the elegant writer of the voyage, for as he neither was in the medical line himſelf, nor hath authenticated this part of his narrative by appealing to the ſurgeons of the ſhip or their journals, I ſhould doubt that this was not ſtrictly the caſe; but rather, that in producing this great mortality, that peſtilential kind of diſtemper was combined with the ſcurvy, which, from the places where it moſt frequently occurs, hath been diſtinguiſhed by the name of the jail or hoſpital-fever ^*. But whether the ſcurvy alone, or this fever combined with it, were the cauſe, it is not at pre⯑ſent material to inquire, ſince both, ariſing from foul air and other ſources of putrefaction, may now in a great [7]meaſure be obviated by the various means fallen upon ſince Lord ANSON'S expedition. For in juſtice to that pru⯑dent as well as brave Commander it muſt be obſerved, that the arrangements preparatory to his voyage were not made by himſelf; that his ſhip was ſo deeply laden as not to admit of opening the gun-ports, except in the calmeſt weather, for the benefit of air; and that nothing appears to have been neglected by him, for preſerving the health of his men, that was then known and practiſed in the navy.

I ſhould now proceed to enumerate the chief improve⯑ments made ſince that period, and which have enabled our ſhips to make ſo many ſucceſsful circumnavigations as in a manner to efface the impreſſion of former diſaſ⯑ters; but as I have mentioned the ſickneſs moſt deſtruc⯑tive to mariners, and againſt the ravages of which thoſe preſervatives have been mainly contrived, it may be pro⯑per briefly to explain its nature, and the rather as un⯑leſs among mariners it is little underſtood. Firſt then I would obſerve, that the ſcurvy is not the ailment which goes by that name on ſhore. The diſtemper commonly, but erroneouſly in this place, called the ſcurvy belongs to a claſs of diſeaſes totally different from what we are now treating of; and ſo far is the commonly-received opinion, that there are few conſtitutions altogether free from a ſcor⯑butic [8]taint, from being true, that unleſs among ſailors and ſome others circumſtanced like them, more particularly with reſpect to thoſe who uſe a ſalt and putrid diet, or live in foul air and uncleanlineſs, I have reaſon to believe there are few diſorders leſs frequent. This opinion I ſub⯑mitted to the judgment of the Society ſeveral years ago, and I have had no reaſon ſince to alter it. I then ſaid (contrary to what was generally believed) and ſeemingly on the beſt authority, that the ſea-air was never the cauſe of the ſcurvy, ſince on board a ſhip, on the longeſt voyages, cleanlineſs, ventilation, and freſh proviſions, would preſerve from it; and that upon a ſea-coaſt, free from marſhes, the inhabitants were not liable to that indiſ⯑poſition, though frequently breathing the air from the ſea^*. I concluded with joining in ſentiments with thoſe who aſcribed the ſcurvy to a ſeptic reſolution, or begin⯑ning corruption, of the whole habit, ſimilar to what every animal ſubſtance is more or leſs diſpoſed to when deprived of life^†. This theory ſeemed to be ſufficiently verified by the examination of the ſymptoms in the ſcorbutic ſick, and of the appearances in their bodies after death^‡. On [9]that occaſion I remarked, that ſalted meats after ſome time become in effect putrid, though they may continue long palatable by means of the ſalt; and that common ſalt, ſuppoſed to be one of the ſtronged preſervatives from corruption, is at beſt but an indifferent one, even in a large quantity; and in a ſmall one, ſuch as we uſe at ta⯑ble with freſh meats, or ſwallow in meats that have been ſalted, ſo far from impeding putrefaction, it rather pro⯑motes that proceſs in the body.

This poſition concerning the putrefying quality of ſea-ſalt, in certain proportions, hath been ſince confirmed by the experiments of the late Mr. CANTON, F. R. S. in his Paper on the Cauſe of the luminous Appearance of Sea-water^†.

It hath been ſaid, that the ſcurvy is much owing to the coldneſs of the air, which checks perſpiration; and it is therefore the endemic diſtemper of the Northern na⯑tions, and particularly of thoſe around the Baltic^*. The fact is partly true, but I doubt not ſo the cauſe. In thoſe regions, by the long and ſevere winters, the cattle deſtitute of paſture can barely live, and are therefore unfit for uſe; ſo that the people, for their proviſion during that ſeaſon, [10]are obliged to ſlaughter them by the end of autumn, and to ſalt them for half the year. This putrid diet then, on which they muſt ſubſiſt ſo long, and to which the inha⯑bitants of the South are not reduced, is the chief cauſe of the diſeaſe. And if we reflect, that the lower people of the North have few or no greens nor fruit in the win⯑ter, little fermented liquors, and often live in damp, foul, and ill-aired houſes, it is eaſy to conceive how they ſhould become liable to the ſame indiſpoſition with ſeamen; whilſt others of as high a latitude, but who live in a different manner, keep free from it. Thus we are informed by LINNAEUS, that the Laplanders, one of the moſt hyperbo⯑rean nations, know nothing of the ſcurvy^*; for which no other reaſon can be aſſigned than their never eating ſalted meats, nor indeed ſalt with any thing, but their uſing all the winter the freſh fleſh of their rain-deer.

This exemption of the Laplanders from the general diſ⯑temper of the North is the more obſervable, as they ſel⯑dom taſte vegetables, bread never, as we farther learn from that celebrated author. Yet in the very provinces which border on Lapland, where they uſe bread, but ſcarcely any other vegetable, and eat ſalted meats, they are as [11]much troubled with the ſcurvy as in any other country^*. But let us incidentally remark, that the late improvements in agriculture, gardening, and the other arts of life, by extending their influence to the remoteſt parts of Europe, and to the loweſt people, begin ſenſibly to leſſen the fre⯑quency of that complaint, even in thoſe climates that have been once the moſt afflicted with it.

It hath alſo been aſſerted, that men living on ſhore will be affected with the ſcurvy, though they have never been accuſtomed to a ſalt-diet; but of this I have never known an inſtance, except in thoſe who breathed in an air that is marſhy, or otherwiſe putrid, and who wanted exerciſe, fruits and green vegetables: under ſuch circumſtances it muſt be granted that the humours will corrupt in the ſame manner, though not in the ſame degree, with thoſe of ma⯑riners. Thus, in the late war, when Siſinghurſt Caſtle in Kent was filled with French priſoners, the ſcurvy broke out among them, though they had never been ſerved with ſalted victuals in England; but had daily had an al⯑lowance of freſh meat, and of bread in proportion, though without greens or any other vegetable. The ſurgeon [12]who attended them, and from whom I received this in⯑formation, having formerly been employed in the navy, was the betterable to judge of the diſorder, and to cure it. Beſides the deficiency of greens, he obſerved that the wards were foul and crouded, the houſe damp (from a moat that ſurrounded it) and that the bounds allotted for taking the air were ſo ſmall, and in wet weather ſo ſloughy, that the men ſeldom went out. He added, that a repreſentation having been made, he had been empowered to furniſh the priſoners with roots and greens for boiling in their ſoup, and to quarter the ſick in a neighbouring village in a dry ſituation, with liberty to go out for air and exerciſe; and that by theſe means they had all quickly recovered. It is probable, that the ſcurvy ſooner appeared among theſe ſtrangers, from their having all been taken at ſea, and con⯑ſequently being the more diſpoſed to the diſtemper. My informer farther acquainted me, that in the lower and wetter parts of that county, where ſome of his practice lay, he had now and then met with ſlighter caſes of the ſcurvy among the common people; ſuch, he ſaid, as lived the whole winter on ſalted bacon, without fermented li⯑quors, greens, or any fruit, a few apples excepted; but, he remarked, that in the winters following a plentiful growth of that fruit, thoſe peaſants were viſibly leſs liable to that ailment.

I have dwelt the longer on this part of my ſubject, as I look upon the knowledge of the nature and cauſe of the ſcurvy to be an eſſential ſtep towards improving the means of prevention and cure. And I am perſuaded, after long reflection, and the opportunities I have had of converſing with thoſe who to much ſagacity had joined no ſmall experience in nautical practice, that upon an examination of the ſeveral articles, which have either been of old approven, or have of late been introduced in⯑to the navy, it will appear, that though theſe means may vary in form and in their mode of operating; yet they all ſome way contribute towards preventing putrefaction; whether of the air in the cloſer parts of a ſhip, of the meats, of the water, of the clothes and bedding, or of the body itſelf. And if in this inquiry (which may be made by the way, whilſt we take a review of the principal arti⯑cles of proviſion, and other means uſed by Captain COOK to guard againſt ſickneſs) I ſay, if in this inquiry it ſhall appear, that the notion of a ſeptic cauſe is not without foundation, it will be no ſmall encouragement to proceed on that principle, in order to improve this important branch of medicine.

Captain COOK begins his liſt of ſtores with malt: Of this, he ſays, was made ſweet-wort, and given not only to [14]thoſe men who had manifeſt ſymptoms of the ſcurvy, but to ſuch alſo as were judged to be the moſt liable to it. Dr. MACBRIDE, who firſt ſuggeſted this preparation, was led (as he ſays) to the diſcovery by ſome experiments that had been laid before this Society; by which it appeared, that the air produced by alimentary fermentation was endowed with a power of correcting putrefaction. The fact he confirmed by numerous trials, and finding this fluid to be fixed air, he juſtly concluded, that whatever ſubſtance proper for food abounded with it, and which could be conveniently carried to ſea, would make one of the beſt proviſions againſt the ſcurvy; which he then conſi⯑dered as a putrid diſeaſe, and as ſuch to be prevented or cured by that powerful kind of antiſeptic^*. Beer, for inſtance, hath always been eſteemed one of the beſt antiſcorbutics; but as that derived all its fixed air from the malt of which it is made, he inferred, that malt itſelf was preferable in long voyages, as it took up leſs room than the brewed liquor, and would keep longer ſound. Experience hath ſince veriſied this ingenious theory, and the malt hath now gained ſo much credit in the navy, that there only wanted ſo long, ſo healthful, and ſo celebrated a voyage as this, to rank it among the moſt indiſpenſable articles of proviſion. For though Captain COOK remarks, that A [15]proper attention to other things muſt be joined, and that he is not altogether of opinion, that the wort will be able to cure the ſcurvy in an advanced ſtate at ſea; yet he is per⯑ſuaded, that it is ſufficient to prevent that diſtemper from making any great progreſs, for a conſiderable time; and therefore he doth not heſitate to pronounce it, one of the beſt antiſcorbutic medicines yet found out ^*.

This ſalutary gas (or ſixed air) is contained more or leſs in all fermentable liquors, and begins to oppoſe putre⯑faction as ſoon as the working or inteſtine motion com⯑mences.

In wine it abounds, and perhaps no vegetable ſub⯑ſtance is more replete with it than the fruit of the vine. If we join the grateful taſte of wine, we muſt rank it firſt in the liſt of antiſcorbutic liquors. Cyder is likewiſe [16]good, with other vinous productions from fruit, as alſo the various kinds of beer. It hath been a conſtant obſer⯑vation, that in long cruizes or diſtant voyages the ſcurvy is never ſeen whilſt the ſmall-beer holds out at a full allowance; but that when it is all expended, the diſorder ſoon appears. It were therefore to be wiſhed, that this moſt wholeſome beverage could be renewed at ſea; but our ſhips afford not ſufficient convenience. The Ruſſians however make a ſhift to prepare at ſea, as well as at land, a liquor of a middle quality between wort and ſmall-beer, in the following manner. They take ground malt and rye-meal in a certain proportion, which they knead into ſmall loaves, and bake in the oven. Theſe they occa⯑ſionally infuſe in a proper quantity of warm water, which begins ſo ſoon to ferment, that in the ſpace of twenty-four hours their brewage is compleated, in the production of a ſmall, briſk, and acidulous liquor, which they call quas, palatable to themſelves and not diſagreeable to the taſte of ſtrangers. The late Dr. MOUNSEY, member of this Society, who had lived long in Ruſſia, and had been Archiater under two ſucceſſive ſovereigns, acquainted me that the quas was the common and wholeſome drink both of the fleets and armies of that empire, and that it was particularly good againſt the ſcurvy. He added, [17]that happening to be at Moſcow when he peruſed the Obſervations on the Jail-Fever, publiſhed here, he had been induced to compare what he read in that treatiſe with what he ſhould ſee in the ſeveral priſons of that large city: but to his ſurprize, after viſiting them all, and find⯑ing them full of malefactors (for the late Empreſs then ſuffered none of thoſe who were convicted of capital crimes to be put to death) yet he could diſcover no fever among them, nor learn that any acute diſtemper peculiar to jails had ever been known there. He obſerved that ſome of thoſe places of confinement had a yard, into which the priſo⯑ners were allowed to come for the air; but that there were others without this advantage, yet not ſickly: ſo that he could aſſign no other reaſon for the healthful condition of thoſe men than the kind of diet they uſed; which was the ſame with that of the common people of the country, who not being able to purchaſe fleſh-meat live moſtly on rye-bread (the moſt aceſcent of any bread) and drink quas. He concluded with ſaying, that upon his return to St. Pe⯑terſburg he had made the ſame enquiry there, and with the ſame reſult.

Thus far my informer, from whoſe account it would appear, that the rye-meal aſſiſted both in quickening the fermentation and adding more ſixed air; ſince the malt [18]alone could not ſo readily produce ſo acidulous and briſk a liquor. And there is little doubt but that whenever the other grains can be brought to a proper degree of fer⯑mentation, they will more or leſs in the ſame way become uſeful. That oats will, I am ſatisfied, from what I have been told by one of the intelligent friends of Captain COOK. This gentlemen being on a cruize in a large ſhip^*, in the beginning of the late war, and the ſcurvy breaking out among his crew, he bethought himſelf of a kind of food, he had ſeen uſed in ſome parts of the country, as the moſt proper on this occaſion. Some oatmeal is put into a wooden veſſel, hot water is poured upon it, and the infu⯑ſion continues until the liquor begins to taſte ſouriſh, that is, till a fermentation comes on, which in a place moderately warm may be in the ſpace of two days. The water is then poured off from the grounds, and boiled down to the con⯑ſiſtence of a jelly^†. This he ordered to be made, and dealt out in meſſes, being firſt ſweetened with ſugar, and ſeaſoned with ſome prize-wine he had taken, which though turned ſour, yet improved the taſte, and made this aliment no leſs palatable than medicinal.

He aſſured me, that upon this diet chiefly, and by abſtaining from ſalted meats, his ſcorbutic ſick quite re⯑covered [19]on board; and not in that voyage only, but by the ſame means in his ſubſequent cruizes, during the war, without his being once obliged to ſend one of them on ſhore becauſe they could not get well at ſea. Yet oat⯑meal unfermented, like barley unmalted, hath no ſenſi⯑ble effect in curing the ſcurvy; as if the fixed air, which is incorporated with theſe grains, could mix with the chyle which they produce, enter the lacteals, and make part of the nouriſhment of the body, without manifeſting any elaſtic or antiſeptic quality, when not looſened by a previous fermentation.

Before the power of the fixed air in ſubduing pu⯑trefaction was known, the efficacy of fruits, greens, and fermented liquors, was commonly aſcribed to the acid in their compoſition, and we have ſtill reaſon to believe that the acid concurs in operating the effect. If it be alledged that mineral acids, which contain little or no fixed air, have been tried in the ſcurvy with little ſucceſs, I would anſwer, that I doubt that in thoſe trials they have never been ſufficiently diluted; for it is eaſy to conceive, that in the ſmall quantity of water the elixir of vitriol, for inſtance, is given, that auſtere acid can ſcarce get beyond the firſt paſſages, conſidering the deli⯑cate ſenſibility of the mouths of the lacteals, which muſt [20]force them to ſhut and exclude ſo pungent a liquor. It were therefore a proper experiment to be made in a deficiency of malt, or when that grain ſhould happen to be ſpoilt by keeping^*, to uſe water acidulated with the ſpirit of ſea-ſalt, in the proportion of only ten drops to a quart; or with the weak ſpirit of vitriol, thirteen drops to the ſame meaſure^†; and to give to thoſe that are threatened with the diſeaſe three quarts of this liquor in the day, to be conſumed as they ſhall think proper.

But if the fixed air and acids are ſuch preſervatives againſt the ſcurvy, why ſhould Captain COOK make ſo little account of the rob of lemons and of oranges (for ſo they have called the extracts or inſpiſſated juices of thoſe fruits) in treating that diſtemper? This I found was the reaſon. Theſe preparations being only ſent out upon trial, the ſurgeon of the ſhip was told, at a conjecture, how much he might give for a doſe, but without ſtrictly limiting it. The experiment was made with the quantity ſpecified, but with ſo little advantage, that judging it not adviſeable to loſe more time, he ſet about the cure with the wort only, [21]whereof the efficacy he was certain; whilſt he reſerved theſe robs for other purpoſes, more particularly for colds, when to a large draught of warm water, with ſome ſpirits and ſugar, he added a ſpoonful of one of them, and with this compoſition made a grateful ſudorific which anſwered the intention. No wonder then if Captain COOK, not knowing the proper doſe of theſe concentrated juices for the ſcurvy, but ſeeing them fail as they were given in the trial, ſhould entertain no great opinion of their antiſcor⯑butic powers. It may be alſo proper to take notice, that as they had been reduced to a ſmall proportion of their bulk by evaporation upon fire, it is probable, they were much weakened by that proceſs, and that with their aqueous parts they had loſt not a little of their aërial, on which ſo much of their antiſeptic virtue de⯑pended. If therefore a farther trial of theſe excellent fruits were to be made, it would ſeem more adviſable to ſend to ſea the purified juices entire in caſks, agreeably to a propoſal I find hath been made to the Admiralty by an ingenious and experienced navy-ſurgeon ſome years ago. For in truth, the teſtimonies in favour of the ſalutary qua⯑lities of theſe acids are ſo numerous and ſo ſtrong, that I ſhould look upon ſome failures, even in caſes where their want of ſucceſs cannot ſo well be accounted for as in this [22]voyage, not a ſufficient reaſon for ſtriking them out of the liſt of the moſt powerful preſervatives againſt this con⯑ſuming malady of ſailors.

It may be obſerved, that Captain COOK ſays not more in praiſe of vinegar than of the robs; yet I would not thence infer, that he made no account of that acid; but only, that as he happened in this voyage to be ſparingly provided with it, and yet did well, he could not con⯑ſider a large ſtore of it to be ſo material an article of pro⯑viſion as was commonly imagined. And though he ſup⯑plied its place in the meſſes of the men with the acid of the ſour-krout, and truſted chiefly to fire for purifying his decks, yet it is to be hoped that future navigators will not therefore omit it. Vinegar will ſerve at leaſt for a wholeſome variety in the ſeaſoning of the ſalted meats, and may be ſometimes ſucceſsfully uſed as a medicine, eſpecially in the aſperſions of the berths of the ſick. It is obſervable that though the ſmell be little grateful to a per⯑ſon in health, yet it is commonly agreeable to thoſe who are ſick, and particularly to ſuch as are confined to a foul and crouded ward. There the phyſician will ſmell to vinegar, as much for pleaſure as for guarding againſt infection.

Now the wort and the acid juices were only diſpenſed as medicines, but the next article was of more extenſive uſe. [23]This was the ſour-krout (ſour cabbage) a diſh of univer⯑ſal requeſt in Germany. The acidity is acquired by its ſpontaneous fermentation, and it was the ſour taſte which made it the more acceptable to all who ate it. To its farther commendation we may add, that it held out good to the laſt of the voyage.

It may ſeem ſtrange, that though this herb hath had ſuch high encomiums beſtowed upon it by the ancients (witneſs what CATO the elder and PLINY the naturaliſt ſay on the ſubject) and hath had the ſanction of the expe⯑rience of nations for ages in its favour, it ſhould yet be diſapproved of by ſome of the moſt diſtinguiſhed writers of our times. One finds it yield a rank ſmell in decoc⯑tion, which he confounds with that of putrefaction. Another analyzes it, and diſcovers ſo much groſs air in the compoſition as to render it indigeſtible; yet this flatulence, ſo much decryed, muſt now be acknowledged to be the fixed air, which makes the cabbage ſo wholeſome when fermented. Nay it hath been traduced by one of the moſt celebrated phyſicians of our age, as partaking of a poiſonous nature: and little better founded was that poſi⯑tion of the ſame illuſtrious author, that cabbage being an alcaleſcent plant, and therefore diſpoſing to putre⯑faction, could never be uſed in the ſcurvy, except when [24]the diſeaſe proceeded from an acid. But the experiments which I formerly laid before the Society evinced this ve⯑getable, with the reſt of the ſuppoſed alcaleſcents, to be really aceſcent; and that the ſcurvy never is owing to acidity, but, much otherwiſe, to a ſpecies of putrefaction, that very cauſe of which the ill-grounded claſs of alca⯑leſcents was ſuppoſed to be a promoter^*.

Among other of the late improvements of the naval ſtores we have heard much of the portable-ſoup, and ac⯑cordingly we find that Captain Cook hath not a little availed himſelf of it in his voyage. This concentrated broth being freed from all fat, and having by long boil⯑ing evaporated the moſt putreſcent parts of the meat, is reduced to the conſiſtence of a glue, which in effect it is, and will like other glues, in a dry place, keep ſound for years together. It hath been ſaid, that broths turn ſour on keeping, though made without any vegetable^†. Now whether any real acid be thus formed may be a queſtion: I incline at leaſt to believe, that the gelatinous parts of animal ſubſtances, ſuch as compoſe theſe cakes, are not of a nature much diſpoſed to putrefy. But however that may be, ſince Captain COOK obſerves, that this [25]ſoup was the means of making his people eat a greater quantity of greens than they would have done otherwiſe, in ſo far we muſt allow it to have been virtually antiſeptic.

So much for thoſe articles that have of late been ſup⯑plied to all the king's ſhips on long voyages, and in which therefore our worthy brother claims no other merit than the prudent diſpenſation of them; but what follows, being regulations either wholly new, or improven hints from ſome of his experienced friends, he may juſtly ap⯑propriate to himſelf.

Firſt then, he put his people at three watches inſtead of two (which is the general practice at ſea) that is, he divided the whole crew into three companies, and by putting each company upon the watch by turns, four hours at a time, every man had eight hours free, for four of duty; whereas at watch and watch the half of the men being upon duty at once, with returns of it every four hours, they can have but broken ſleeps, and when expoſed to wet they have not time to get dry before they lie down. When the ſervice requires it, ſuch hardſhips muſt be endured; but when there is no preſſing call, ought not a mariner to be refreſhed with as much uninterrupted reſt as a common day-labourer?

I am well informed that an officer diſtinguiſhes him⯑ſelf in nothing more than in preſerving his men from wet and the other injuries of the weather. Theſe were moſt eſſential points with this humane commander. In the torrid zone he ſhaded his people from the ſcorching ſun by an awning over his deck; and in his courſe under the antarctic circle he had a coat provided for each man, of a ſubſtantial woollen ſtuff, with the addition of a hood for covering their heads. This garb (which the ſailors called their Magellan jacket) they occaſionally wore, and found it a moſt comfortable one for working in rain and ſnow, and among the broken ice in the high latitudes of the South.

Let us proceed to another article not leſs material; which is the care to keep clean the perſons, bedding, and cloaths of the ſailors. The Captain acquainted me, that re⯑gularly one morning in the week he paſſed his ſhip's com⯑pany in review, and ſaw that every man had changed his linen, and was in other reſpects as clean and neat as circum⯑ſtances would permit. It is well known how much cleanli⯑neſs is conducive to health; but it is not ſo obvious how much it alſo tends to good order and other virtues. That diligent officer was perſuaded (nor was perhaps the obſervation new) that ſuch men as he could induce to be more cleanly [27]than they were diſpoſed to be of themſelves, became at the ſame time more ſober, more orderly, and more attentive to their duty. It muſt be acknowledged that a ſeaman has but indifferent means to keep himſelf clean, had he the greateſt inclination to do it; for I have not heard that the commanders of ſhips have yet availed themſelves of the ſtill for providing freſh water for waſhing; and it is well known that ſea-water doth not mix with ſoap, and that linen wet with brine never thoroughly dries. But for Cap⯑tain COOK, the frequent opportunities he had of taking in water among the iſlands of the South-Sea, enabled him in that tract to diſpenſe to his ſhip's company freſh water for every uſe; and when he navigated in the high lati⯑tudes of the Southern Oceans, he ſtill more abundantly provided them with it, as I ſhall take notice in the ſequel of this diſcourſe.

Of the hammocks and bedding I need ſay little, as all officers are now ſenſible how much it concerns the health of their people to have this part of a ſhip's furniture kept dry and well-aired; ſince by the perſpiration of ſo many men, every thing below, even in the ſpace of twenty-four hours, is apt to contract an offenſive moiſture. But Cap⯑tain COOK was not ſatisfied with ordering upon deck the hammocks and bedding every day that was fair (the com⯑mon [28]method) but took care that each bundle ſhould be unlaſhed, and ſo ſpread out that every part of it might be expoſed to the air.

His next concern was to ſee to the purity of the ſhip itſelf; without which attention all the reſt would have profited little. I ſhall not however detain you with his orders about waſhing and ſcraping his decks, as I do not underſtand that in that kind of cleanſing he excelled others; but ſince he has laid ſo great a ſtreſs upon fire as a purifier, I ſhall endeavour to explain his way of uſing it, more fully than he has done in his Paper. Some wood being put into a proper ſtove or grate is lighted, and car⯑ried ſucceſſively to every part below deck. Wherever fire is, the air neareſt to it being heated becomes ſpecifically lighter, and by being lighter riſes and paſſes through the hatchways into the atmoſphere. The vacant ſpace is filled with the cold air around, and that being heated in its turn, in like manner aſcends and is re-placed by other air as before. Thus by continuing the fire for ſome time in any of the lower apartments, the foul air is in a mea⯑ſure driven out, and the freſh admitted. This is not all: I apprehend that the acid ſteams of the wood, in burning, act here as an antiſeptic on the corrupted air that remains.

An officer of diſtinguiſhed rank, another of Captain COOK'S experienced friends, mentioned to me a common and juſt obſervation in the fleet; which was, that all the old twenty-gun ſhips were remarkably leſs ſickly than thoſe of the ſame ſize of a modern conſtruction. This, he ſaid, was a circumſtance he could not otherwiſe ac⯑count for, than that, by the former having their galley [their kitchen] in the fore-part of the orlop, the chimney vented ſo ill, that it was ſure to fill every part with ſmoke whenever the wind was a-ſtern: this was a nuiſance for the time, but, as he thought, abundantly compenſated by the extraordinary good health of the ſeveral crews. Poſ⯑ſibly the heat of thoſe fire-places was alſo beneficial, by drying and ventilating thoſe ſhips more when they were below, than they can do now they are placed upon the upper deck under the fore-caſtle.

But the moſt obvious uſe of the portable fires was their drying up the moiſture, and eſpecially in thoſe places where there was the leaſt circulation of air. This hu⯑midity, compoſed of the perſpirable matter of a multi⯑tude of men, and often of animals (kept for a live-ſtock) and of the ſteams of the bilge-water from the well, where the corruption is the greateſt; this moiſture, I ſay, being [30]one of the main ſources of ſea-diſeaſes, was therefore more particularly attended to, in order to its removal. The fires were the powerful inſtrument for that purpoſe; and whilſt they burnt, ſome men were employed in rubbing hard, with can vaſs or oakum, every part of the inſide of the ſhip that was damp and acceſſible. But the advantage of fire appears no where ſo manifeſt as in cleanſing the well; for this being in the loweſt part of the hold, the whole leakage runs into it, whether of the ſhip itſelf, or of the caſks of ſpoilt meats or corrupted water. The mephitic vapours from this ſink alone have often been the cauſe of inſtantaneous death to thoſe who have unwarily ap⯑proached to clean it; and not to one only, but to ſeveral ſucceſſively, when they have gone down to ſuccour their unfortunate companions: yet this very place has not only been rendered ſafe but ſweet, by means of an iron pot filled with fire and let down to burn in it.

When from the circumſtances of the weather this ſa⯑lutary operation could not take place, the ſhip was fumi⯑gated with gun-powder, as deſcribed in the Paper; though that ſmoke could have no effect in drying, but only in cor⯑recting the corruption of the air, by means of the acid ſpirits from the ſulphur and nitre, aided perhaps by ſome ſpecies of an aërial fluid, then diſengaged from them, to [31]counteract putrefaction. But as theſe purifications by gun-powder, as well as by burning tar and other re⯑ſinous ſubſtances, are ſufficiently known, I ſhall not inſiſt longer on them here.

Among the ſeveral means of ſweetening or renewing the air, we ſhould expect to hear of Dr. HALES'S ventila⯑tor. I muſt confeſs it was my expectation; and therefore, perſuaded as I was of the excellence of the invention, it was not without much regret that I ſaw ſo good an oppor⯑tunity loſt of giving the ſame favourable impreſſion of it to the public. If a degree of ſucceſs, exceeding our moſt ſanguine hopes, is not ſufficient for juſtifying the omiſ⯑ſion of a meaſure, deemed to be one of the moſt eſſential for attaining an end, I would plead in favour of our wor⯑thy brother, that by a humiliating fatality, ſo often ac⯑companying the moſt uſeful diſcoveries, the credit of this ventilator is yet far from being firmly eſtabliſhed in the navy. What wonder then if Captain COOK, being ſo much otherwiſe taken up, ſhould not have had time to examine it, and therefore avoided the encumbering of his ſhip with an apparatus he had poſſibly never ſeen uſed, and of which he had at beſt received but a doubtful cha⯑racter? Nor was he altogether unprovided with a ma⯑chine for ventilation. He had the wind-ſails, though he [32]hath not mentioned them in his Paper; and he told me, that he had found them at times moſt ſerviceable, and particularly between the Tropics. They have the merit of taking up little room, they require no labour in work⯑ing, and the contrivance is ſo ſimple that they can fail in no hands: but their powers are ſmall, in compariſon with thoſe of the ventilator; they cannot be put up in hard gales of wind, and they are of no efficacy in dead calms, when a refreſhment of the air is moſt wanted. Should there be any objection to the employing both?

Such were the meaſures taken by our ſagacious navi⯑gator for procuring a purity of air. It remains only to ſee in what manner he ſupplied pure water; another article of ſo great moment, that the thirſty voyager, upon his ſalt and putrid diet, with a ſhort allowance of this element, and that in a corrupted ſtate, muſt account a plentiful proviſion of freſh and ſweet water to be indeed the beſt of things.

Captain COOK was not without an apparatus for diſtilling ſea-water; and though he could not obtain nearly ſo much as was expected from the invention, yet he ſometimes availed himſelf of it; but for the moſt of his voyage he was otherwiſe provided. Within the Southern Tropic, in the Pacific Ocean, he found ſo many iſlands, and thoſe ſo well ſtored with [33]ſprings, that as I have hinted before he never was without a ſufficiency of water for every neceſſary purpoſe. But not ſatisfied with plenty, he would have the ſweeteſt; and therefore, whenever an opportunity offered, he emptied what he had taken in but a few days before, and filled his caſks anew. But was he not above four months in his paſſage from the Cape of Good-Hope to New-Zee⯑land, in the frozen zone of the South, without once ſee⯑ing land? and did he not actually complete his circum⯑navigation, in that high latitude, without the benefit of a ſingle fountain? Here was indeed a wonder of the deep! I may call it the romance of his voyage! Thoſe very ſhoals, fields, and floating mountains of ice, among which he ſteered his perilous courſe, and which preſented ſuch terrifying proſpects of deſtruction; thoſe, I ſay, were the very means of his ſupport, by ſupplying him abundantly with what he moſt wanted. It had been ſaid that thoſe ſtupendous maſſes of ice, called mountains, melted into freſh water; though CRANTZ, the relator of that para⯑dox, doth not imagine they originate from the ſea; but that they are firſt formed in the great rivers of the North, and being carried down into the occan are after⯑wards increaſed to that enormous height by the ſnow that falls upon them^*. But that all frozen ſea-water would [34]thaw into freſh, had either never been aſſerted, or had met with little credit. This is certain, that Captain COOK expected no ſuch tranſmutation, and therefore was agree⯑ably ſurprized to find he had one difficulty leſs to en⯑counter; that of preſerving the health of his men ſo long on ſalt proviſions, with a ſcanty allowance of corrupted water, or what he could procure by diſtillation. The melted ice of the ſea was not only ſweet but ſoft, and ſo wholeſome as to ſhew, among numerous other inſtances, the fallacy of human reaſon unſupported by experiments: an ancient of great authority had aſſigned, from theory, bad qualities to melted ſnow; and from that period to the preſent times, this prejudice had not been quite removed.

In this circumnavigation, amidſt ſleets and falls of ſnow, fogs, and much moiſt weather, the Reſolution enjoyed the ſame good ſtate of health ſhe had done in the temperate and torrid zones. It appears only from the journal of the ſurgeon, that towards the end of the firſt courſe^* ſome of the crew began to complain of the ſcurvy; but the diſeaſe made little progreſs, except in one who had be⯑come early an invalid from another cauſe. The other diſorders were likewiſe inconſiderable, ſuch as common colds, ſlight diarrhoeas, and intermittents, as they readily [35]yielded to the bark: there were alſo a few fevers of a con⯑tinued form, but which by timely care never roſe to an alarming height. Much commendation is therefore due to the attention and abilities of Mr. PATTEN, the ſurgeon of the Reſolution, for having ſo well ſeconded his Captain in the diſcharge of his duty. For it muſt be allowed, that in deſpite of the beſt regulations and the beſt provi⯑ſions, there will always be among a numerous crew, during a long voyage, ſome caſualties more or leſs productive of ſickneſs; and that unleſs there be an intelligent medical aſſiſtant on board, many under the wiſeſt commander will periſh that otherwiſe might have been ſaved.

THESE, GENTLEMEN, are the reflections I had to lay before you on this intereſting ſubject; and if I have en⯑croached on your time, you will recollect that much of my diſcourſe hath been employed in explaining ſome things but juſt mentioned by Captain COOK, and in adding the materials which I had procured partly from himſelf, and partly, ſince his departure, from thoſe intel⯑ligent friends he alludes to in his Paper. This was my plan; which if I have executed to your ſatiſ⯑faction, [36]your thanks are due to thoſe gentlemen who, on your account, ſo cheerfully communicated to me their obſervations.

As to your acknowledgments to Captain COOK, and your high opinion of his deſerts, you now teſtify them by the honourable diſtinction ſuggeſted to you by your Council, in preſenting him with this medal: for I need not gather your ſuffrages, ſince the attention with which you have favoured me hath abundantly expreſſed your approbation. My ſatisfaction therefore had been com⯑plete, had he himſelf been preſent to receive the honours you now confer upon him. But you are apprized that our brave and indefatigable Brother is at this inſtant far diſtant from us; anticipating, I may ſay, your wonted re⯑queſt on theſe occaſions, by continuing his labours, for the advancement of Natural Knowledge, and for the ho⯑nour of this Society; ſince you may be aſſured, that the object of his new enterprize is not leſs great; perhaps ſtill greater than either of the former.

Allow me then, GENTLEMEN, to deliver this medal, with his unperiſhing name engraven upon it, into the hands of one who will be happy to receive that truſt, and to know that this reſpectable Body never more cordially [37]nor more meritoriouſly beſtowed that faithful ſymbol of their eſteem and affection. For if Rome decreed the civic crown to him who ſaved the life of a ſingle citizen; what wreaths are due to that Man, who, having himſelf ſaved many, perpetuates now in your Tranſactions the means by which Britain may henceforth preſerve num⯑bers of her intrepid ſons, her Mariners; who, braving every danger, have ſo liberally contributed to the fame, to the opulence, and to the maritime empire, of their Country!