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 other40. 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 elephantiasis41 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 others42. 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.

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 seen43, 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 themselves44. 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 fact45, 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 enemy46.

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 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 wages49.

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 virulent50.

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 rotation51. 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 berth52 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 sulphur53, 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 loggerhead54 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 fevers55. 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 heat56.

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 English57 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 greater58.

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 windsails59 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 from60 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 habit61 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 diarrhoea, 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 produced62. 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 63Union 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 plague64 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 65firing 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.