4o8 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [Oct. 



The mutton is more doubtful. It was killed inside the 

 Antarctic circle, but I am not sure that the meat was wholly 

 above suspicion of taint ; as the sun may have raised the 

 darker portions of the carcases above the freezing-point ; but 

 it is to be remembered that though we ate very heartily of it, 

 we only enjoyed this luxury once a week. 



The grave suspicion naturally rests on the tinned meats, 

 and therefore it becomes necessary to examine a little more 

 closely into them. In nine cases out of ten our sohd food on 

 ordinary ' tinned meat ' days consisted of plain tinned beef or 

 mutton made up into some dish on board. It was the rarest 

 thing for us to open tins containing made-up dishes, mainly 

 because these were part of the consignment which I mentioned 

 as being unsatisfactory. Without exception the plain beef and 

 mutton came from Australian and New Zealand firms, and 

 I have no doubt that it was as good as such things can be ; 

 the excellent state of preservation of that which we brought 

 back is alone sufficient to prove this. I cannot think, there- 

 fore, that we have a right to suspect these tinned meats. In 

 considering all facts in connection with this elusive disease, it 

 must not be forgotten also that we regularly opened tins of 

 milk and less regularly other ' kickshaws ' in which it may have 

 been hidden ; but as we continued this practice during our 

 second winter, without ill result, it is reasonable to consider 

 that its effect may be discounted. 



The main fact, however, that makes it so difficult to trace 

 our scurvy to faulty provisions is that not a single tin of any 

 sort or description was served out in the ' Discovery ' until 

 it had been opened and examined by one of the doctors, and 

 in this respect no risks were taken. The least suspicion was 

 sufficient to ensure rejection, and therefore it is certain that 

 no food which bore any outward sign of being unsafe was ever 

 consumed in the ship. 



It has been pointed out that scurvy depends largely on 

 environment, and there can be no doubt that severe or in- 

 sanitary conditions of life contribute to the ravages of the 

 disease. Indeed, we saw how this might be from the outbreak 



