122 THE SEA. 



that the provisions are good and ample,, and I was informed that scurvy is seldom met 

 with in the vessels belonging- to these owners, owing to the fact of the masters not being 

 content with simply ordering the crew to take a certain quantity of lime-juice every dav 

 during the ship's voyage, but satisfying themselves by personal inspection that the juice 

 is actually drank. Outside the dock gates, and off Plaistow Wharf, may occasionally be 

 seen American vessels which have arrived with petroleum. An inspection confirmed the 

 opinion I have always entertained regarding the superior accommodation met with in the 

 vessels of the United States; they are large, well manned, and supplied with good 

 provisions. The berths and sleeping quarters are better even than those in large East 

 Indiamen; every ship has a raised house on deck, spacious, well ventilated, and clean, which, 

 being furnished with a stove, the men are thereby enabled in wet weather to dry their 

 clothes, which is of course a great preservation of their health. The general condition 

 of the men is far better than that of the. sailor of any other nation. Although the cruel 

 treatment exercised by the officers of American ships is proverbial, there is seldom any 

 difficulty in obtaining a good crew. The masters in the commercial marine of America 

 pride themselves upon the general appearance of their crews, and they say that it is the 

 best economy to give them good and abundant food, and to pay rigid attention to their 

 sleeping quarters/' 



Sometimes it is the cargo itself which is a fatal cause of disease or death. Ships 

 carrying large quantities of minerals, sulphur, petroleum, &c., sometimes smell intolerably, but 

 are not considered unhealthy places of residence. But how of guano and other manure ships ? 

 In one of Dr. Stone's letters to the Times, published in 1867, he says : " The most objection- 

 able and unhealthy cargoes brought into the Thames are those consisting of the different 

 kinds of manure. A large bone trade is carried on in the port of London ; barges are 

 constantly passing up and down the Pool laden with bones collected from bone-dealers and 

 the slaughter-houses of London. Many of the bones are not dry, but are covered with 

 decomposing flesh. The smell is very bad, and is not limited to the immediate neigh- 

 bourhood of the barge itself, but may be carried for a long distance. These bone barges 

 discharge their cargoes into some small coasting ship. . . . The sailors and bargemen 

 engaged in work of this kind suffer very much : they are nauseated by the offensive 

 smell ; their appetites fail entirely; they consume large quantities of spirit; and, as a 

 consequence, are invariably attacked by diarrhoea, accompanied with vomiting. In the 

 summer time it is a matter of surprise how anyone can remain, for a short time even, in 

 the neighbourhood of the vessel; a thick offensive steam is constantly rising from the 

 bones, and the decks and riffffino- are covered with large blue flies. When the vessel 



* O c5 <-* 



(generally a small, very old, and ill-manned schooner) puts to sea, the hatchways are kept 

 open, so as to give free egress to the gaseous products of decomposition and to prevent 

 the ship from taking fire." 



Many have been the instances of ships' decks being blown up by the gas from coal 

 becoming ignited, and loss of life has been caused thereby. Gunpowder may, under certain 

 conditions, become a most dangerous cargo. Take the case of the Great Queensland, which 

 was blown up entirely, leaving no survivors to tell the tale. The cause is not far to seek 

 when we learn that two tons of impure wood powder, sufficient of itself to burst the ship 



