igoa] REMEDIAL MEASURES 399 



that this is neither more nor less than scurvy, but whence it 

 has come, or why it has come with all the precautions that 

 have been taken, is beyond our ability to explain. The evil 

 having come, the great thing now is to banish it. In my 

 absence, Armitage, in consultation with the doctors, has 

 already taken steps to remedy matters by serving out fresh 

 meat regularly and by increasing the allowance of bottled 

 fruits, and he has done an even greater service by taking the 

 cook in hand. I don't know whether he threatened to hang 

 him at the yardarm or used more persuasive measures, but,- 

 whatever it was, there is a marked improvement in the 

 cooking. 



' Koettlitz has only been back a few days from his second 

 trip, but has made an examination of everyone on board. He 

 tells me there are signs of scurvy in a good many, but in most 

 cases it is only the merest indication, and probably we should 

 not have known anything about it had it not been for this 

 searching examination. The worst cases are those which I 

 have named above, and they, as well as the rest, are improving 

 by leaps and bounds — in fact the disease is vanishing rapidly. 

 He confesses himself unable to suggest any cause for the 

 outbreak. 



' The signs of improvement are hopeful, and there 

 seems little doubt that we shall banish the disease ; but one 

 cannot be too cautious, and we must lay ourselves out to make 

 arrangements which will not only banish it for the present, 

 but will prevent all chance of its recurrence in the future. 



1 Royds was to have started for the M Record " at Cape 

 Crozier on the 2nd, but deferred his departure till my return. 

 I saw no reason for delaying further, and the doctors report 

 his party to be in first-rate condition, so they went off this 

 morning. With the leader go Skelton, Lashly, Evans, 

 Quartley, and Wild — practically the same party that went to 

 the south-west, so they ought to know what they are up to. 

 Though there is not much else but scurvy in my thoughts just 

 at present, the great thing is to pretend that there is nothing to 

 be alarmed at.' 



