4 04 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [Oct. 



the neglect of any precaution which modern medical science 

 suggests for its prevention. 



It is well known that scurvy is a world-wide disease, and 

 that, whilst it has attacked all sorts and conditions of men, it 

 has proved an especial scourge to those who, by force of 

 circumstances, have been deprived of fresh food for any length 

 of time. This last has been so often the lot of the polar 

 traveller that the disease has played a particularly important, 

 and often a tragic, part in his enterprises, and one cannot read 

 the history of polar adventure without realising the gravity of 

 the evil and the urgency of precautionary measures. It was 

 natural, therefore, that this subject should have been one of 

 the first to be considered by one, like myself, on whom fell the 

 responsibility of equipping an expedition for Antarctic research, 

 and I felt at once that, however efficient might be the medical 

 staff, it was highly desirable that I also should know some- 

 thing of it. Needless to say, I could only approach the matter 

 as a layman, and therefore it is only in that capacity that I 

 offer the following remarks, though I had the advantage of 

 excellent medical advice in forming my opinions. 



The symptoms of scurvy do not necessarily occur in a 

 regular order, but generally the first sign is an inflamed, 

 swollen condition of the gums. The whitish pink tinge next 

 the teeth is replaced by an angry red ; as the disease gains 

 ground the gums become more spongy and turn to a purplish 

 colour, the teeth become loose and the gums sore. Spots 

 appear on the legs, and pain is felt in old wounds and bruises; 

 later, from a slight oedema, the legs, and then the arms, swell 

 to a great size and become blackened behind the joints. After 

 this the patient is soon incapacitated, and the last horrible 

 stages of the disease set in, from which death is a merciful 

 release. Curiously enough, I believe that the appetite is 

 rarely lost even towards the end, and the rapidity with 

 which the disease spreads is excelled by the rapidity of 

 recovery if circumstances allow the proper remedies to be 

 applied. 



For centuries, and until quite recently, it was believed that 



