No. 216.] 467 



decaying, give forth gases of the most offensive and deleterious char- 

 acter, and from others in like state, little will be observed. The dif- 

 terence between " decay" and " putrefaction," the two destroying 

 processes which animal and vegetable matters undergo, and which 

 are wide asunder in their nature and effects, should be well under- 

 stood and never forgotten. 



The following communication from my friend and colleague, Dr. R. 

 K. Hoffman, exhibits in a striking light the vigilance and discrimi- 

 nation necessary on the part of those who have the care of the health 

 of large numbers of persons. 



From R. K. Hoffman, M. D., late Surgeon U. S. JYavy. 



22 Warren-street, August dOth, 1844. 



My dear sir — Your note of the 26th inst., reminds me of our con- 

 versation at the Hospital, in which I mentioned the occurrence of fever 

 on sBip board, from the decomposition of vegetable matter. 



On referring to my journal for the particulars you ask for, I find 

 other causes combined, which alone may be considered sufficient to 

 have originated and propagated the fever ; but I will state the cir- 

 cumstances from which you will make your own deductions. 



In the summer of 1817, the U. S. sloop of war Ontario, command- 

 ed by Capt. James Biddle, was fitted out in this port for a voyage to 

 the Pacific Ocean. On the 24th of June, she left the Navy Yard 

 and anchored in the North River, off the Battery. The crew consist- 

 ing of 175, continued for a time as healthy as usual for a new crew 

 in port. 



Being destined to convey Mr. Rodney and Judge Prevost, as Com» 

 missioners to Buenos Ayres and Chili, a large supply of cabin stores, 

 including the ordinary vegetables, was received on board, and stowed 

 in rooms constructed for the purpose, on the berth deck, between the 

 hatchways, obstructing ventilation, and encroaching on the space al- 

 lotted to the men to sleep, while that under the top gallant forecastle 

 was redolent of its new occupants — poultry and pigs. The season 

 was rainy, sultry, and damp; and the state of the weather compelled 

 the crew to sleep below, where the exhalations from decaying vege- 

 tables, especially in a calm night, rendered the air almost insufferably 

 hot, and peculiarly offensive. 



