[91] WORK OF PISH COMMISSION STEAMER ALBATROSS. 207 



The prime object in supplying tlie Albatross with these was to pro- 

 vide a place where fresh natural-history specimens could be stored and 

 kept without undergoing putrefactive changes. When the cold-room 

 is not in use for this purpose it can be used for the storage of fresh pro- 

 visions, and has been so utilized during the past year. It is in this 

 connection that I wish particularly to call attention to it, for it would 

 be an easy matter to fit our naval vessels with similar compartments, 

 and as new vessels for the Navy are now being constructed, and it seems 

 not unlikely that more will soon follow, the present seems an opportune 

 time to direct attention to the fact that in this ship these compartments 

 have been in constant use for a year, and are now regarded by all as a 

 practical success. The advantages resulting from the use of fresh food 

 at sea need not be enumerated, and the benefits resulting from having 

 a supply of ice on hand, not alone for dietetic purposes, but for use 

 during the prevalence of many diseases, are equally recognized. The 

 ice-house and cold-room are constructed to work on the cold-blast sys- 

 tem. The ice-house and cold-room have the following dimensions : 

 The former is 6 feet and the latter 2 feet in the clear, fore and aft. 

 Each is about 9 feet high, and extends across the entire width of the 

 ship. The ice-house, marked A in the appended figure, is divided 



Tierih deck 



Ladder 



¥^ 



B 



A 



K^ 



Scale ^-f-t. 



by a midship longitudinal bulkhead, making in fact two independ- 

 ent compartments, each capable of holding from 3 to 4 tons, accord- 

 ing to the care with which the packing is done. The bulkheads, 



