REPORT ON THE HEALTH OF THE 

 EXPEDITION 



By Dr. ERIC MARSHALL, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. 



^T^HE fact that there was no ease of scurvy during the 

 period of the expedition's residence in the Antarctic 

 may be attributed to the fact that the utmost care had been 

 taken in provisioning the expedition with foods of the best 

 quality obtainable, in that variety which is essential under 

 polar conditions. Bottled and preserved fruits were used 

 hberally during the long winter, and when the spring ap- 

 proached and the preparations for the spring and summer 

 sledging involved an increasing amount of physical work, 

 the allowance of fresh meat (penguin, seal and mutton) 

 was increased. When the spring depot party started 

 south on September 22, 1908, all the members of the expe- 

 dition had been on a liberal allowance of fresh meat for a 

 month. During the whole winter all the men took daily 

 exercise in the open air, this routine being interrupted 

 only by the most severe blizzards. There was no case of 

 sickness. 



We found, in the matter of clothing, that heavy pilot- 

 cloth garments and furs were not essential provided that 

 wind-proof suits were worn, and that the body temperature 

 was maintained by a full diet. On the southern journey, 

 when the rations had been reduced to the minimum, and 

 our clothing was worn and torn, so that it no longer kept 

 out the biting wind, our temperatures were subnormal. 

 At the end of a long day's march and in the face of a 

 blizzard wind, when our altitude was about ten thousand 



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