By these means we were enabled to get
rid of the moisture about the berths where the people messed; but
when the weather became more severely cold, it still accumulated
in the bed places occasionally to a serious and very alarming
degree. Among the means employed to prevent the injurious effects
arising from this annoyance, one of the most efficacious, perhaps,
was a screen made of fearnaught, fixed to the beams round the
galley, and dropping within eighteen inches of the deck, which
served to intercept the steam from the coppers, and prevent it,
as before, from curling along the beams, and condensing upon them
into drops.
For the preservation of health, and as a necessary measure of
economy, a few alterations were made in the quantity and quality
of the provisions issued. I directed the allowance of bread to be
permanently reduced to two thirds, a precaution which, perhaps, it
would have been as well to adopt from the commencement of the
voyage. A pound of preserved meat, together with one pint of
vegetable or concentrated soup per man, was substituted for one
pound of salt beef weekly; a proportion of beer and wine was
served in lieu of spirits; and a small quantity of sourkrout and
pickles, with as much vinegar as could be used, was issued at
regular intervals.
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