PRÉSERVATION
OF MARINERS.
tions with thefe hot grains. Th e quantity o f malt We had on
board, amounted to n large calks; and during the two firft years,
kept remarkably w e l l ; but in the third year, fome lumps were
found mouldered in the calks,, though fome other parts ftiill remained
very good; the wort procured from this malt was inferiee
in quality, but by increafing the quantity o f malt and leffening
that o f water, the infufion was Hill found a powerful and excellent
antifeptic. It has been objected againft the infufion o f malty.
that it will not cure the fcürvy at fea; * firtce this antifcorbutid
fea-medicina will only prevent the fcurvy from making any great
progrefs f i r d confiderable while, -f* But i f we confider the two
Or three cafes before mentioned, we fhall be obliged to allow that
they cannot' be cOnftdered otherwife than perfect cures. F of we
muft likewi'fe remark on the other band, that as- long as- the patient,
(who is reltorecf to health by the ufe o f the fweet-wort) remains
on board, the caufes which produced the fcurvy are not removed
; theputrid Wafer continues to be his drink, the. putrid fclt-
fiefh his diet, and the putrid air is at all times inhaled by him,;
at lèaft during night, between the decks, all. which circumftancës
keep up and increafe th € fitnes of putrefcence in the Body. A per-
fon therefore with a bad habit of body, may be laid* to have beetl;
peffeiSly,
* Capt. Cook’s Voyage, vol. ii. p. 289,
1 Idem, ibid.
perfectly cured o f the fcurvy, without daring to leave off the ufe preserv
a t io n
of. the fweet-wort all the time he remains on board, for fear o f be- F M , R.
ing again, attacked by the fame evil, whofe fomes he is continually ners,
taking in by .way o f, food, and even by his breath. Malt, as every
body knows, is made of barley, and o f all the kinds of grains
ufed for food, ..ysrjjich have fome analogy with the tribe o f graffes,
it contains more of a fugar-like extract than all the reft. When the
malt is manufactured, the grains of barley are macerated, and then
left to ferment in a moderate degree of warmth. This fermentation
promotes the growth of the blade, and of the firft, roots ; but
it likewife fets fr.ee the fweet particles, which were lying as it were
dormant, and enveloped in the glutinous and ftarchy fubftance. *
Th e fweet fubftance analogous to fugar, is more capable o f promoting
fermentation than any other; the malt being dried juft at
the moment when this fweet fubftance isffreed from the others by
fermentation, preferves this precious fweet juice; and when it is
extracted from the malt by the infufion of boiling water, the liquor
is richly charged with the faccharine particles promoting fermentation,
fweetening the putrefeent parts of the fait flefh, and dif-
charging copioufly • fixed air, which is the only fubftance capable
of refilling powerfully the dreadful effects o f putridity.
4. M 2 We
Sage Analyfe des blés, Paris, 8vo, 1776.