ANTISCORBUTICS, the remedies, real or reputed, against scurvy. Sea-scurvy formerly prevailed in a very extensive degree. Com modore Anson, in the course of his voyage round the world, lost above four-fifths of his men, and when he arrived at Juan Fernandez, of the 200 men then surviving, eight only were capable of d my. An entire crew has sometimes fallen a victim to it, and the ship been left without a single hand to guide it through the waters. This happened in the ease of the Spanish ship Oriflamma, in which the whole crew perished, and in this state she was dis covered with the dead bodies on board.
The causes of this disease appear to be ex posure to a cold and damp atmosphere, exces sive fatigue, badly ventilated sleeping apart ments, and intemperance ; but none of these causes singly, nor indeed all of them com bined, are adequate to produce scurvy, unas sisted by some specific cause, which cause is to be found in the diet. The diet of seamen during long voyages was formerly merely salted meat and biscuit ; fresh animal food or recent vegetables formed no part of it. It was also often deficient in quantity.
Fresh vegetables, vegetable substances, or articles prepared from them, constitute the antiscorbutice, or means of preventing and curing sea-scurvy; but they are not all of equal value, some far surpassing others in efficacy.
The lenten is the most valuable of all. It may be used in various ways ; the best is in the form of the fresh fruit, sucked by the patient: but in the absence of this, lemon-juice may be employed, and this is the usual mode in the naval practice. A quantity of it, having a tenth-part of spirit of wine added to preserve it, are supplied to each ship, and in about a fortnight after leaving port its use is begun ; each sailor is allowed one ounce of it and one ounce and a half of sugar to mix with the grog, or in many instances with wine, a stated quantity of which is granted in lieu of a cer tain quantity of spirits, which is withdrawn. This has the effect of almost invariably pre venting scurvy affecting any of the crew. The recent admiralty orders (1850) tend to lessen the use of grog and to increase that of lemon juice.
In addition to the lemon-juice, ships in tended to be sent on long voyages are sup plied with animal food, so prepared as to be almost as fresh at the end of six years as if it had been killed but a few days and dressed the day previous to its being used. This valuable discovery, which tends so greatly to lessen the inconvenience of a sea-life, as well as to secure the health of those devoted to it, was made by Mr. Appert.