Stephen Hales

“ In new and important Researches, the likeliest Way to succeed, is to pursue a Thought not only by imperfect and fallacious Reasonings, but when the Nature of the Thing requires it, with a proper Series of Trials and Experiments. Thus in the present Case, the principal Cause of the Sickness in Ships, is the noxious putrid Air; the obvious Remedy is the exchanging that foul Air for fresh, by effectual Means, which are seldom discovered by dwelling only on Objections, but are usually the Reward of repeated diligent, experimental Researches. ”

“ Even the Exercise had Advantages not to be despised among People so much confined. I must not, however, forget that Ventilation alone is insufficient to keep Disorders out of Ships; for often Infections are brought aboard [Pg 43] by the Slaves, or others; and frequently Diseases are produced by feeding on bad or decayed Food, but oftener still by Insobriety; for I have ever remarked that the immoderate Use of spirituous Liquors in warm Climates, is more pernicious and fatal even than the Malignancy of the Air itself. ”

“ Whence we may reasonably infer, how requisite it is, in order to keep the Blood in a salutary State, to have almost constant Supplies of the Breath of Life, fresh Air, to mix with it: For if the principal Use of the Gills were only to cool, and churn, and comminute the Blood, Water devoid of Air could as well perform that Office, as Water repleat with fresh Air. It must therefore be of Importance for all Animals to have so necessary a vital Fluid fresh and pure, and not foul and putrid. ”

“ And the Earl of Halifax has often informed me of the great Benefit they found by the Use of Ventilators, in several [Pg 45] Nova Scotia Transport-Ships, twelve to one more have been found to die in unventilated than in ventilated Ships. It is indeed a self-evident Thing, that the changing the foul Air frequently in Ships, in which there are many Persons, will be a means of keeping them in better Health than not doing it; which makes it the more astonishing that effectual Proposals to remedy so great an Evil, should be received with so much Coldness and Indifference by Mankind. ”

“ Since double the usual Quantity of Vapour may by Way of Ventilation be carried off, common Salt may thus be made much sooner, cheaper, and better; because as there is much less Fire used; so proportionably, less of the fine acid Spirit of the Salt, in which its Virtue consists, will be evaporated away: For it is well known, that the Salt is best which has undergone the least Action of Fire in making. ”

“ I have been informed that it is a common Practice, to cure the ill Taste of Cream from the Food of Cows, by setting it in broad Pans over hot Embers or Charcoal, and continually stirring it, till scalding hot, and till cool again: But when I attempted to do this much sooner, and more effectually, by blowing Showers of Air up thro’ it; I soon found it to be impracticable, by reason of its very great Degree of frothing up. The ill Taste must therefore be got out of the Milk, before it [Pg 47] is set for Cream ”

“ If Mankind, instead of receiving and entertaining this Pest with almost universal Applause and Approbation, could prevail with themselves to be in earnest to use Means to deliver themselves from it; then much might be done towards it, by lowering and weakening all kind of fermented distilled Spirits with Water, to a salutary Degree, as is now practised in our Plantations in America, in making Punch so weak, as not to be hurtful; which, when it was much stronger, was well known to destroy Multitudes. ”

“ It is a considerable further Advantage, that Water thus distilled by Ventilation, being thereby repleat and freshened with Air, has for present Use a more agreeable Taste, than Water distilled without Ventilation, which requires the standing a longer Time to have its more disagreeable adust Taste go off. ”

“ How much therefore does it behove all, who have any Concern for the Honour and Dignity of their own kindred Species, any Indignation at its being thus debased and disgraced, any Bowels of Pity for the vast Multitudes, not less than a Million, that are yearly destroyed all over the World, by this moral as well as natural, and therefore worst of all Evils that ever befel unhappy Man; to use their utmost Endeavours to deliver Mankind from this Pest? ”

“ Destroyer rears up its invenomed Head every where? The most zealous Advocates for Drams, even the unhappy besotted Dramists themselves, the prolonging of whose Lives, and whose real Welfare both here and hereafter, is hereby sincerely intended, cannot find fault with this well-meant Remonstrance, in Defence of them, and of all Mankind, against this mighty Destroyer, from one who has long been labouring, and that not without Success, in finding Means to preserve Multitudes of Lives, by various Ways. ”

“ The skimmed Milk is very thin and sheer; and the Cream in great Plenty and delicious, except it gets a smoky Taste, which it is apt to do; and which might probably be prevented, by having a Range of as many Stoves, as [Pg 51] there are Pans of Milk to be used at one Time; all to be warmed by one Fire, either at one end, or the middle of the Flue or Funnel in the Brick-work, which conveys the Smoke and Heat under the Stoves. And as the Pans nearest to the Fire will soonest have their due Heat, on their Removal to bring the farthest and coolest Pans nearest the Fire ”

“ For as we are assured by daily Experience, that the Decay is wholly owing to damp, close confined putrid corroding Air; so the only Remedy for this Evil, is the frequently changing the Air among the Timbers, by plentiful Ventilations; which we find by happy Experience, can be effected to such a Degree, as give reasonable Hopes, enough to encourage our farther Trials and Researches. ”

“ And giving Vinegar a scalding Heat, does not weaken or damage it, as it does Wine, whose vinous Spirit is carried off both by Heat and Ventilation; for when some strong musty Raisin Wine was ventilated hot, it was cured in five Minutes: But the vinous Spirit, which strongly affected the Nose in flying off during Ventilation, being gone off, the vapid Wine would not kindle into a Blaze, when thrown into the Fire, as it did to a great Degree before it was heated and ventilated. ”

“ But should the Event be to make those Spirits cheaper, and consequently, by spreading farther, more destructive, the consequence of that will be, that the increased raging Devastation will the sooner necessarily rouse the Nations to put a Stop to what must be done hereafter; for if the Ravages continue increasing, as they have done for sixty Years past, the human Species must needs not only be greatly debased, but even in great measure diminished and destroyed. ”

“ If it be necessary, the better to close the Joining of the Still-head, it may be done with a Lute or Paste made of a Mixture of powdered Chalk and Meal, wetted with Salt-water.
21. Now that several effectual Means are discovered, to make distilled Sea-water wholsome, and also to distill it in much greater Quantity in the same Still, in the same Time, and with nearly the same Quantity of Fuel; it is reasonable to believe, that it will be of great Benefit to [Pg 18] Navigation, not only in saving much stowage room, for other important Purposes ”

“ And if withal due Care be taken, to exchange for fresh Air the putrid close confined Air of Ships, which has occasioned the Death of Millions of Mankind; then Navigation will become remarkably more healthy, and with little more Danger to Health and Life, than at Land, except from Storms. ”

“ This Vapour became visible, and much increased, when the Water in the Worm-tub was very hot; at which Time, less is distilled into the Cask-receiver; then also there is more Danger of the Spirit of Salt arising. And it was observable, that the Water in the Worm-pipe Vessel heated much sooner by Ventilation, than in the common Way of distilling. For which Reason that Water ought to be changed so much the oftener, which can easily be done at Sea. The Cocks also at the Side of the Worm-tub ought to be large, in order to let the hot Water off the faster. ”

“ The Effects of Drunkenness was still more discernable among the Indians adjoining our Settlements in Hudson’s-Bay, who are a feeble, diminutive, chilly, indolent Set of People. On the contrary, those who come from the inland Parts (who are unused to drink Brandy) are brave, active, robust, and industrious. ”

“ Our general Rule was, to work the Ventilators till we found the Air from them sweet. We all agreed that they were of great Service; the Men being so sensible of the Benefit of them, that they required no driving to work that which they received so much Benefit by. We found this good Effect from Ventilation, that tho’ there were near 200 Men on board, for almost a Year, yet I landed them all well in Georgia, notwithstanding they were pressed Men, and delivered me out of Goals, with Distempers upon them. ”

“ The Air-pipe, which passes thro’ the Head of the Still, will help to keep the Air-box from moving to and fro by the Motion of the Ship; or, if that should not be found sufficient, 3 or 4 small Struts may be fixed to the Sides of the Air-box. They must reach to the Sides of the Still. The Cover and Sides of the Air-box were punched full of very small Holes, one-fourth Inch distant from each other, and about the twentieth part of an Inch in Diameter. ”

“ I might then use too small a Quantity of that Lime. Hence it is probable, that the Chalk, the Lime, the Lime in the Lapis Infernalis, and the Lime in Dr. Butler’s Soap-lees, seize on and fix not only the bittern Salt, but also the Bitumen of the Sea-water, as we learn from the like Effect in the Purification of the Salt of Hartshorn. That the saline Spirit arises chiefly [Pg 27] from the bittern Salt, and not from the more perfect Sea-salt, is probable from hence, viz. when I distilled three Gallons of common Water, made as salt as Sea-water with common Salt ”

“ Wyche thought of other Means the better to promote Distillation, viz. by conveying the Air from the Bellows through a Pipe with several spiral Coiles, thereby in passing thro’ boiling Water in the Still, to make the ascending Showers of the Air the hotter, and so the less refrigerating. Also to have the warm Water pass from the Worm-tub, in a Pipe, with several the like spiral Coiles, in the Head of the Still; thereby the more to heat the entering Water. ”

“ By the same Means the Poor might save much Fuel in boiling the Pot, especially in Summer, when a Fire is wanted only for boiling the Pot.
61. When any Pans are to be removed from the Stoves, the Ascent of the Smoke thro’ the uncovered Stove, may be prevented by first closing the Flue near the Fire, by an Iron Sliding-shutter or Register.
62. Milk might thus most commodiously be heated to a scalding Heat with little Fuel, fit for Ventilation, in a Vessel of a proper Depth, set in the same Manner as the Pans in a Stove, to secure it from Smoke, with Bellows fixed properly near it: (see Fig. 3.) ”

“ Tho’ when the distilling Liquor runs from the Bottom of the Worm-pipe, thro’ a long Pipe fixed to it, the Waste by the ventilating rushing Air, is not great when the Water in the Worm-tub is not hot; yet the following Precaution, if needful, may be used, in distilling by Ventilation, viz. to fix at the lower End of the Worm-pipe, by means of a wooden Fawcet, a small Cask for a Receiver ”

“ Indeed I ought not to say little; for it is a great Step to have found the few that have Hearts good enough to relish your Plan, and Heads sufficiently clear to discern the most effectual Method of advancing it. It does Honour to those noble and other worthy Personages that join you in Acts of such extensive Humanity, as the Introduction of Ventilators to Hospitals, Prisons, Ships of War and Transport, &c. ”

“ So here is a Method to make good Butter from ill tasted Milk.
55. The Froth of the Milk was so great, by reason of a too brisk Ventilation, as to make it froth over the Vessel, which was thirty Inches deep; if it had not been kept down, by constantly lading and breaking the very large Bubbles of Froth. But when the Ventilation is more gentle, the Froth has risen but three Inches from six Quarts of Milk, which was nine Inches deep. ”

“ The Bellows must be proportionable to the Size of the Still, but need not be very large. Wherever the Stills are fixed in Ships, the Air may be conveyed to them from the Bellows, either thro’ a small leathern Pipe, distended with Spiral Coiles of Wyre, or thro’ Bamboo Canes, or broad small wooden Pipes, like hollow fishing Rods. ”

“ Hence we see that the ill Taste and Smell of the Crow-Garlick Milk, cannot thus be cured, tho’ somewhat amended. The ill Taste of this Cow’s Milk continued for about five Days after she had left off eating of the Crow-Garlick. And perhaps where Cows have eaten but a small Quantity of it, the Abatement of the ill Taste may be so considerable, as to recompence [Pg 68] the Trouble of ventilating it. As Opportunities offer, I will make the like Trials, with other ill-tasted Milks, such as that from autumnal Leaves, &c. and hope that others will do the like. ”

“ It is to be lamented that they are not more generally made use of; for, notwithstanding their Advantage is apparent and incontestable, it is scarce credible how few are to be found among the vast Number of Ships daily employed in carrying Passengers, Slaves, Cattle, and other perishable Commodities. ”