THE PASSING OF THE HOLY-STONE.

"Six days shalt thou work and do all that thou art able;

On the seventh, holy-stone the deck and scrape the iron cable " -Old Merchantman Rhyme. Another time-honored "custom of the service”—but honored in no other respect than its antiquity-has fallen before a few penstrokes over the signature of the Assistant Secretary of the Navythe practice of holy-stoning the decks of men-of-war is to be henceforth abandoned. As commodores and midshipmen were once head and tail of the personnel of the naval service, and sails and spars and tacks and.sheets, things without which no man-of-war could be, so was the holy-stone, the sacred possession of the Kaaba of the quarter-deck, which every old shell-back had first detested in his youth and then accepted in his old age, as the thorn in the flesh which it was his lot to wear without repining. This was yesterday; and to-day Midshipman Easy might roam the decks with his little hanger and find no messmate; "commodore" is scarcely more than a traditional title; sails and spars have disappeared, reefing and furling are lost arts; and now the holy-stone is for all future time to be anathema. Maran atha!

For years before the oldest living medical officer of the Navy received the blue ribboned parchment which constituted him during the pleasure of the President of the United States, an officer of the Navy, to whose orders "all officers, seamen and marines under his command" were "strictly charged and required to be obedient" (pregnant words, though the pregnancy be only phantom)—this venerable stone has been denounced for the unholy uses to which it has been devoted, and now, at last, each old survivor of the conflict can congratulate himself and reverently say: "I have fought a good fight; I have run my course."

The scourge of the sea has not been storm and wreckage, not battle and bloodshed, not typhus and scurvy, ship fever and dysentery, but more murderous than all these, wet decks, not decks wetted by raging sea or drenching rain, but deluged daily and deliberately by the pumps under pretense of cleanliness, and this in defiance of the unanimous protest of the medical officers of every naval service on the globe. In vain they showed how this artificial saturation of the ship's atmosphere was inimical to health. They demonstrated by unerring statistics that a wet ship was always an unhealthy ship. They pleaded and protested; they suffered insult

and braved court-martial-but the holy-stone kept on grinding out, in daily swing, with sand and water, the lives of men whom wind and sea had failed to mark and mar.

There have been, in recent years, many instances of commanding officers of exceptional intelligence, who have listened to the advice of the medical officers and instituted the practice of shellacking the decks below the water line and cleaning them with hot water cloths and swabs. Captain John McNeill Boyd of the British Navy candidly admitted that "the objections to wet decks are supported by the medical officers with such a weight of evidence that they can not be gainsaid." But the upper decks have suffered the infliction of sand and water and holy-stones until a few weeks ago, when the fulmen of the Department consignd them to the scrapheap, not because they were insanitary and consequently damnable, but because they wore out the decks and were consequently expensive. Finis coronat opus, however it may be accomplished, and hence no sanitarian will repine that the credit be not given to him. for having accomplished this crowning achievement of the work of naval hygiene.

The kindred need of marine hygiene, ventilation, has come about through necessity following the construction of the great machine vessels, which have supplanted the white-winged queens of the sea. The almost hermitically sealed floating iron boxes were uninhabitable without constant artificial ventilation established by aspirating tubes and fans, whose motor engines, added to the hundred and more others that fill the interiors of modern battleships and cruisers, encroach upon the air space. With fresh dry air, tempering somewhat the evils of overcrowding, with distilled aerated water, good food and proper clothing, the man of the sea is now far better cared for than his predecessor, Ben Bolt, except when he gets sick or breaks a bone, and then he is stowed away in the same contracted, dark, noisy place in the bows, that is, in American men-of-war, where the din of rattling chains and capstans, the odors of the paint room, and the grime and grease of this region, neutralize anodynes and soporifics and keep him keen to suffering. The sites of the hospitals in other services are chosen because of their fitness for their purpose, but with us the suggestion that "she would be nothing but a damned quarantine hulk and had better hoist the yellow flag at once," was urged in the case of one of our finest modern vessels, when the medical departments ought to

equip her with the same hospital establishment as English, French, German and Russian vessels of her type.

The hostility to their medical associates by line officers is incred ible to civilians and perhaps can only be explained by an original underlying jealousy of the acquirements of a corps, whose humanitarian duties and obligations impel its members to persevere in the face of every opposition, until as in the matter of holy-stoning the decks, their humane objects shall be accomplished. Ultimately, the claims of the sick, as of their care-takers, will be recognized and provision be made for them more in accordance with the enlightenment and philanthropy which characterize this age. Much of the disagreement, as in civil life, doubtless depends upon the inability of non-professional men, who are themselves robust and healthy, to recognize the importance of what seems to them to be only trivial fault-finding by their medical associates, and they attribute to cavil recommendations that conflict with their own no doubt honestly conceived ideas. The health officer on shore, and the medical officer on board ship, who is pre-eminently a health officer, have the same up-hill work, but they have at last gained so sure a foot-hold that ere long their views will be heard not in entreaty, but as of those having authority.-Journal American Medica! Association, Nov. 21, 1896.

WESTPHALIAN HAMS.

The peculiar and excellent qualities which have made Westphalian hams so famous are attributable to three distinct elements connected with ham making: (1) the hogs of Westphalia are chiefly bred for the express purpose of making the most tender meat and the least fat; (2) the manner of feeding and caring for the hogs is a specialty; (3) preserving, curing and last of all, smoking the hams with juniper berries and branches is entitled to careful

attention.

There is a special predilection in Westphalia for the raising of the so-called Ravensberger Kreutzung (Ravensberg crossbreed). They are rather large animals, with slender bodies, flat groins, straight snouts, and large heads. A special feature of this race is their very big, overhanging ears. Their skin is white and covered with straight little bristles. Another but smaller species is also raised in Westphalia, which is called the Koenigsberger Landschwein. This kind, particularly as far as hams are concerned, is not in great favor. Their flesh is not as substantial as that of the

first mentioned breed. In comparison with the Ravensberg hog, their rind is thick and leathery. These pigs are distinguishable by the short, compact frame of their bodies. The head is short, with straight snout; ears are small and upright. Unlike the Ravensberg sort, this hog has a body almost like a roller, resting upon very short and thin legs. The skin is dark colored, the hair not straight.

Manner of Feeding.-First of all it must be stated that the feeding with acorns, though very much in vogue in Westphalia some time ago, is at present not practicable on account of the inability of the oak woods to produce anything like the amount of mast food wanted. Feeding in the piggery is the only way customary nowadays. The principal component part of swine food in Westphalia is potatoes, which are grown in large quantities. Particularly the smaller varieties are used for this purpose. The potatoes are first well cooked and then, with their skin, mashed in the potato water. The pulp thus obtained is thoroughly mixed with wheat bran or with rye, barley or oatmeal in a dry, raw condition. An addition of indian corn is not advisable, because this cereal, according to experience, is said to have an undesirable effect on the production of hams. Pork from hogs which had been principally fed with indian corn shows little firmness, is watery, and not adapted for

cure.

Proper care should be taken that the food given to the animals is properly cooled, or else complications in the digestion are much to be feared. It is further advisable that the mass of the food is not too thick by the admixture of bran or meal. It must not tumble in thick masses into the food-trough, but should be in a condition to flow thickly into the trough. In order to avoid an overproduction of fat, and, at the same time further the growth of flesh of young pigs, it is good to add some raw-cut green food-cabbage is the best to the mixture. In many parts of Westphalia, wherever it is practicable, young pigs get much sour milk and prosper splendidly thereon. Pork of animals fed in this way is savory and of fine color.

In order to promote digestion, it is sometimes good to give the hogs small pieces of soft coal, which they eat with lively appetite. It is a matter of course that from time to time pigs must get fresh, clear drinking water.

Much stress should be laid on cleanliness. scrupulous cleanliness if they are to prosper.

Hogs require

The sty must

be airy and allow the animals sufficient mobility. It is good to whitewash the walls every year anew. The floor is to be paved in a way that the watery excrements will flow off directly. Further care is to be taken that the beds are kept as dry as practicable; the litter should therefore be frequently renewed. It is of great importance for the welfare of the animals to water or moisten them frequently; particularly during the hot season, a weekly thorough cleaning with soap, water, and a hard brush is alike very much advisable, and is the common practice in many places.

If more value is laid upon the production of flesh rather than of bacon, the animals ought to have much exercise in the open air. Curing. The hams are first vigorously rubbed with saltpetre, and then with salt. In order to prevent the spoiling of the hams, as many cuts as can be prudently made are made near the bone and strewn with saltpetre and salt. The hams thus cured are presesd in a pickle-tun and entirely covered with cold salt lye. According to their size, hams should remain in salt from three to five weeks. After this the hams are taken out of the pickle and hung up in a shady, but dry and airy, place, in order to become "airdry" (lufttrocken).

Before the pickled hams can be put in smoke, it is absolutely necessary that they be first exposed for several weeks to the drying in the open air in the way just mentioned. As long as the outside of the ham is not absolutely dry, as long as it appears moist or sticky. it must be kept away from smoke. Only entirely air-dry pieces must be subjected to this way of conservation. Smoking is done in special large chambers, the hams being hung up on the ceiling. On the floor of the smoking room a suitable quantity of sawdust, wood shavings, and, if possible, an addition of juniper bunches, is slowly charred.

Besides juniper, beech and alder woods are used. Oak and resinous woods are to be positively avoided.

The smoking should go on very slowly. It is recommended to smoke for a few days cautiously—that is, to have the smoke not too strong, then to expose the hams for a few days in the fresh air, repeating this way until the hams have become sufficiently brown. Hams should be actually in smoke two or three weeks, and thus the whole process of smoking will take about six weeks.

Hams are

In Westphalia much value is set upon dry hams. therefore preserved after their smoking in a room which is shady, not accessible to the light, but at the same time dry, cool and airy. HENRY F. MERRITT,

BARMEN, September 21, 1895.

Consul.