quantity of pure air from the atmoſphere, to ſupply the place of that which it had loſt; ſo that, putrid as it had been before, it ſoon recovered its original freſhneſs.
This proceſs, ſo eaſy in its execution, affords a ſatisfactory anſwer to the many enquiries that have been made concerning the means employed by mariners to render water potable, after it has loſt this quality by being kept long in the ſhip.
It will ſcarcely be credited, that though we were able to purify the water according to the ſimple method juſt deſcribed, that which was diſtributed in the veſſel often ſtunk nearly as much as when it was firſt brought out of the hold. The cauſe of this neglect aroſe from the circumſtance, that the officer, who had the charge of inſpecting the operation, uſually committed it to one of the ſailors, who, ſoon tired with turning the handle, delivered it out before it had become potable. It was very juſtly obſerved on board, that it would have been much better had this charge been committed to the ſurgeon, as the health of the crew depended ſo much upon its being well performed. It was nevertheleſs left in the hands of the officer of the watch.
On the 29th of December, the ſky being very clear, the thermometer indicated 17° 8-10ths, and the barometer 28 inches 39-10ths lines;
when
