The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-21 00:00:00

FOREIGN SUPPLIES.

The following arrivals of cattle, provisions, and
grain, took place at the port of London on Monday, the
enumeration of which will be of exceeding interest to
the general public, as well as to those mere immediately
concerned in the importation and traffic of such produc-
tions at the present time:—The Attwood, frcm Rotter-
dam, brought 71 oxen and cows, 8 calves, and 224
sheep; the BeDona, from Gravelines, 131 packages of
eggs; the Victorine, frcm Caen, 150 cases of eggs; the
Poule, from Cherbourg, 183 cases of eggs; the lionig-
yin Von Schuneden, from Wolgast, 1,200 bags of
wheat; the Mentor, from Dantzic, several hundreds of
hams; the Ocean, from Rotterdam, 162 casks of butter,
13 baskets of cucumbers, some of fish, 53 of yeast, 71
of cheese, and other articles; the Zealous, from Charles-
ton, 2,300 quarters of paddy, or rice in the husk; the
Lins, from Wolgast, 1,200 quarters of wheat; the
Magnet, from Harlingen, 1,940 casks of' butter, 150
casks of cheeses, 13 horses, 137 cows, 27 cakes, 110
sheep, 9 packages of poultry, 3 of eggs, and 334 bags
of potatoes; the Rapid, from Rotterdam, 71 cows, 6
calves, 271 sheep, 8,000 cheeses, 296 bales of seed,
several packages of butter, fish, and other productions;
the City of London, from Rotterdam, 274 casks of
butter, 2,798 of cheese, 55 oxen and cows, several
packages of hams, fish, poultry, &c.; the Oxenbirg,
from Aarhuns, 450 quarters of oats, and 230 quarters
of barley; the Neptune, from Gravelines, 243 cases of
eggs; the Winchester, from Launceston, Van Diemen's
Land,' 890 bags of wheat ; the Niemepemnen, from
Dantzic, 1,600 quarters of wheat; the Laurine Ma-
thilde, from Middlefauht, 480 quarters of barley; the
Jane Smith, from Stettin, 750 quarters of barley; the
Ceres, also from Stettin, 800 quarters of wheat; the
Princess Royal, from Ilamburgh, 304 casks of butter,
58 oxen, 20 casks of flour, 33 bales of bacon, 488 bags
of wheat, several of tongues, pork, seed, and other
articles; the John Troughton, from Alexandria, 2,000
quarters of beans: the Rattler, from Hobart Town, 286
bags of wheat, the Twa Brodre, from Wadewalla
(Sweden), 500 quarters of oats and 160 of seed; the
Maidstone, from Calcutta, 2,752 packages of rice; the
Agnette Kirstine, from Aarhuns (Denmark), 320 quar-
ters of wheat and 170 of oats; the Hoff:lung, from
Stettin, 1,255 quarters of wheat ; and the Charlotte,
from Dantzic, 1,302 quarters of peas. The whole of
these arrivals took place at the port of London alone, as
before stated, in one day, and the several articles in-
cluded in the list are, it need scarcely be stated, either
entirely free, or subject to very trifling rates of duty on
importation into this country. The arrivals of butter
from Holland have lately been very extensive, much
more so than was formerly the case, and every possible
privilege is conceded in order that these articles of food
may be admitted into the markets without delay.

MORTALITY in the METROPOLIS.
The number of deaths ngistered in the London dis-
tricts last week were 278, or males, 512 ; females, 466.
Births, 1,327, or males, 668 ; females, 659. Meteoro-
logical observations taken at the Royal Observatory,
Greenwich•—barometer, mean height, 29.005 ; ther-
mometer, highest, 68.0 ; lowest, 45.1 ; mean, 56.1 ;
general direction of the wind, S.S.W., with a maximum
pressure of 3.5 lbs. on the square foot ; mean amount of
cloud, 6.8; sums of rain, 0.54 inches.

In the quarterly report which appeared in February
last, apprehension was expressed that scurvy may break
out among the people of this country. The necessity of
precautionary measures was also adverted to in the fol-
lowing terms—
"Dr. Baly, the physician to the Milbank Penitentiary,
showed some time ago that scurvy was very prevalent in
prisons from the dietaries of which potatoes were ex-
cluded, and did not exist where potatoes were used.
The potato contains a small quantity of a vegetable acid,
in combination with potash (bitartrato of potash, or
cream of tartar). It is certain that scurvy, which was
formerly common, has almost disappeared since the
potato entered largely into the food of the population.
If, now that the potato has grown scarce, this disease,
characterised among other symptoms by swollen bleeding
gums, again become prevalent, its simple prophylactics
should be had recourse to."

Although no deaths have yet been directly ascribed
have
to scurvy in London, the disease, it is now ascertained,
appeared
shown ma
hascas
cases, t 00,- themselvesPts ofrthethecountry.
at Several
Londonhos-
pitals. Under these circumstances the following prac-
tical suggestions of Dr. Baly deserve the attention of the
public. The poorer classes particularly should be
properly informed on the subject. Where green
vegetables and lime juice cannot be procured, a weak
acidulated drink of cream of tartar and sugar may be
tried ; for it is the presence of the former salt which
probably renders the potato an tiscor bu tic.
" It cannot be doubted," says Dr. Baly, " that the
prevalence of scurvy at the present time amongst the
poor in Scotland, some parts of England, and even in
London, is owing to the scarcity of vegetables, and
especially of that kind of vegetable which alone the
poor can usually obtain in quantity adequate for the
preservation of health—namely, potatoes. The want of
potatoes, as I have shown elsewhere, was the cause of
the appearance of scurvy in many prisons and h
ot er
public institutions at former periods. The potato being
now so scarce, other articles of
diet have been sub-
stituted for it. The article 'substituted h 2S. been for the
most part some cheap kind of r in gßatthaes Indianf corn,
food
rice,
oats, barley, peas, or beaus.
wade flom co ulc pro' grain has no antis But
arinearteeousy. It
has
been in cessary, therefore, to supply this • defect by
flavouring the farinaceous food with lime juice, the
great prophylactic against scurvy iu the navy ; or to
combine with the food some fresh vegetabe, such a
turnips (Swedes), carrots, cabbages, onions, cress, and
mustard. Both these measures, when tried, have been
successful.
" A small quantity of liwc juice would be sufficient to
give antiscorbutjc properties to the rice, meal, or Indian
corn, food used by the poor, or an acidulous drink
might be made with it. In either way it would be an
efficacious, and, I think, an economical preventive of the
disease. Its use might be introduced with great advan-
tage into workhotises and amongst the out-door poor.
" The fresh vegetables I have named could seldom be
procured by the poor themselves in sufficient quantity,
but sometimes, perhaps, they might use plants which
grow wild, such as the common water-cress and scurvy-
grass. These are powerful antiscorbutics, and most
edible green vegetables, espceially those which have an
acid taste, possess the same pi operties.
46 The important point, however, seems to be, that the
poor and the guardians of the poor should be instructe
that farinaceous foods, made of grain or meal of an

kind, will not alone serve as substitutes for potatoe
that either some green vegetable ar succulent root must-
he eaten with them; or the deficient antiscorbutic pro-
perty supplied with limejuice."