been introduced for bathing. bathing. In the olden days, the only means a man had was to use a bucket and salt water, of course. Now bathrooms are provided where he may have a hot or a cold shower, and where there is always an abundant supply of water. Although the majority will probably cling to the bucket for the morning "wash, the bathroom as an institution is well received and well patronized, for Jack is generally a clean man, and where there is an inclination to be otherwise, the officers see to it that he does not neglect to give proper attention to bathing. Especially is the bathroom a comfort to the firemen and coal-passers.

Another comfort unknown in the days of sailing-ships, and for which, like all the others, we are indebted to the introduction of steam, is the method of heating, which is, in all essential particulars, identical with any system of steam-heating that may be found on shore. Before the

advent of steam, a shot heated red-hot at

the galley and deposited in a bucket of sand was the generally recognized method of heating, although stoves were used to a limited extent in the officers' quarters. I believe that no other nation gives so much attention to this subject as we do, and the result is that our ships are comfortable in winter even in the coldest climates.

Probably the one thing next in order that has contributed most to the comfort and contentment of officers and men is the electric light, which of course is a thing of comparatively recent introduction. To understand how much this has added to the general comfort, it is only necessary to state that in the days of our first frigates" tallow dips " alone supplied the light, that the fixed lights in the ship were few and naturally of little brilliancy, and that in consequence work of any kind by the men for themselves after dark was not to be thought of, and that the little reading done by officers was on a very

limited scale. The allowance of candles was limited to seven a week; if a man wanted a good light he had to use several candles at once, and thus his supply would soon be exhausted.

Now, besides the fixed electric lights in the men's quarters, in the wardroom, and in the junior officers' quarters, or "steerage," as the latter was long called, there are a number of others in the men's quarters and one in every officer's room. The comfort of these can be thoroughly appreciated only by those officers of the "old navy " who have passed through the "tallow dip experience. Up to a certain hour at night the men's quarters are well lighted, and it is not an unusual sight to see many of them sitting around a light reading, writing, sewing, or playing checkers or backgammon, which seem to be their favorite games.

While the electric light thus ministers to their comfort after working hours, it is

none the less a boon to those who have to work during the day beneath the decks, in compartments that have little or no natural light. Especially is this true of the firemen and other men of the engineer's force, who frequently have to go into boilers and other close places to clean them.

But with all this advance in lighting, the candle still finds a place on board ship. Having lost its proud place as a lighting agent, it now does duty as a detective of impure air. The regulations make the use of the candle obligatory in testing the air in double bottoms and in boilers before men are sent into them to work.

In the old days of candles and oil lamps it was necessary, when work was to be done which required a light, to obtain permission of the captain to use one. Then the light was, if possible, enclosed in a lantern; but where it had to be open or "naked," the greatest precautions

were taken to see that damage did not follow its use. Now, thanks to the adaptability of electric power, lights are turned on in the most remote parts of the ship with absolute confidence in their safety. In the men's quarters all except the fixed lights which are necessary in making the night inspections are extinguished at eight o'clock; those in the steerage at nine, and those in the wardroom at ten, although in the latter two places it is customary for the captain to grant an extension of one hour for lights in officers' rooms.

One

In the early days of the navy there was probably no cause that contributed more to sickness than bad ventilation. writer says that at the time of the American Revolution "the sanitary condition of warships, in spite of the reduction made in the number of the crew, was very imperfect. In fact, the greatest danger on an extended voyage was not so much the perils of the sea or attacks