ch man and boy received one pound of bread or biscuit daily, with a
gallon of beer. The beer was served out four times daily, a quart at a
time, in the morning, at dinner, in the afternoon, and at supper. On
Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, which were flesh days, the
allowance of meat was either one pound of salt beef, or one pound of
salt pork with pease. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, a side of salt-fish,
ling, haberdine, or cod, was divided between the members of each mess,
while a seven-ounce ration of butter (or olive oil) and a fourteen-ounce
ration of cheese, was served to each man. On Fridays, or fast days, this
allowance was halved. At one time the sailors were fond of selling or
playing away their rations, but this practice was stopped in the reign
of Elizabeth, and the men forced to take their food "orderly and in due
season" under penalties. Prisoners taken during the cruise were allowed
two-thirds of the above allowance.

The allowance quoted above appears liberal, but it must be remembered
that the sailors were messed "six upon four," and received only
two-thirds of the full ration. The quality of the food was very bad. The
beer was the very cheapest of small beer, and never kept good at sea,
owing to the continual motion of the ship. It became acid, and induced
dysentery in those who drank it, though it was sometimes possible to
rebrew it after it had once gone sour. The water, which was carried in
casks, was also far from wholesome. After storing, for a day or two, it
generally became offensive, so that none could drink it. In a little
while this offensiveness passed off, and it might then be used, though
the casks bred growths of an unpleasant sliminess, if the water remained
in them for more than a month. However water was not regarded as a
drink for human beings until the beer was spent. The salt meat was as
bad as the beer, or worse. Often enough the casks were filled with lumps
of bone and fat which were quite uneatable, and often the meat was so
lean, old, dry and shrivelled that it was valueless as food. The
victuallers often killed their animals in the heat of the summer, when
the meat would not take salt, so that many casks must have been unfit
for food after lying for a week in store. Anti-scorbutics were supplied,
or not supplied, at the discretion of the captains. It appears that the
sailors disliked innovations in their food, and rejected the
substitution of beans, flour "and those whi