Page:An account of a voyage to establish a colony at Port Philip in Bass's Strait.djvu/99

( 74 ) food of the lower-class is salted pork not half cured, or jerked beef, both brought from Rio Grande; and their beverage is a deleterious and ardent spirit, which from its cheapness comes within the reach of their scanty finances. The causes of the hydrocele, which often renders those afflicted with it the most pitiable objects, may, perhaps, with equal reason, be traced to themselves; for by the continual use of tepid baths, they increase the naturally great relaxation, which pervades the system in a warm climate. In our English settlements, where cold bathing is daily practised such a disease is almost unknown. During the winter the thermometer seldom rises above 74°, and sometimes falls to