There has been little or no increase of scurvy this month; for though the numbers put on the list appear to be greater, the mortality is much less. It may indeed appear a matter of surprise that there should have been any scurvy at all, considering that the greater part of the fleet was at anchor all this month. But as this was the greatest fleet that had ever visited Jamaica, it was impossible to find fresh provisions for the whole; and the small supply they had did not amount to one fresh meal in a week. Port Royal is also remote from the cultivated part of the island, so that fruit and vegetables were both scarce and high priced, particularly this year, on account of the usual rains in May and June having failed. There was, however, an allowance of fresh provisions and vegetables made to the sick by public bounty; for as the hospital could contain but a small proportion of the sick and wounded, an order was given for the supply of fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables, to the sick, and five hundred pounds of Peruvian bark were also distributed as a public gratuity, besides sugar, coffee, and wine. With these aids, and the various good articles of victualling from England, the fleet was preserved uncommonly healthy for a West-India campaign: for though the mortality had increased considerably during our stay at Jamaica, yet the loss of men, upon the whole, was small, compared with that of other great fleets in this climate on former occasions. The greatest squadron, next to this, that had ever been on this station was that under Admiral Vernon in the year 1741, at the same season. From this fleet upwards of eleven thousand men were sent to the hospital in the course of that and the preceding year, of whom there died one in seven, besides what died on board of their own ships and in two hospital ships[17]. The disproportion of sickness in the two fleets will appear still greater, when it is considered that Admiral Vernon’s contained only fifteen thousand seamen and marines[18]; whereas that under Lord Rodney contained twenty-two thousand. What added to the sickness of the former was the unfortunate expedition to Carthagena in April, 1741; to which probably it was owing that a much greater proportion of yellow fevers were landed from the fleet at that time than from ours, as appears by the papers left by Mr. Hume, who was then surgeon of the hospital. The hospital was then at a place called Greenwich, on the side of the bay opposite to Port Royal, and was very large; but it was found to be in a situation so extremely unhealthy, that it was soon after abandoned and demolished, and the hospital has since been at Port Royal.