SEA-BISKUIT is a sort of bread much dried by passing the oven twice, to make it keep for sea-service. For long voyages they bake it four times, and prepare it six months before the embarkation. It will keep good a whole year.
To preserve sea-biskuit from insects, Mr Hales advises to make the fumus of burning brimstone pass through the casks full of bread. Biskuit may be likewise preserved a long time, by keeping it in casks well caulked, and lined with tin.
The ancients had their biskuit prepared after the like manner, and for the like use, as the moderns. The Greeks called it αἴσος δισκός, q. d. bread put twice to the fire. The Romans give it the name of panis nauticus, or capta. Pliny denominates it vetus aut nauticus panis tufus atque iterum coctus. By which it appears, that, after the first baking, they ground or pound it down again for a second. In some middle-aged writers, it is called paximatus, paxinus, and panis paximatus. Among the Romans we also meet with
Biskop
Bisnagar. a kind of land-biskuit for the camp-service, called biscollatum, sometimes expeditivialis annona, which was baked much, but to make it lighter for carriage, and less liable to corrupt, the coction being continued till the bread was reduced one-fourth of its former weight.