Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1858-04-08

of all fruits never digests, neither does tn
stones or "pits" of plums, cherries, &c
The vanilla seasoning of ice-cream is fount
to act as an irritating substances upon th'
stomach, and it gr atty retards digestion
In both Of these respects, also, the colorins
matter of candies are shown to be still
worse. These facts are settled simply b,
looking into the stomach with naked eye
and viewing all the processes or stage
through which the different articles Of foot
must pass in the act of digestion.
Hot bred never digests! Bear this il
mind, reader, if you are accustomed to ca
light and tempting biscuit at tea, or warn
loaf that looks so appeiizing upon YOU
dinner table. Hot bread never digests a
all; after long season of tumbling ant
working about the stomach, it will eyentu
ally be passed out of the stomach, as al
unwelcome tenant of that organ, but nevel
digests-never becomes assimilated to o.
absorbed by the organs that appropriate
nutrition to the body. 1t is, however, ,
first-rate dyspepsia producer.
Chopped meat, moistened, introduced
through this bullet-hole into the mans
stomach, is found to nourish him just as il
would if taken at the mouth! All that
the "patient" requires in that case, is to be
allowed to chew piece of gum (merely
to satisfy the habit Of chewing we suppose,
and he gets along as if he had eaten his
dinner; it is undoubtedly better, however
that the food should first be masticated, and
this can only be done through the proper
agency appointed forthat purpose by nature
Venison digests in an hour; cooked oys-
tens in two hours and half; raw oysters
CONTRARY to our previous impression) three
hours and half; fat pork, four; lean pork,
a little more than three hours. Probably
this rule would not apply to all persons
different articles of food are digested diff
ferently in different stomachs; but the gen.
eral principle here illustrated undoubtedly
holds good in the great majority of cases.
Calomel taken into the healthy stomach,
according to DR.. Bonting's experiment, is
found TO irritate it; if given in the case of
disease it does nat have that effect.
Mirthfulness, at and after a meal, facili-
tates digestion wonderfully. Take St.
Martin to the theater, for instance, after a
hearty evening meal, and let him enjoy a
good comedy-the result is astonishing
digestion is promoted to surprising de-
gree. "Laugh and grow fat,' is an old ad-
dage now seen to be founded upon phys
iologisal truth. But make this man sud
denly angry, under the above circumstances,
and presto! what a chang! The whole
process of digestion is at once arrested
brought to sudden stop, as if by the
stroke of an electric shock an it does not
again go on as well as before, until con-
siderable time after the emotion which
caused the interruption has died away.
Water is the first thing taken up and
absorbed by the stomach, and this must
be done before food is acted upon, even if
the water be taken subsequently, to the
food. Eating and drinking freely, alter
nately at meals as a habit, is not sanction
ed by the revelations made through the
bullet-hole in st. Marin's stomach
Another bad practice is the habit of eat
ing between meals, at all hours, the GUS
tom, according 10 the disclosures here made,
is most pernicious one. Regularity above
all things, is to be observed, both in the
quantity offood, and the time of eating it.
Black pepper is much worse fol the
stomach than red or Cayenne pepper: it
iniames the coatings of the stomach.
A piece of meat tied to a string, has
been introduced into the stomach through
this orifce, and after the lapse of certain
length of time it has been pulled out again,
and the process of the digestive organs ac-
tually noted. In this way corn-beef, for
has been reduced to a mass of
fine delicate and even threads after having
been for some time subjected to the action
of the gastric.
Another queer disclosure is the action of
the stomach in the case of hunger when the
whole sack or bag known as the stomach
is seen 10 roll and work about. If kept
too long in this empty and restless condi-
tion, the action of the organ is weakened
the stomach loses a portion of its vital en-
ergy, and the digestion of food taken at
that time is performed more slowly in con-
sequence.
The stomach evidently requires rest, like
the body, and receives injury if this is not
allowed it; but it should not be long with
out food.
Anger has the effect to cause the bile to
rush into the stomach in the stream.
This has been observed with certainty
in the case of St. Martin. When he has
been suddenly enraged, while lying upon
a table, the bile has been seen to rush into
the stomach, which was perfectly clear of
it the instant before, and such a quantity
as to admit of its being emptied out freely
into cup! simply by turning him over!
DR.. Donting has taken voluminous notes,
and will publish book, setting forth the
result while St. Martin has been under his
charge. Il will be a valuable addition to
the existing works on medicine and sur
gerry.
st. Martin, since he was wounded has
married and become the father of seven
teen children, five of whom, with his wife,
are now living. At first the only way by
which his food after entering the escop-
hagus could be prevented from passing out
through the wound, was to use compress
sive and adhesive straps. The necessity
has since been overcome by the growth of
a small fold of the stomach, which now ex-
tends almost over the orifce, but can readi-
ly be compressed with tbs finger SO as to
allow an examination Of the interior of the
stomach-when it is empty, to the depth
Of five or six inches. St. Martin is of me-