The daily gazette., 1880-04-17
FIRST EDITION.
The DtOesttUe System.
DIR. M'CoNNELL's LECTURE AT II
FIRST PREsBYTERIANC CHURCH.

DR. M'coNNELL's LECTURE AT THE
FIRST PREsBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Prot. Mcconnell, of Jefferson Med
ical College, lectured again last evening,
In the lecture room of the First Presby-
terian Church, on, "The Digestive Sys-
tem." The main subject OF this lecture
was "Fo0d, which, the Doctor said, in
cluded all substances necessary TO sus-
tain the powers Of nutrition. The
Ingredients that 60 to make up whole,
homogeneous body are designated as
"Proximatc Principals" which are .di-
ylded into three classes, viz : substances
"Pureiy inorganic," and crystalizlng
| substances" Under the first class comes
water, which Is the most essential ele-
ment OF human existence, and enters
more largely Into the ienconomy Of the
body than any other Substance, contri-
butlng largely to the importsnt work Of
carrying on intrition. Salt comes next
In Importance, which is shown by It's
great use by mankind, aud the natural
desire expressed for II by all of the lower
order Of animals. Next comes potash,
phosphate Of lime, carbonate of lime and
soda. Phosphate OF lime enters the
bones, In certain proportions at the
dlhereht stages of life. In childhood,
tue bones have preponderence Of
animal matter, which renders them soft
and pliable, and causes them TO unite
readily in cases OF fracture !; in maturity
The bones have animal and earthly mat
ters In equal proportions while in ola
age The earthly matter far exceeds the
animal matter. This latter stage makes
the bone exceedingly brittle, and the
doctor exhibited a bone from which the
animal matter had been entlIely ex-
tracted and was SO brittle that IL could
be readily broken with the fingers.
The second class, or "crystalizing
substaDces," first make their appear
ance in the interior of organic bodies,
and comprise sugar, oil and fatty mat
ters. The fatty element is very i'm
portant factor of existence, and when
it is avoided the system suffers. AL
though many people avoid it in the
shape OF meats, yet in one form or an
other its use is almost universal. The
Esquimaux will eat tallOw candles, but
the bulk of the civilized world mpart
the fatty element to their systems by
the almost universal use of butter.
Nuts of different kinds, which.are con-
sumed in vast quantities, also contain
a large proportion of fat.
Then there is third class of these
'proximate principles" of the human
economy known as "organic or albu-
menvoid substances, which cannot be
crystalized, are changed by heat and
cannot be found except in the bodies
OF living or recently dead animals.
This class represents the blood on
which the tissues feed, and it is also
the class that excites fermentation and
putrefaction.
During the course of tho lecture the
Professor spoke of the liver, its func-
tions and formations. 1t contains
many minute cells, through which flow
the capillary blood vessels, and upon
the proper action of these cells the
functions of the organ largely depend.
The drinking of spirituous liquors to
excess, he said, irritates the tissue that
surrounds the liver and closes up the
minute cells, thus seriously impeding
the proper action of this important Or
gan.
In his remarks upon water, the Doc
tor said it was far more important
element of existence than food. Ex-
periments had been made by keeping
dogs confined without food or water,
and keeping others confined without
but with the free use of water. The
dogs that were furnished with water
lived from three to five days longer
than those that were denied all access
to the DEMONSTRATING fluid. Milk, the
Doctor said, was the only article of
consumption that of itself would sup
port life.
In conclusion the lecturer gave some
interesting facts in relation to food.
By experiments of Drs. Hammond,
Dalton and Flint, of New York, it has
been determined that the ordinary
amount of food needed by man each
twenty-four hours is as follows meat,
16 ounces bread, 10 ounces butter
or oily matter, 8 ounces /; water, SO
ounces. .'.. ... '-4i
The proportions of cows milk are
as follows Water 87.2 per cent, case
in 4.4S, butter 3.13, sugar ATT, and
other substances, such as soda, chic
ride of potassium and sodium, lime,
magnesia, iron, etc., go. Wheat flour
is composed of gluten, sugar, starch
and non-nitrOgenous substances, pro-
portioned as follows: Gluten, 7.30,
starch .72, sugar $40, gum $3.50, water
IL. Tho proportions of oat meal are
Starch 80, bitter matter and sugar 8.25,
gray albumen 4.31, fatty oil 2, gum
$50, and husk and waste matter 80 95.
or eggs, the white is composed of albu-
men and salts, and oily matter in the
yelk, proportions as follows in the
white : Water 80, albumen 1928, salt
LIZ in the yellow, water 53.7S, albu-
men 12.75, yellow oil 2s75, and salt
4.72. Flesh or ordinary butchers
meat is composed of albumen, muscu-
liar fibre and fatty or adipsoe tissue,
with the following proportions Meat
1870 (of which 63.42 is water and
nO a.