The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-08-02

cautious brother. wv ell, L hdQ about
$1,000 invested" And you lost it all.
and there's no hope for your LOST
No, Brother Smith; L cleared $500"
"Ah! you did? That somewhat al
tiers the case. L believe if Brother
Jones bought Il 800 bell for our
church and paid the expenses of re-
vanishing the pews the Lord would
let him off this time on a suspended
sentence"
DIR. Fishers Lecture.
In the course of his elaborate and
very entertaining lecture before the
teachers institute, DR.. e. Z. Fisher
gave some very important informa-
ton. from which we Xtract the fol-
lowing practical suggestions on the
"useS and abuses of food and drugs"
He alluded to the human system
as complex apparatus, and life as
one interrupted condition of waste
| and repair. The alimentary canal is
the workshop of the system, whose
mechanism it was important for us
to understand. To impart this infor-
nation was one Oh the objects of his
lecture. He explained the Importance
of choice and preparation of food, and
proper trituration for insalivation.
The teeth, lips, cheeks and tongue
and i've digestive fluids, which he
named, were all required in the pro-
cesses of digestion. 1t was of the ut
| most importance to give the digestion
a fair chance, especially by giving the
work a good start by thorough maSti-
cation of the food and deliberate par
taking of our meals. The stomach,
| tho nr1irorxr ronifu of which 10 Inf
| five pintS, should not he oVertaXed.
lnsalivation takes place while masti-
cation goes on. and is thorough and
valuable as the latter is well done.
| Saliva was an important factor in the
| first stage of digestion its office be-
ing dual physical as well as chemical.
| BY it's viscidity it aided in the moist
ure and deglutition of food. By
| means of its ferment known as pyta-
line, it operated chemically upon
starchy and fatty matter, found in so
| many articles of food. One part of
pytaline could transform 1000 parts of
| starch into sugar. 1nsalivary secre.
tions, amounting to 215 to 80 pounds
daily, so powerful resolvent as pyla-
tine was a valuable adjunct in the
| operations of digestion. An altered
| form of saliva is found in the rabid dog.
| By some as yet unknown pathology
cal condition of the animate nervous
system, this ordinary harmless diges-
| tive fluid is transformed into poison
of most horrible effects. Investiga-
ton into this change may lead to a
successful treatment of hydrophobia.
DR.. Fisher described the process Of
swallowing food as one of the neat
ect acts performed by nature. By
| greediness, carelessness, or some acct
| dent, however, substances got into
the wrong channels with bad conse-
quenceS. The food was carried into
the stomach by contractions of
several organs. The exact mechanism
of stomach digestion has been wit
messed in a number of persons in con-
sequence of wounds, which have eX-
| posed them to ocular inspection. He
| instanced the case of young Cana
dian who was shot in 1922, the ball, or
cannon nshot, taking away the wall
of the stomach and leaving an eX-
posed oriice.
| The necessary Secretions of gastric
| juice required in digestion were easily
affected Oy mental emotions and ner-
vous conditions. In ST. Martin it
was noticed tnat irritability of tenn
per and other exciting causes would
altogether suspend or greatly dimin-
ish its production. AS this secretion
is more necessary, and, in fact, is only
present during the presence of food
in the stomach, the desirability of
evennesS of temper and amiability
| during and for some time after meals
is at once apparent. The gastric
| juice consists Of 975 parts of water, 10
parts solids and Is of organic matter.
According to DR.. Beaumont, of the
United States army, who conducted
the investigation in the case of st.
Martin, man requires from one to five
hours for the stomach digestion
of food, much depending
upon its character and the
manner of it's cooking. Pig
feet and tripe only required one
hour; broiled trout and venison steak,
one and one-half hours; boiled milk,
two hours; roasted turkey, two and
one-half hours; roasted beef, three
hours; roasted mutton, three and one
fourth hours; broiled veal, four hours;
boiled salt beef, four and one-fourth
hours; roast pork, five and one-fourth
hours. Pork was most used, though
least nourishing of animal food.
| There was proper degree of tenn
perature for digestion, which should
not be violated by excessive draughts
upon the stomach of too cold or too
hot drinks. In disordered conditions
of the mucous membrane of the
stomach, or in the too free use of i'm
proper food, and notably of alcoholic,
fatty or excessive quantities of sac
charine matter, large quantities of
gas are formed, to the great discom-
future of the stomach. gener-
ally resulting in causing bad
health. Instances are record
ed where alcoholic fermen-
tation was so great that the gas from
the stomach, coming in contact with
fire held in front of the patient,
would burn, emitting family lumi-
nous fame and peculiar odor. 1t is
even possible for the fame to follow
the volume of gas far enough into tie
mouth and throat to produce fatal re-
sults-a strong physiological argu-
ment against the use of alcoholic
liquors as beverage. The excessive
and continuous use of rich and greasy
food was very injurious to the diges-
| tive organs. His remarks about bill
liary secretions, and the mistakes
| WldO 10 SCL-
orally called "bile," were quite inter
esting, showing that a great many
people need better information as to
the propriety of using what are called
liver regulators and other patent medi-
cines.
Ordinarily most people ate twice as
much as was desirable or necessary
for good health.
The assimilation of food was dis
cussed, and other questions of inter-
est. The mouth IS abused by filling
it so that perfect ma tication and in
salvation are almost out of the ques-
ton. 1t is abused by entertaining
repulsive substances, and especially
by holding tobacco for hours in chew
ing tobacco; by neglect to clean the
teeth, and by decayed teeth polluting
the breath. The stomach suffers as
the receptacle of food from all those
impaired and polluted sources. Its
membranes are destroyed by alcohol,
congested and inflamed by violent
acting medicines, such as silver regu-
lators." blood purifiers" etc., making
a wholesale drug store or chemical re-
tort of the organ which is the most
important in the process of digestion.
Drugs. he argued, should not be taken
| for every trifling ailment.