The Press., 1894-03-08
Number 49.

out by the lungs, or exuded by the skin and kidneys, are proof that alcohol is an enemy, to be expelled as soon as possible.
 Alcohol is universal poison, which Is not true, so far as we know, of any other substance. Other things injurious to man can be swallowed by some animals with Fol example, a pigeon can take, without harm, quantity of opium sufficient to kill several men; goat will eat with impunity enough tobacco to kill several men; and rabbit will swallow belladonna in like proportions with simi- lar results. But neither pigeon, goat nor rabbit can swallow alcohol without in- jury. This universality of deleterious &C., tion is also shown by the fact that not one organ or tissue of the body is exempt from baneful influence. We have seen what it does to nerve-tissue, and through it to the muscles. As we study it's effects further, we shall see that this is only the beginning of the mischief it does.
 Let us look at what it does in the blood. To understand its action here we must know something of the composition of the blood. We are all familiar with it's redness, and think this color inheres in the fluid itself, but it does not. The main part of the blood is water, and in this stream float millions of minute red corpuscles. These make the whole stream look red, as we can imagine a mountain brook would do if it were packed full of little red fishes, only these corpuscles are infinitely smaller than we can even i'm agine fishes to be, and their smallness is essential to life. They carry oxygen, the life-giver, to every living tissue, and must pillaries to reach these tissues. And they must float singly, for if they stick togeth- CT the effect is the same as though they were increased in size. Besides these red corpuscles, there float in the blood white corpuscles, larger but fewer in number than the red, and they have their especial work to do. There is also a jelly-like substance floating in the blood, in the proportion of two and half parts in a thousand, called fibrin, very important in producing coagulation. You al, l,know that if you draw blood from your arm in bowl and setitaway for a little time,i will coag- ulate or clot. This is caused by the fbrin's gathering all the little corpuscles togeth- CT, as shepherd dog gathers the sheep, in mass. thus separating them from the watery part, or serum. This power of coagulation is very important property to the blood. Except for it the slightest wound might be fatal, as from it might flow all the blood in the body, just as all the water in tank can flow out of & very small hole in the pipe. But coagulation stops up the wound, and this danger is avoided. It also heaps around the wound materials for repairs, and Nature soon rebuilds the broken wall. If by any means the blood becomes poor in fibrin, this power is impaired, wounds heal very slowly, blood flows too freely from the slightest break, and often exudes through the finer tissues, as the gums. One ef- feet of alcohol on the blood is to reduce this fibrin, more accurately to collect it in little masses by itself, where it becomes useless in the circulation. The result is seen in the difficulty with"which wounds heal on incorporate persons, and their tendency to hemorrhage. This result follows moderate drinking. If alcohol enters the blood in large quantities, as when great draughts of strong liquors are drunk, the fibrin may solidify, the blood in the heart becomes semi-solid mass, and sudden death follows.
 The effect of alcohol on the corpuscles of the blood is even more deleterious. These little red atoms a1e literally iron clad life-boats, for upon them all life de- pends. Flying swiftly through the blood, each to it's own appointed pier, they take up their freight, the waste carbon which must be expelled from the system. Re- turning with their load to the lungs, they unload the deadly carbonic acid and take in its place the life-giving oxygen which they bear to every fiber of the body that would die without it. These little boats have determinate size and shape best adapted to the work they have to do :; their form and size are determined largely by the amount of water each corpuscle contains. Alcohol enters the blood; it's first work is to drink up the water in the corpuscles, thus altering their shape and shriveling them up. The result is that in accustomed loads; to make matters worse, they acquire 8 tendency to cohere in rolls, instead of flowing freely. In this form they cannot enter the minute capillaries, so the more delicate tissues are starved.
 We all know how dark and mottled the complexion of the habitual drunkard be- comes. This results directly from the effect of alcohol on the f1brin and the cor puscles of the blood. All know that the blood in the veins is, dark-colored, while that in the arteries is bright red. This comes from the oxidation of the blood in the lungs, the giving up of carbonic acid by the corpuscles and the taking on of oxygen. While loaded with the deadly carbon, these little boats run up the black flag and make the whole life-current dark {; when it is given up for oxygen, they glow rosy red and the whole blood brightens. But, as we have seen, alcohol interferes Ever Wash
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