Year: 1861

The use of ardent spirits as beverage,


forty years ago was unfseserssT. Men, women,


and children drank it freely, without ever


asking what will be its effects upon the ply


slcal constitution. Too much taken into


the system at one time, they knew was in
furious 1.-THE same was true with regard to
tFpad Fae mo- snEq9esgate "a and tsste use of it


lister preached occasionally aga. The min


ness, and the physician sanctiost drunk en-


prudent use. Science then did but little


more than to teach the most successful way


of making it. AT length prying curiosity


began to inquire what became of it when


taken into the system. Does it become food,


and supply positive nourishment; or by it's
| stimulating power does it simply aid diges-
ton !? Is it taken up into the tissues and
incorporated into the muscular portion of
the body, or does it serve some other useful
| purpose? Science came slowly to the in


vestigation. 1t tried variety of expert


ments upon man and beast but found no


trace of alcohol assimilated into the tissues


At length the conclusion was reached by


men of science, and tdsis- pEsited and author


itative opinion was given, that alcohol is an


indigestible substance incapable OF supply


ing nourishment and enters unchanged into


the circulation to be cast out. if possible,


from the system. These experiments of OBJ


servation turned attention to the Injurious


effects of alcohol upon the coats of the stom-


ach, and upon the nervous system. Still,


many contended that the injurious effects


were produced not necessarily by the nature


of the substance, but by the amount taken;


and science preached more earnestly than


ever, that we should be careful and not


drink too much. Here the matter rested for


a season. After little it was proclaimed


from high authority, that, although alcohol


did not directly supply nourshment, it greatly


assisted in another important work, in keep


ing up a needful supply of animal heat


Without the requisite supply of this, the


functions of life could not be carried on !;
: the heart could not beat; the blood could


not circulate; the lungs could not inhale and


expel the air; the stomach could not digest


food and the nerves could not minister to
consciousness and thsaght. The internal
furnaces must be supplied with fuel; or all


their fires would soon go out. at this crisis


in the subject, learned men, protesting to
speak in the name of science, declared that
alcohol was an excellent supporter of inter-


nal combustion, by means of which animal


heat was produced We all knew before
the article would burn readily, and had seen
, men get very hot by drinking it. but We


were not aware that it was only the result
J of a slight abuse Of very good thing An
article with great pretensions to science ap-
, peared in the July number of Westminster


Review for 1856, taking this position, that
anovtiot tloaeraJe g,aaHIiIfco "~s------G-l-:
| producing the requisite amount of animal


heat The title of the article was, The
e Physiological errors of Teetotalism." For a
| few years that was supposed to be the voice
t of science 1t turns cut however, to be no
: thing but an assumption. When it was de-
d monstrated that alcohol was not food, but
!. was still supposed to be useful, some persons
:. very unscientifcally guessed that it under
. went some kind of internal combustion anc
n thereby supplied animal heat. Modern sci
d ence takes nothing fof granted, but subjects
( everything to the seyerest tests of expert
d ment. When this assumption was publish
A. ed to the world in the name of science th
il curiosity of scientific men was awakened t.
lg test its validity. If combustion takes plac
Of in the system, they said there must be som
le of the derivatives of alcohol somewhere eth
1t er in the blood or in solid portions of tn
S body. In combustion there Is always re
of siduum, a compound formed by the proces
al of combustion. This compound must b
lis somewhere. The chemists, after preparin
lis for the enterprise set out to find these de
on rivatives. Alcohol is given to men and Low
ke er animals, and even in the latter case Ii


is sacrificed to furnish opportunities for e.


periments. In some instances it is take
m into the stomach; in others it is injected
MS rectly into the circulation; and then the