554 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



tioner should prescribe them without a grave sense of re- 

 sponsibility. They believe that alcohol, in whatever form, 

 should be prescribed with as much care as any powerful drug, 

 and that the directions should be accompanied by the under- 

 standing that its use is not to be interpreted as a sanction for 

 excess, or for the continuance of its use when the occasion is 

 past. They also state that many people immensely exag- 

 gerate the value of alcohol as an article of diet, and hold 

 that every practitioner is bound to exert his utmost influence 

 to inculcate great moderation in the use of alcoholic liquids. 

 Being also firmly convinced that the large amount of alcohol 

 drinking is one of the greatest evils of the day, they urge the 

 utmost caution against doing any thing, either in their char- 

 acter as physicians or citizens, to extend its use. 



The list of subscribers to the declaration embraces men of 

 the highest position in the profession, including such names 

 as Dr. Busk, Dr. Paget, Dr. Watson, Sir Henry Holland, Dr. 

 Quain, etc., in all numbering more than two hundred and fifty. 

 20 A, December 23,1871,778. 



ELIMINATION OF ALCOHOL FROM THE SYSTEM. 



Dr. Dupre has been prosecuting extended investigations 

 into the subject of the elimination of alcohol taken into the 

 human system, and presents the results of his inquiries as fol- 

 lows: The amount of alcohol eliminated per day does not in- 

 crease with the continuance of the alcohol diet ; therefore all 

 the alcohol consumed daily must of necessity be disposed of 

 daily ; and as it certainly is not eliminated within that time, 

 it must be destroyed in the system. 



The elimination of alcohol following the ingestion of a dose, 

 or doses, of alcohol ceases in from nine to twenty-four hours 

 after the last has been taken. The amount of alcohol elim- 

 inated, in both breath and urine, is a minute fraction only of 

 the alcohol taken. 1 A, February 9, 1872, 61. 



REPORT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 



Of the many state documents issued during the present 

 year, one of the most important is the annual report of the 

 State Board of Health of Massachusetts. The value of the 

 inquiries of this body are well known, and their proceedings 

 are highly appreciated both at home and abroad. In the 



