job THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



diluents are derived from the vegetable kingdom. Every people has 

 its own favorite condiment. Every one likes to find an agreeable 

 flavor in his food, and we have it prepared in such a way as to acquire 

 the peculiar flavor we like. For the same reason we like variety in 

 articles of food. In time the persistent impression of one flavor pro- 

 duces disgust, and so what once was savory now becomes unpleasant. 

 Therefore, if one were to be confined for a considerable time to a fixed 

 diet, he would not thrive upon it, no matter how rich it might be in 

 the elements of nutrition, for the reason that the influence of the con- 

 diment would be nullified. 



There are, besides, many other influences which act upon digestion, 

 but of which we commonly think little. In taking food we strive to 

 combine various enjoyments, so that many organic manifestations may 

 conspire together to promote the action of the digestive apparatus. 

 The oro-an of smell is situated near that of taste. Those dishes which 

 contain volatile elements are rather smelt than tasted. "We give an 

 agreeable smell to some articles of food by adding to them others 

 which are fragrant. Dishes to which we are unaccustomed we partake 

 of with repugnance, and generally they cannot be retained. "We also 

 give to dishes agreeable forms, and set them on the table with some 

 regard to their appearance, and this makes them " appetizing." If 

 they are served up without any regard to such considerations, they 

 excite only repugnance. The frame of mind in which one may happen 

 to be is also a matter of importance. If our thoughts are preengaged, 

 or if we are in trouble, we have no desire for food. The presence of a 

 sprightly child, or of friends, at the board, is a true condiment. How 

 different is the process of digestion when a meal is taken in full view 

 of a pleasing landscape, or behind the bars of a prison-cell ! 



We are continually exposed to a multitude of excitations or influ- 

 ences from without. These give us sensations which are not alone 

 agreeable, but also useful and necessary. Thus alone can we live. 

 Though by many persons the limits of moderation are overstepped in 

 seeking this kind of gratification, and they are made thus hurtful, it 

 does not thence follow that they are to be avoided. If some men 

 make an abusive use of food, we are not therefore to conclude that the 

 proper course is to abstain altogether from food, any more than we 

 should conclude, from the fact that the feasts of Lucullus are every day 

 repeated, that therefore, instead of palatable food, whether animal or 

 vegetable, one should eat only a tasteless mixture of albuminates, fat, 

 starch, etc. There is danger of excess in every action we perform, but 

 a man of sense will always respect the law which determines for him 

 what is beneficial and wnat hurtful. Mevue Scientifique. 



