FOOD ACCESSORIES AND DIGESTION. 65 



gestive agents ; and, 3. Pancreatic digestion, i. e., the action of the 

 secretion of the pancreas as a digestive agent. 



We shall deviate a little from Sir W. Roberts's methed of mar- 

 shaling his conclusions, and shall summarize his results as to the ac- 

 tion of the various food accessories on these three acts of digestion 

 continuouslv. 



m 



First, with respect to the action of ardent spirits on digestion. The 

 experiments were made with " proof -spirit " and with brandy, Scotch 

 whisky, and gin ; and the conclusion is that, so far as salivary diges- 

 tion is concerned, these spirits, when used in moderation and well di- 

 luted, as they usually are when employed dietetically, rather promote 

 than retard this part of the digestive process, and this they do by 

 causing an increased flow of saliva. "A teaspoonful of brandy or 

 whisky introduced into the mouth can be perceived at once to cause a 

 gush of saliva. The common practice of adding a tablespoonful of 

 brandy to a basin of arrowroot or sago gruel, therefore, promotes its 

 digestion." 



The proportion must not, however, much exceed five per cent, and 

 gin seems to be a preferable addition to either brandy or whisky. It 

 was noticed in these experiments that brandy and Scotch whisky inter- 

 fered with the digestive process, " precipitated the starch more read- 

 ily," altogether out of proportion to the amount of alcohol they con- 

 tained, and brandy was worse than whisky ; and this circumstance 

 appears to be due to certain ethers and volatile oils in them ; and 

 brandy contains a trace of tannin, which has an intensely retarding 

 influence on salivary digestion. 



With regard to " peptic " digestion the results are still more sur- 

 prising. It was found that with ten per cent and under of proof- 

 spirit there was no appreciable retardation, and only a slight retarda- 

 tion with twenty per cent ; but with large percentages it was very 

 different, and with fifty per cent the digestive ferment was almost 

 paralyzed. 



In the proportions in which these spirits are usually employed 

 dietetically not only do they not appreciably retard digestion, but 

 these experiments show that they " act as pure stimulants to gastric 

 digestion, causing an increased flow of gastric juice and stimulating 

 the muscular contractions of the stomach, and so accelerating the 

 speed of the digestive process in the stomach." For obvious reasons 

 (stated in these lectures) alcoholic drinks as used dietetically can never 

 interfere with pancreatic digestion. 



Passing from the consideration of the influence of these ardent 

 spirits on digestion to the more complex problem of the influence of 

 such alcoholic beverages as the various wines and malt liquors, Sir 

 W. Roberts arrives at the following conclusions : 



Even very small quantities of the stronger and lighter wines 

 sherry, hock, claret, and port exercise a powerful retarding influence 



VOL. XXIX. 5 



