492 OF FOOD, AND THE DIGESTIVE PROCESS. 



to the patient; whose return to her usual state will probably take place the 

 earlier, the more completely she is left to herself. 



654. Of the quantity which can be devoured at a time, it is scarcely the 

 place to speak; since such feats of gluttony only demonstrate the extraordi- 

 nary capacity, which the stomach may be made to attain by continual practice. 

 Many amusing instances are related by Captain Parry in his Arctic Voyages ; 

 in one case, a young Esquimaux, to whom he had given (for the sake of cu- 

 riosity) his full tether, devoured in four-and-twenty hours, no less than 35lbs. 

 of various kinds of aliment, including tallow candles. A case has recently 

 been published of a Hindoo, who can eat a whole sheep at a time ; this pro- 

 bably surpasses any other instance on record. The half-breed voyageurs of 

 Canada, according to Captain Franklin, and the wandering Cossacks of Sibe- 

 ria, as testified by Capt. Cochrane, habitually devour a quantity of animal 

 food, which would be soon fatal to any one unused to it. The former are 

 spoken of as very discontented, when put on a short allowance of 81bs. of 

 meat a day; their usual consumption being from 12 to 201bs. That a much 

 larger quantity of food than that formerly specified, may be taken, with per- 

 fect freedom from injurious consequences, under a particular system of exer- 

 cise, &c., appears from the experience, of those who are trained for feats of 

 strength, pugilistic encounters, &c. The ordinary belief, that the Athletic 

 constitution cannot be long maintained, appears to have no real foundation ; 

 nor does it appear that any ultimate injury results from the system being per- 

 severed in for some time. That trained men often fall into bad health, on 

 the cessation of the plan, is probably owing in part to the intemperance and 

 other bad habits of persons of the class usually subjected to this discipline. 

 The effects of trainers' regimen are hardness and firmness of the muscles, 

 clearness of the skin, capability of bearing continued severe exercise, and a 

 feeling of freedom and lightness (or " corkiness") in the limbs. During the 

 continuance of the system, it is found that the body recovers with wonderful 

 facility from the effects of injuries ; wounds heal very rapidly ; cutaneous 

 eruptions usually disappear. Clearness and vigour of mind, also, are stated 

 to be results of this plan ; and it is probable that, where persevering attention 

 and intense application are necessary, a modification of this system, in which 

 due allowance should be made for the diminished quantity of exercise, would 

 be found advantageous.* 



3. Of the Passage of Food along the Alimentary Canal. 



655. The introduction of alimentary matter into the system, is accomplished 

 in Animals by the reception of the food into an internal cavity, where it is 

 subjected to a preparatory process, to which nothing analogous exists in Plants, 

 and which is termed Digestion. This process may be said to have three dif- 

 ferent purposes in view ; the reduction of the alimentary matter to a fluid 

 form, so that it may become capable of absorption ; the separation of that 



The method of training employed by Jackson (a celebrated trainer of prize-fighters in 

 modern times), as deduced from his answers to questions put to him by John Bell, was to 

 begin on a clear foundation, by an emetic and two or three purges. Beef and mutton, 

 the lean of fat meat being preferred, constituted the principal food ; veal, lamb, and pork 

 were said to be less digestible (" the last purges some men"). Fish was said to be a " wa- 

 tery kind of diet:" and is employed by jockeys who wish to reduce weight by sweating. 

 Stale bread was the only vegetable food allowed. The quantity of fluid permitted was 3J 

 pints per diem; but fermented liquors were strictly forbidden. Two full meals, with a light 

 supper, were usually taken. The quantity of exercise employed was very considerable, and 

 such as few men of ordinary strength could endure. This account corresponds very much 

 with that which Hunter gave of the North American Indians, when about to set out on a long 

 inarch. 



