CRITICAL NOTICE OF NEW PUBLICATIONS 341 



In discoursing on the ''Times of Eating," Dr. C. concludes that 

 food ought to bear a relation to the mode of life and circumstances 

 of the individual, and not be determined by a reference to time 

 alone. It is his advice that delicate persons should breakfast early : 

 his observations on the " best time for dinner/' are excellent, and 

 we recommend them to the serious attention of parents and the 

 heads of educational institutions. When considering the "propriety 

 of supper," he introduces an important practical hint : if, he says, 

 in adopting the precepts of ultra- temperance, we dine early, live 

 actively, and go to bed with the stomach entirely empty, we may 

 sleep, but our dreams will scarcely be more pleasant^ or our sleep 

 more tranq'iil, than if the stomach were overloaded. A gnawing 

 sense of vacuity is felt in such circumstances, and this is apt to in- 

 duce restlessness, and nervous impatience and irritability : but these 

 unpleasant symptoms may be dispelled, and sound sleep obtained, 

 by taking a cupful of arrow-root, or a moderate portion of some 

 light nutritious preparation, an hour before bed-time. In shorty he 

 says, the grand rule in fixing the number and periods of our meals 

 is, to proportion them to the real wants of the system, as modified 

 by age, health, and manner of life, and as indicated by the true re- 

 turns of appetite : and, as an approximative guide, to bear in mind 

 that, under ordinary circumstances of activity and health, three, 

 four, or five hours are required for the digestion of a full meal, and 

 one or two hours more of repose before the stomach can again be- 

 come fit for the resumption of its labours. If the meal be tempe- 

 rate, and the mode of life natural, digestion will be completed in 

 from three to four hours, and one hour of rest will serve to restore 

 the tone of the digestive organ ; but if the quantity of food be 

 great, or the general habits be those of indolence, digestion may be 

 protracted to five or six hours, and two or more will be necessary 

 for subsequent repose. 



Having previously given a comprehensive view of the agents em- 

 ployed in effecting digestion, and of the changes produced by it on 

 various nutriments. Dr. Combe finds another important subject of 

 investigation, immediately connected with the process, in the com- 

 parative digestibility of different kinds of food. This branch of his 

 inquiry is very instructive as well as interesting ; and we would ad- 

 vise the perusal of the results of the experiments instituted for the 

 purposes of its elucidation, exhibited in the table, page 127 of the 

 work. 



By these brief notes, our readers will be enabled to anticipate 

 the advantages to be derived from judicious and frequent reflection 

 on the precepts of Dr. Combe's Physiology of Digestion : we, there- 

 fore, conclude this imperfect account of his aim and its execution, 

 with recommending his work as perfectly sound in principle, most 

 conclusive in doctrine, and beautifully perspicuous in elucidation. 



