THE EFFECTS OF MODERATE DRINKING. 195 



it an invariable rule to impress upon all patients laboring under 

 diseases of the circulatory system, who desire to minimize the 

 effects of their complaints and ward off as long as is possible the 

 inevitably fatal termination, to pay strict attention to what I call 

 the following three golden rules : 1. Take exercise, without fa- 

 tigue; 2, nutrition, without stimulation; and, 3, amusement, 

 without excitement. 



As the consideration of the effects of alcohol on the brain, 

 when taken in excess, lies entirely outside of the scope and pur- 

 port of this essay, I at once proceed to call attention to the as yet 

 but imperfectly known subject of the influence of small quan- 

 tities of alcohol on brain-diseases. And it being my desire to 

 make the effects of moderate drinking as strikingly apparent as 

 is possible, as there are no statistics of the effects of it forthcom- 

 ing, I fall back ujDon the data furnished in the registrar-gen- 

 eral's reports regarding the comparative ratio of mortality from 

 diseases of the nervous system occurring among men between 

 the ages of twenty-five and sixty-five in different industries. For 

 they tell so startling a tale of the baneful effects of taking small 

 quantities of alcoholic stimulants frequently during the day, that 

 no one accustomed to analyze results deducible from collateral 

 evidence can fail to appreciate their intrinsic value in the eluci- 

 dation of the point in hand. The registrar-general's report* 

 tells us that the relative mortality is as follows : 



Diseases of the 

 Men exposed to the temptations of " nipping:.'" nervous system. 



Commercial travelers 139 



Brewers 144 



Innkeepers, publicans, wine, spirit, and beer dealers 200 



Diseases of the 

 Men not exposed to the temptations of "nipping." nervous system. 



Gardeners and nurserymen 63 



Farmers and graziers 81 



Printers 90 



Drapers and warehousemen 109 



The above figures speak to the reflecting mind in no ambig- 

 uous language, so that I need make no comment upon them save 

 to call special attention to the fact of diseases of the nervous 

 system being so much more common among drapers and ware- 

 housemen than among the equally indoor occupation of printers : 

 the only tentative explanation which I dare venture to adduce 

 from this fact Toeing that, as it is worry, little fidgeting mental 

 worries, that conduce more than mental work (not excessive) to 

 shatter the nerves, the high percentage of diseases of the nervous 

 system met with among drapers and warehousemen is possibly 

 due to their being more liable to be mentally harassed in the 



* Supplement to the forty-fifth Annual Report, 18S5. 



