368 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY 



Experiments have been made, both in the British and American 

 armies, testing the ability of soldiers to make long, forced marches, 

 some regiments having been supplied with a liquor ration and 

 others without it. 



'' There are experiments which show that men may do an in- 

 creased amount of work for a very short time under the influence 

 of alcohol; but such increase is accomplished, as the above ex- 

 periments show, only at the expense of energy or tissue which is 

 needed for bearing sustained labor or exposure. Thus, in some 

 experiments upon British regiments, the regiment which had liquor 

 took the lead at the start, but was far behind at the finish." — 

 Hewes, High School Physiology. 



" The sirdar. Sir Herbert Kitchener, and General Gatacre, in 

 their advances up the Nile, have strictly forbidden the supply 

 of alcoholic liquors to any of the troops under their command. 

 We learn that they took this step on two grounds. First, on the 

 ground that from long experience they were convinced that the 

 physical condition of the troops would, under these conditions, 

 be enormously improved, and the men would have much greater 

 staying power, while their dash, determination, and steadiness 

 would also be increased. The second ground appears to have 

 been that the mental and moral stamina of the troops would be 

 preserved in a far greater degree than could possibly be the case 

 if alcohol were served out. The result has been that the health, 

 spirits, and conduct of the troops have been the admiration of 

 all those who have had any dealings with them, and this ex- 

 periment on a large scale has been an unqualified success. '^ — 

 J. Sims Woodhead, M.D., Professor of Pathology in the Uni- 

 versity of Cambridge, England. 



" The attention of the civilized world has been called to the 

 conspicuous fact of the accuracy of the firing of the gunners on 

 our battle ships in the recent war with Spain. The contrast 

 between the firing of the men of our navy and that of Spain was 

 due in part, no doubt, to the custom that prevails on the ships 

 of the latter, where daily rations of grog are given at all times, and 

 when an action is going on or anticipated, double rations of grog 

 are furnished to the men; while since 1862, when that custom was 



