ALCOHOL. 107 



ten ounces, and the bread from eighteen to twelve ounces, 

 the loss of weight was well marked. This diet was con- 

 tinued for five days, with the effect of reducing the weight 

 from 226*73 to 225*34: pounds; a daily average loss of *28 

 of a pound. At the end of the five days, twelve drachms ol 

 alcohol were taken daily, as before, and continued for five 

 days. The decrease in weight was not only arrested, but 

 there was an increase of *03 of a pound daily. The quantity 

 of food fully satisfied the appetite, and " all the functions 

 of the body were performed with regularity ; " while during 

 the five days preceding the use of alcohol, there was unusual 

 exhaustion after exertion, " and the desire for food was very 

 much increased, and was never completely appeased by the 

 quantity ingested." J 



In a third series of experiments, an excess of food was 

 taken. This increased the weight by an average of "22 of a 

 pound daily ; there was constant headache, indisposition to 

 exertion, loss of appetite, etc. For five days succeeding this, 

 twelve drachms of alcohol were taken daily, with the effect 

 of diminishing the quantities of excretions and exhalations, 

 aggravating the unpleasant symptoms produced by the 

 excess of food, and increasing the average gain in weight 

 from *22 to *31 of a pound. 



These experiments demonstrate the actual immediate in- 

 fluence of alcohol upon nutrition, under the conditions above 

 given ; for the observer was a young man, in perfect health, 

 and not accustomed to the constant use of alcoholic bever- 

 ages. The observations were apparently conducted with 

 great exactness, and continued sufficiently long to afford 

 definite results ; of which the following are some of the most 

 important : 



The ingestion of a moderate quantity of alcohol retards 

 the destructive assimilation of the tissues ; for the diminution 

 in the quantity of the excretions in the experiments of Ham- 

 mond was too long continued to admit of the theory that the 



1 Loc. ciL 



