414 



THE CENTURY BOOK. OF FACTS. 



influences are more exactly limited to the ner- 

 vous system than alcoholic stimulants. Habit- 

 'ually used in excess, they cajase indigestion, 

 emaciation, neuralgia, paralysis, impaired vis- 

 ion, wakefulness, restlessness, palpitation of 

 the heart, etc. They are, however, sometimes 

 excellent medicines ; and may be drunk in 

 moderate quantities by most persons who are 

 in health without doing appreciable harm. 



Of tobacco,. Franklin has said that "he 

 could not think it had ever done much good in 

 the world, since he never knew a person who 

 used it habitually who would recommend an- 

 other to do the same." 



Tobacco is certainly not food for man, nor 

 has it much value as a medicine. The tobacco 

 worm is the only animal known to thrive upon 

 its xise. 



Tobacco causes neuralgia, paralysis, espe- 

 cially of the nerve of vision, tremors, etc. It 

 impairs the appetite, dries up the fluids, gives 

 a dirty, parchment color to the skin, stains 

 the teeth, makes the gums spongy and tender, 

 renders the breath foul, and causes not un- 

 frequently cancer of the mouth, lips, and 

 tongue. 



The habitual use of opium and other narcot- 

 ics causes neuralgia, restlessness, wakeful- 

 ness, paralysis, indigestion, innutrition, and 

 dropsy. 



COFFEE ITS USES AND MEDI- 

 CINAL QUALITIES. 



Dr. Bock of Leipsic says : < ' The nervous- 

 ness and peevishness of our times are chiefly 

 attributable to tea and coffee ; " he says that 

 "the digestive organs of confirmed coffee 

 drinkers are in a state of chronic derangement, 

 which reacts on the brain, producing fretful 

 and lachi'ymose moods. Ladies addicted to 

 strong coffee have a characteristic temper, 

 which may be described as a mania for acting 

 the persecuted saint," etc. 



I cannot agree with Dr. Bock that the ner- 

 vousness and peevishness of the present time 

 are to be attributed to the use of coffee. If 

 people are more nervous or in worse humor 

 now than formerly, we may find other causes 

 arising from the customs and habits of society 

 much more likely to produce such a state of 

 things than the use of this particular article of 

 diet. I have no intention of pointing out 

 many changes and peculiarities in the habits 

 of the age, to show many other more promi- 

 nent reasons for people being in bad humor 

 besides the use of coffee. My object is to de- 

 fend coffee from a slander aimed at one of our 

 best friends a friend more likely to relieve 

 the morbid state of things complained of, than 

 to produce it. Who that has experienced the 



good effects of coffee can sit quietly and hear 

 it abused ? Especially by an estimable phy- 

 sician who has written learned books on the 

 nervous system. The nerves of every honest 

 friend of coffee tremble with the shock of an 

 attack from such a quarter. 



Let us examine the effects of coffee on the 

 economy. Taken in moderation it is a mental 

 and bodily stimulant of a most agreeable 

 nature ; and, followed by no harmful reaction, 

 it produces contentment of mind, allays hun- 

 ger and bodily weakness, and increases the in- 

 centive and capacity for work, makes man 

 forget his misfortunes, and enables those who 

 use it to remain a long time without food or 

 sleep, to endure unusual fatigue, and preserve 

 their cheerfulness and contentment. 



Jomand says : " An infusion made with ten 



ounces of coffee enabled me to live without 



other food for five consecutive days, without 



lessening my ordinai'y occupations, and to use 



more and more prolonged muscular exercise 



j than I was accustomed to, without any other 



' physical injury than a slight degree of fatigue 



and a little loss of flesh." 



The mental exhilaration, physical activity, 

 and wakefulness it causes, explain the fond- 

 ness for it which has been shown by so many 

 men of science, poets, scholars, and others 

 devoted to thinking. It has, indeed, been 

 called " the intellectual beverage." 



It supported the 6ld age of Voltaire, and 

 enabled Fontenelle to pass his hundred years. 



The action of coffee is directed chiefly to 

 the nervous system. It produces a warming, 

 cordial impression on the stomach, quickly 

 followed by a diffused, agreeable nervous ex- 

 citement, which extends itself to the cerebral 

 functions, giving rise to increased vigor of 

 imagination and intellect, without any subse- 

 quent confusion or stupor, such as are char- 

 acteristic of narcotics. 



Coffee contains essential principles of nu- 

 trition far exceeding in importance its exhila- 

 rating properties, and is one of the most 

 desirable articles for sustaining the system in 

 certain prostrating diseases ; as compared with 

 the nutrition to be derived from the best of 

 soups, coffee has decidedly the advantage, an<" 

 to be preferred in many instances. 



Liebig says: "We shall never know how 

 men were first led to the use of coffee, but that 

 we may consider the article as remarkable for 

 its action on the brain and the substance of 

 the organs of motion, and as an element of 

 food for organs as yet unknown, which are 

 destined to convert the blood into nervous 

 substance, and thus recruit the energy and the 

 nervous moving and thinking faculties." 



The medicinal effects of coffee are very 



