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DISTORT 



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Toe produce that varied from 5J to 9| gallons par ton, iiwtead of 

 35 gallons according to UM TftlmnVt The B<wrd o( Inland Revenue 

 thun reported on UM whole subject in 1S5S to the Treasury : 

 Messrs. Dy, who nude UM apparatus, and are licensed liy the 

 patentee of tie process, represented to us so strongly the necessity of 

 giving a fair scope to their experiment, by trying it on a large scale, 

 aod with the produce of various qualities of toil, that we obtained 

 your lordships' leave (not without first ascertaining that the licensed 

 distiller* would hare no objection) to |>ermit the erection of twelve 

 beetroot spirit distilleries in different part* of the ruii.-l Kingdom, 

 the selection of persons and of plaoea being left to Messrs. Dray. 

 Unly tn (f) of these distilleries have been in operation ; but a* none 

 of them hare succeeded in producing a saleable spirit, or spirit of any 

 kind in sufficient quantity per ton of rout to jnr their working 

 expenses according to the calculations of the projectors, it may fairly 

 b a*uwl that the process can never be successfully adopted in thin 

 country. The obxervationii of our officers on the results obtained .it 

 each place will be found in the appendix ; and it may therefore be 

 sufficient 10 state here, that one of the most enterprising of these 

 experimentalists has recently applied to the chairman of the Excise 

 for protection against the grain distillers, in the shape of a diOoionti.il 

 duty of 2*. i'ii in his favour; and has acknowledged that, without 

 some such advantage, it would be impossible for him to make a profit, 

 or even to pay the working expenses of the distillery." 



Whether the spirit be obtained from grain, malt, or beet-root, it is 

 generally in too crude and distasteful a state to be used as beverage 

 without further pre|>ar.ition. Whatever may be the case in Ireland 

 or Scotland, the English spirit is always rcdititd before it passes into 

 the hands of the retailor. The great distillers may not rectify ili.-ir 

 spirit ; they must .-oil it in a crude state this is a precautionary 

 measure on the part of the Excise. The rectifiers buy the spirit, and 

 convert it into gin, hollands. whiskey, British brandy, British rum, 

 spirits of wine, and such cordials as aniseed, cloves, peppermint, &c. 

 This is done by re-distilling, with water as a diluent ; and by further 

 dist.lbtion in comp .ny with such herbs, spices, seeds, berries, fruits, 

 leaves, perfumes, or sweetening ingredients, as may be necessary to 

 impart flavour. One of these distillations is called rectifying, and the 

 oth.-r compounding. There is no limit to the varieties of flavour that 

 may thus be produced. Spirits of wine contains none of these sub- 

 sidiary ingredients ; it contains only spirit and water, the spirit being 

 strengthened to a great degree of intensity. 



A very interesting kind of distilling, whereby sea water is converted 

 into fresh, will be more conveniently treated under FILTER, in con- 

 nection with other modes of purifying water. 



DISTORTION. Deformity of the person maybe advantageously 

 timed for the purpose of discussion under two principal heads : mal- 

 formation and ditturtion. The former is, for the most part, congenital, 

 and is usually characterised by the deficiency or redundancy of parts, 

 or by imperfections and irregularities of structure. The latter, arising 

 generally after birth, comprises all permanent deviations from the 

 natural shape or position which ore effected by the influence of external 

 or internal force in parts originally soft and flexible, or such as have 

 acquired unnatural pliancy by accident or disease. 



It u to the latter class of deformities only that our attention is for 

 the present directed. But even thus limited, the subject is so exten- 

 sive that we must once for all refer the reader for more precise in- 

 formation on several of iU most interesting subdivisions to professional 

 works. [COSTBACTION.] 



1. Kvery part of the body capable of independent motion is furnished 

 with two sets of muscles, acting in contrary directions, the purpose of 

 which is obviously to bring the port back to its place after movement 

 in either direction. In the position of equilibrium these muscles are 

 not in a state of absolute relaxation, even during sleep ; on the con- 

 trary, they continue to act with considerable energy, each exactly 

 counterbalancing the other. This is called their tone or tension, and 

 it is calculated to give great steadiness to the part thus held at rest 

 between opposite forces. But if one set of the muscles should I > 

 suddenly cut across, the tension of their antagonists still remaining in 

 action, the consequence would be a movement in obedience to the latter 

 till the contraction had reached its limit; and the part in question 

 would permanently retain the position into which it had thus been 

 moved. The same effect would result if the muscle, instead of being 

 divided, were paralysed by the interruption of its nervous communica- 

 tion with the brain. Again, if the tone of one muscle were increased 

 by spasm or otherwise, so as to give it a decided preponderance over 

 its antagonist, the result would be similar. These considerations 

 will sufficiently explain the nature of one large class of distortions, 

 namely, those which result from affections of the brain, mtucte*, and 



1. The simplest of these is the dram mouth, or l,rn,!jJtffia. It 



arises in this way : in consequence of an extravasation of blood or some 



other cause, the function* ..t one side of the brain are inU-n n . .1 . tin- 



muscles of the cheek on the some side, deriving their nerve) from that 



brain, are paralysed, and the retractors on the opposite 



-,f the mouth being n longer balanced by an equal force, draw 



it up toward* tli. i .,n it in that position. 



_'. fi rabnmt, or squinting, is frequently produced in the same way 

 by a partial paralysis of that muscle the office of which is to turn the 



globe of the eye in the opposite direction, or it may arise from undue 

 contraction of the muscle on the same side. 



S. It is remarkable that kyittria is sometimes accompanied by a 

 distortion of the last-mentioned kind, produced by a spasmodic con- 

 traction of the flexor muscles of one of the joints, commonly the knee 

 or hip. Kor months or years this painful condition may last without 

 may vanish all at once under the influence of some 

 1 impression of the body or mind. The entire loss of the 

 Inch sometimes comes on suddenly in similar constitutions, 

 and after long resisting every remedy, as suddenly departs, is probably 

 an analogous affection of the muscles of the larynx. 



4. \\'ry-ntct is a distortion also due to irregular muscular action. It 

 generally comes on gradually in infancy, and consists in a shortened 

 and contracted state of the ttemo-moMtvid muscle, of that side t" 

 the bead is inclined and from which the face is turned. 

 oiti'ii nothing more than a similar contraction of the muscles of th.- 

 calf, which draw up the heel and i iisturb the intog- 



the ankle joint. This complaint also comes on at an early age. and is 

 sometimes congenital By proper means they both admit of relief, 

 and often of a cure. [CONTRACTION.] 



The li<t of distortions depending on a morbid condition of the mus- 

 nervous functions might easily be extended. 



II. But by far the most common and important class of these affec- 

 tions is that which originates in disease of the bones. 



1. The firmness and rigidity of the bones depends upon the due 

 proportion of the earthy matter, phosphate of lime, that enters into 

 their composition. If the proportion of this ingredient be too great, 

 as ill old age, and in the disease called frayilitat ouium, they become 

 brittle, and are broken by the slightest causes; if it be too small, they 

 become unnaturally pliant, and are distorted by the pressure of the 

 superincumbent weight, or the contraction of the muscles. 



The latter condition is prevalent with other structural changes in 

 the disorder called rictett. The medical name of this complaint is 

 rachitis (from pdx's, the spine), and was given to it by Olisson. who 

 fir>t described it, partly because he conceived the vertebra to be 

 the bones most commonly implicated ; but chiefly, it would appear, 

 from the resemblance to the English name. His doctrine was 

 erroneous; and the error perpetuated by the misnomer has led to 

 serious mistakes in practice as well as theory. The spine is un- 

 doubtedly liable to partake with the rest of the skeleton in tin- 

 morbid condition of rickets, but certainly not in a greater degree than 

 thr other bones. 



This malady seldom appears within the ordinary period of lactation, 

 or after puberty. It is ushered in and attended throughout by general 

 febrile disturbance, and is closely connected with a peculiar morbid 

 condition of the nutritive function*. The opinion that it is of scrofu- 

 lous origin has lately been strongly controverted, and does not in 

 reality appear to be well supported by facts. It is most common 

 among the poor, and in closely-peopled districts, as all the diseases of 

 children are; but it is by no means confined to either, or to ch 

 whose constitutions ore apparently the most feeble in other respects. 

 Indued it is a frequent remark, that the most robust and powerful men 

 exhibit tokens of having been rickety in their childhood. Among 

 such indications are smaliness of the pelvis, with inward or o>. 

 curvature and disproportionate shortness of the lower limbs. This 

 sudden check to the development of the skeleton, constantly observed 

 in rickety children, with the distortion arising from the unnatural 

 softness of the bones, is the most usual cause of the short stature, as 

 well as the proverbial ugliness, of dwarfs. 



In extreme cases of this complaint the head is generally small and 

 pointed : no longer supported by the yielding and shortened neck, it 

 sinks down between the shoulders ; the occiput is thrown back and 

 almost touches the hump formed by the incurvated spine behind the 

 chest : the chin is thrust forward, giving an expression to the features 

 very characteristic of the dwarf, and rests upon the breast bone, which 

 is very prominent : on each side the ribs are flattened, and bulge in 

 upon the lungs. The shoulders, losing the support of the wreathed and 

 twisted clavicles, approach towards each other in front, drawing with 

 them the scapula, which stick out laterally, and add considerably to 

 the deformity as seen from behind ; the anus, though bent and in 

 reality shortened, seem of disproportionate length ; the lumbar spine 

 is thrust inwards ; the pelvis is small and flattened ; the thighs are 

 bowed forward ; the knees with their patella- at the side instead of in 

 front of the joint, touch or overlap each other ; while the feet are set 

 wide apart, a sudden twist above the ankle still permitting the soles 

 to be set to the ground. Such are some of the varied changes which 

 exhibit a melancholy proof of the prevalence of the disease in 

 part of the bony frame, and almost defy description. Of course such 

 extreme cases of rickety distortion are comparatively rare ; yet almost 

 daily instances are seen by those whose duty calls them into the un- 

 wholesome courts and alleys of the metropolis, and slighter examples 

 of the affection ore extremely common. 



Recovery, even from considerable degrees of this affection . is more 

 frequent and rapid than mi^lit I c imagined ; but the pelvis and lower 

 limbs, which us ab (I, are the most commonly and exten- 



-ivrly implicated, seldom completely regain their natural proportions. 

 This fact, as it regards the female pelvis, is worthy of notice, being the 

 cause of by far the most dangerous kind of dillicult parturition. It 



