218 THE HUMAN MOTOR 



Besides being nervous poisons, alcoholic drinks decrease the 

 muscular power very materially,^ 1 ) by simple ingestion in the 

 stomach. In view of their injurious effects on the organs and 

 the general depression of strength which they cause ( 2 ) their use 

 ought to be strictly forbidden. 



Intoxicating drinks constitute a source of distraction, in the 

 strict sense of the word ; they drive away the cares that assail 

 the spirit of man ; they stupify him momentarily, and are the 

 refuge of the weak minded. 



Every people has its favourite drink. For example, there is 

 the "koumiss" (fermented mare's milk) of the Turks and Mon- 

 golians ; the millet beer of the Negroes ; the sago wine of the 

 Malays ; the aloe wine of the Mexicans ; the spice wine of the 

 Polynesians ; the palm wine of the Arabs ; the " betsabetsa " 

 (the juice of the sugar cane fermented) of the Malgaches. 



The conclusion drawn from the preceding facts is that alcohol 

 is a thermogeneous aliment, and not a dynamogeneous aliment. 

 In addition, even in comparatively small doses, it constitutes a 

 danger to the human economy. The workman would therefore 

 do well to abstain from it completely, because it is he, as 

 statistics show ( 343) who has a tendancy to abuse it.( 3 ) 



153. Aliments of Economy. Alcohol in small doses is there- 

 fore an aliment of economy relatively to any one of the three 

 kinds of aliments. 



Is this same character found in coffee, tea, kola nuts, etc-? 

 Here are the facts on the subject.( 4 ) 



Three persons, adults, accomplished work of 50,000 kilogram- 

 metres each on the bicycle dynamometer ; they consumed a 

 maintenance ration. Then 5 grammes of " dried " tea (taken 

 infused) was substituted isodynamically for the bread in that 

 ration. Equilibrium was realised with an economy of 125-50 

 Gal., 157-56 Cal., and 161-59 Cal. respectively on the daily 

 expenditure. 



This economy was constant during several days. 



Numerous populations (Russians, Moroccans) make a continual 

 use of strongly sugared tea. According to our own observations, 

 the Moroccan of average condition absorbs, per day, 15 to 20 cups 

 of tea, representing nearly 12 grammes of dried tea and 400 



(*) Gr6hant and Quinquaud (Comptes Rendus Sciences, 1891, p. 416). 



() De Boeck and Gunzburg (Butt. Soc. Med. Mentale Belg., 1899. p. 307) ; 

 Kurg, Bildin, Mayer, etc. (Psych. Arbeiten, vols. iii. and iv., 1900-1). 



(*) See Louis Jacquet, L'Alcool ; Preface by G. Clemenceau, Paris, 1913 

 (Masson). 



(*) Jules Amar, Le Rendement de la Machine Humaine, p. 76. 



