116 STATES OF THE BIVER PLATE. 



Animals which have been driven or subjected to con- 

 siderable fear and agitation before being killed, have their 

 whole flesh relaxed ; their albuminous juices are in an 

 actual state of dissolution or waste. The saccharine 

 element is in a state of transition into fat, and the fat 

 itself is in a peculiar state : it is softened or dissolved — 

 wasting — and neither flesh nor fat will, to use the homely 

 expression, ' take the salt.' 



Herein are involved highly interesting physiological 

 laws, which it is convenient to define in a few propositions, 

 so as to render more clear my deductions. 



' Organisation,' construction or the ' laying on ' of flesh, 

 is the result of food taken. ' Organisation ' is the storing 

 up of force. There is a latent force in all substances. 

 The latent force of vegetable substances taken by an 

 animal as food passes into the flesh, muscle, &c. formed 

 by their assimilation, and endows the animal with the 

 power of exercising force in proportion to the store 

 accumulated. 



This store of latent force can either be expended by 

 effort, or it can be transferred to other and higher organ- 

 isms, as food of a highly nutrient or azotized quality. 



Force dissipated or expended by exercise passes into 

 other elements ; and organs which have exercised ' force ' 

 to any given degree cannot again exercise an equal 

 amount until that which has been expended has been 

 restored by an accumulation of fresh elements. Physical 

 effort, the efforts or impressions of the mind in man, 

 sensibilities in animals, equally result in an expenditure 

 of force ; and this having taken place in the case of an 

 animal, its flesh has, in a like degree, parted with its 

 nutritious power ; such power and the capacity for effort 

 being identical. 



The ' secretions ' of the body, and the diminution of 



