214 I'JIYS/OLOGV. 



specific action of alcohol on the heart, stomach, and other 

 organs has been investigated more or less completely, but 

 the literature is too great and the results are too uncertain 

 to permit any resume to be given here. When alcohol is 

 taken in excess it produces the familiar symptoms of in- 

 toxication, which may pass subsequently into a condition 

 of stupor or even death, provided the quantity taken is 

 sufficiently great. So, also, the long-continued use of 

 alcohol in large quantities is known to produce serious 

 lesions of the stomach, liver, nerves, blood vessels, and 

 other organs. The effect of alcohol upon the body evi- 

 dently varies greatly with the quantity used. It may 

 perhaps be said with safety that in small quantities it is 

 beneficial, or at least not injurious, barring the danger of 

 acquiring an alcohol habit, while in large quantities it is 

 directly injurious to various tissues." 



[From THOMPSON'S Practical Dietetics.} 



" . . . the following general propositions comprise the 

 belief of many authorities who have devoted careful re- 

 search to this exceedingly important topic : 



" i. The use of alcohol in any shape is wholly unneces- 

 sary for the use of the human organism in health. It does 

 not exist as a natural product. The very lowest types of 

 man Australian and many Polynesian savages know 

 nothing of it, and drink only water and fresh fruit juice, 

 such as that of the cocoanut, although they speedily 

 acquire a fondness for alcohol when it is given them. 



" 2. A large number of persons are undoubtedly better 

 without alcohol, and may prolong their lives by total ab- 

 stinence. 



" 3. The lifelong use of alcohol in moderation, as an 

 occasional beverage with meals, does not necessarily 



