22 PHYSIOLOGY. 



Let us seek the answers to these questions in the fol- 

 lowing lessons. 



Alcohol and Muscular Energy. Alcohol does not in- 

 crease the energy of the body so far as muscular work is 

 concerned. Repeated experiments have been made which 

 show that power to do muscular work is diminished as the 

 result of taking alcohol. The person may, and often does, 

 feel stronger, but the feelings are neither a sure test nor 

 a safe guide. As one writer says, the drunken man thinks 

 he is strong enough to hold two men, whereas he needs 

 two men to support him in his weakness. Test of ability 

 to do work shows the weakening effect of alcohol. It was 

 formerly supposed that when men were called upon to 

 perform unusually hard work they needed the sustaining 

 power of alcoholic liquor, and such drink was furnished 

 to men engaged in harvesting, etc. This belief has been 

 thoroughly disproved. 



The apparent liveliness of the tipsy person, and his 

 more or less violent gesticulations, are no sign of added 

 strength. We all know that restlessness and nervous 

 activity are often a sign of weakness and not of strength. 



Alcohol and Training. It is a significant fact that men 

 who are training for athletic contests (no matter what their 

 ordinary habits or principles are) let alcoholic drinks alone. 

 One of the famous pugilists said, " I'm no teetotaler, but 

 when I have business on hand there's nothing like water 

 and dumb-bells." No schoolboy or college student can 

 hope to gain a place on any athletic team if he indulges 

 in alcoholic drink. 



READING. How to Get Strong and How to Stay So, 

 Blaikie ; Sound Bodies for Our Boys and Girls, Blaikie ; 

 Physiology of Bodily Exercise \ Lagrange. 



