88 THE HUMAN BODY. 



38, When large bodies of men have to be fed, as in the 

 army or navy, it becomes necessary to find out just how 

 much of each kind of food a man requires daily. By 

 combining physiological reasonings with experiment, Pro- 

 fessor Dalton found, that for a man in health, taking free 

 exercise in the open air, the following was a sufficient 

 daily ration : 



Meat . . . ... . . .16 ounces. 



Bread 19 " 



Butter 8 " 



Water 52 " 



Total, water, 3 Ibs. ; solids, 2 Ibs. G ounces. 



Men at hard labor require more, and those who are en- 

 tirely inactive, less. 



STIMULANTS AND NARCOTICS. 



SECTION II. 1. Stimulants are substances which excite. 

 Narcotics are substances which benumb and stupefy. Some 

 substances are both stimulants and narcotics. Alcohol, if 

 taken in small quantity, is a stimulant: in large quantity 

 it is a narcotic. 



2, Nature supplies us with certain food-stimulants which 

 are useful. Stimulant is from a Latin word, stimulus, mean- 

 ing a goad. These substances afford little or no nourish- 

 ment, but they goad the appetite and the digestive organs 

 to greater activity. Such are pepper, spice, and mustard. 

 Though good in moderation, they may be used in such 

 quantities as to injure the stomach, and make the body 

 liable to various disorders. 



