FOOD AND WATER, STIMULANTS, ETC. 93 



sugar which is contained in the flour is changed into 

 alcohol and carbonic-acid gas. This is fermentation. 

 But the heat of the oven causes the small portion of 

 alcohol to evaporate. The carbonic-acid gas, after puffing 

 up the loaf, and making it light, also disappears. 



17. Wines are the fermented juice of grapes. They 

 contain from five to twenty-five per cent of alcohol. 

 Brandy, rum, whisky, and gin are distilled liquors, and 

 are about half alcohol. Beer, ale, and porter are made 

 from grain, and have from three to eight per cent of 

 alcohol. Cider is made of apple-juice, and has from 

 three to ten per cent of alcohol. The home-made wines, 

 from currants, gooseberries, -and elderberries, contain a 

 small percentage of alcohol. 



18. Wines and liquors are very commonly adulterated. 

 The pure article is costly. Some of the substances used 

 are cocculus indicus, alum, aloes, copperas, sulphuric acid, 

 nux vomica or strychnine, jalap, and lime. By adding 

 certain substances to an inferior wine, or even to alcohol 

 and water, the taste and effect of good wine can be imi- 

 tated, and a large profit made. Beer and porter are also 

 sometimes adulterated, to modify their flavor, and cheapen 

 their manufacture. 



19. Alcoholic drinks cause a flushing of the skin and 

 a feeling of warmth. But they do not maintain the heat 

 of the body : they rather lessen it. This has been proved 

 by careful experiments, and by the experience of travelers 

 in the arctic regions. 



They check the waste and repair that are naturally going 

 on. This may be at times an advantage, in a wasting 

 disease, for example. But in health it is much better 

 that the natural processes should be undisturbed. 



