214 Physiology. 



traveler against diseases and death by accident, and which 

 every naturalist especially should take with him wherever 

 he goes, are habits of strict temperance. In the tropics 

 nothing is so deadly as the drinking habit, for it speedily 

 paves the way to various kinds of disease, which are always 

 charged to the account of 'the accursed climate.' If a 

 temperate man falls ill or meets with an accident, his 

 system responds so readily to remedies and moderate 

 stimulants that his chances of recovery are a hundred 

 per cent better than those of the man whose constitution 

 has been undermined by strong drink. There are plenty 

 of men who will say that in the tropics a little liquor is 

 necessary, ' a good thing,' etc. ; but let me tell you it is no 

 such thing, and if necessary I could pile up a mountain of 

 evidence to prove it. The records show most conclusively 

 that it is the men who totally abstain from the use of 

 spirits as a beverage who last longest, have the least 

 sickness, and do the most and best work. As a general 

 rule, an energetic brandy-drinker in the jungle is not 

 worth his salt, and as a companion in a serious under- 

 taking, is not even to be regarded as a possible candidate." 



Is Alcohol a Food ? It is not justifiable to call a sub- 

 stance a food because it possesses one characteristic of a 

 food, when in all other respects it has the opposite char- 

 acteristics of a poison. Alcohol certainly cannot build up 

 muscle or brain or nerve, because these tissues must have 

 nitrogen as a constituent element, and alcohol contains no 

 nitrogen. 



Undoubtedly the best test of a food is its ability to 

 maintain working power. Does alcohol do this? 



In the above paragraphs are given the results of much 

 experiment and observation. Alcohol has been tried in 



