104 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



July, 



Mercliants think "small profits and quick re- 

 turns" best in the long run. With me this 

 plan of fertilizing has never failed to give 

 quick returns and large profits, or at least 

 large crops. — J. M. Smith, in Nnv York Tri- 

 tune. 



DRINKS. 



What and When Fluid Nutriment Should be 

 Taken. 



Nourishing Fluids. 

 Regarding the drinks which contain more 

 nourishment than water, much might be said. 

 A few statements will suffice to bring out the 

 most important points regarding their charac- 

 ter and uses. Tfjis class of drinks is employed 

 when the largest amount of nourishment is 

 required with the least efforts on the part of 

 the digestive organs. Nourisliing fluids which 

 undergo very little change in tlie stomach, but 

 are simply absorbed and go at once to supply 

 the materials for the repair of tissue, are 

 types of this class. Under this head there is 

 such a variety used that it appears necessary 

 to speciallize a little more. To make this 

 clear three sub-divisions may be made : First, 

 those which are absorbed without change )jy 

 digestion, such as water, saline and saccha- 

 rine solutions, and some of the animal ex- 

 tracts ; second, such as require very elaborate 

 digestion, which takes place slowly, milk for 

 example, and, third, those which uudergo 

 changes by digestion, but do so very rapidly 

 and with very little effort on the part of the 

 digestive organs, whey — serum of milk — but- 

 termilk, clear soups, and some of the gruels. 

 The first of this division should be used wlien 

 a patient has thirst without hunger and is un- 

 able todigest the more highly nutritious drinks. 

 In fevers attended with great disorder of the 

 digestive organs, life may be sustained for 

 a long time and the comfort of the patient 

 greatly increased by using this kind of drink, 

 while very great harm might be done 

 by giving some of the more nutritious drinks 

 which require digestion. The third class 

 should be used in the same conditions men- 

 tioned above as soon as the digestive organs 

 will tolerate them. The second class answers 

 well when the patient has the ability to digest 

 food, but has no appetite, no ability to masti- 

 cate and insalivate solid food. Such coudi- 

 tiens often are seen in disease. Take typhoid 

 fever, for example. Tlie ))atieuts will refuse 

 solid food altogether. Tliey cannot masticate 

 or swallow it, and still they will take milk 

 and other nutritious drinks, and digest them. 

 The adaptation of the various kinds to the 

 wants of the sick demands the skill of the 

 physician, and should not be trusted to the 

 nurse or ordinary attendant. At one time it 

 may be necessary to give carbonaceous nour- 

 ishment to sustain the nervous system in 

 order to carry the patient through some ex- 

 hausting stage of an acute disease, while at 

 another the gradual supply of tissue may be 

 the object desired. The engineer uses the 

 most combustible material when he wishes to 

 get up steam rapidly to carry his locomotive 

 up hill, while a slow, steady fire is all that is 

 required to drive the engine ui)ou level 

 ground. So it is in giving drinks to the sick. 

 We should know exactly whetlier it is neces- 

 sary to sustain the vital or nerve forces dur- 



ing the work immediately on hand, or to sup- 

 ply tissue to-day for the work of to-morrow, 

 and then adapt the nourishment accordingly. 

 Stimulating Drinks. 

 This brings us to the second class stimu- 

 lants, the action of which is to increase vital 

 action and prevent the watte of tissue. There 

 has been mucli learned discussion among the 

 doctors of medicine regarding the questions 

 whether stimulants produce vital energy or 

 force or simply bring into action that which 

 exists in a latent state, and whether alcohol 

 (the essential element of most stimulants) 

 supplies new material for the tissues or only 

 retards the waste of tissue. These questions 

 lie upon the outer boundary line of our pre- 

 sent field of inquiry, and fortunately, their 

 solution is not absolutely necessary to the ob- 

 ject in view. It is well known that stimu- 

 lants help to sustain the organization under 

 extraordinary; taxation, either from labor or 

 disease, and that the feeble in health and 

 those who are sick are sometimes enabled to 

 accomplish more than they otherwise could 

 by the aid of stimulating drinks. Those who 

 are in health and live under favorable con- 

 ditions of life do not require stimulants; on 

 the contrary, they are directly injured by 

 their use ; but under the circumstances 

 named above stimulants are the most valuable 

 and potential agents at the command of the 

 physician. They are, however, the most liable 

 of all drinks to be abused, and therefore they 

 ought to be used with care, and with a 

 clear understanding of their effects. A few 

 hints regarding these points will serve as an 

 outline guide to the use of stimulants. They 

 should never be used in health except as 

 a luxury ; they should only be given to a 

 accomplish that which cannot be attained 

 by food and rest ; they should be regulated 

 in quantity when given to bring the strength 

 and activity up to or toward the standard of 

 health ; care should be taken not to produce 

 over-excitement by stimulants — that is, intox- 

 ication even in a slight degree, because a 

 corresponding degree of depression follows 

 excitement of intoxication. They should be 

 given in doses sufiicient to produce the effect 

 desired, and repeated at such intervals as may 

 be necessary to maintain the effect. Stimu- 

 lants are rapidly absorbed, and produce almost 

 immediate effect. This should be carefully 

 watched in order to avoid a too sudden exci- 

 tation. Wines which contain a small per- 

 centage of alcohol, as most good wines do, 

 may be most beneficially used. There is less 

 danger of producing sudden intoxication, and 

 that irritation and congestion of the stomach 

 which is caused by strong liquors. If whisky, 

 brandy, or any of that class is used it shoidd 

 be well diluted. Clear liquor taken when 

 the stomach is empty produces great derange- 

 ment of the liver, and if the practice is 

 continued long produces fatal organic dis- 

 eases of that organ. A man's days are num- 

 bered when he is seen taking his whisky 

 habitually before breakfast. While it is a 

 bad habit to drink strong liquors immedi- 

 ately after meals, it is far less dangerous 

 than doing so before eating. Any fluid 

 which contains more than 1.5 per cent, of 

 alcohol is said to arrest digestion if taken 

 with food. This is true, I believe, although 

 most people who drink doubt it. They know 



that they eat and drink and digest, and hence 

 they do not see how the drink taken can ar- 

 rest digestion. The fact is that digestion is 

 stopped until the alcohol is absorbed, and 

 then digestion goes ou. This gives the stom- 

 ach extra duty and prolongs the time of its 

 labors. Mixing liquors with miueral water, 

 which has become fashionable of late years, 

 is a great advance in the right direction. Tfie 

 mixture is not only more agreeable to most 

 people, but it counteracts the tendency of 

 strong driuks to injure the .stomach and liver. 

 It also secures a slower absorption and pro- 

 duces a more prolonged and milder stimula- 

 tion. ^ 



Perhaps the most diflicult question of all 

 that pertains to this subject is what kind of 

 stimulant to use. Those who drink for pleas- 

 ure select that which is most agreeable to the 

 taste, without regard to the ultimate efl"ects 

 upon the .system ; but in using stimulants for 

 the purpose of strengthening the weak or in 

 aiding the cure of disease, the selection 

 should be based upon different principles. It 

 is impossible to tell beforehand what will 

 agree with a given case. The only way is to 

 try and see what produces the desired eflisct. 

 Some delicate people, whose appetites are poor, 

 will be benefited by using beer at their meals, 

 while in others it vpill cause audacity and indi- 

 gestion. Some find that certain wines answer 

 well, while others take whisky or brandy 

 agreeably. A momentary excitement is caused 

 by a very small quantity of any stimulant in 

 serai-delicate or sick people, and in others lan- 

 guor and weariness follow. Both effects are 

 injurious, and the stimulant should be with- 

 held or given in smaller quantity. If diges- 

 tion is labored and the appetite impaired after 

 using a stimulant it should he given up. On 

 the other hand, if a feeling of strength with- 

 out excitement follows, and the appetite is 

 improved, or not impaired, then it is evident 

 that the stimulant is useful. When stimula- 

 tion is indicated, and the first that is tried 

 does not agree, it is well to try a variety, per- 

 haps some one will be found to give the de- 

 sired effects. In short, select a stimulant for 

 each case in place of seeking a stimulant which 

 will suit all cases. In giving stimulants to 

 the sick there is one great mistake frequently 

 made, and that is giving too much at first. 

 The dose should be so small as not to produce 

 any marked effect, and then it .should be grad- 

 ually increased until the desired effect is pro- 

 duced, and then that quantity continued. 

 Care should be taken never to give more than 

 enough. Tliis has been the most diflicult 

 point to settle for both patients and physicians. 

 Tliere is one rule which can be followed on 

 this point, and that is to give only as much 

 as can be appropriated by the system. When- 

 ever more alcohol is taken than can be used 

 up in the system the excess is thrown off by 

 the mucus membrane of the lungs, and the 

 breath has the smell of liquor. No matter 

 how much liquor is taken, if it is not elimin- 

 ated by the lungs the quantity is not too great 

 and no matter how little is taken if it is 

 tlirown off in that way the quantity is too 

 much. 



Mineral Water Drinks. 



The third class medicinal drinks embraces 

 .so much and is so closely connected with 

 medicines generally tliat a volume might be 



