172 ANSWERS TO PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 



34. Shoiv hoiv life conies by death. 



(See Physiology, p. 122.) 



35. Is not the truth just stated as aj^plicable to moral 

 and intellectual as to physical life ? 



Yes. We increase our moral and intellectual strength in 

 proportion as we use those powers. 



36. What vein begins and ends ivlth capillaries ? 



(See Physiology, p. 161.) 



The portal vein, which begins with capillaries in the digestive 

 organs, and ends with the same kind of vessels in the liver. 



37. Hy what process is alcohol always formed? Does 

 it exist in nature ? 



By the process of fermentation. It has been generally be- 

 lieved not to exist in nature, but recent experiments have seemed 

 to indicate that it does so exist, though in extremely minute 

 quantities. "Professor Muntz, of the National Agronomic In- 

 stitute, in Paris, has, by refined chemical tests, discovered evi- 

 dences of alcohol in cultivated soils, in rain water, in sea and 

 river water, and in the atmosphere. ... It appears probable 

 that the alcohol originates in the soil, from the fermentation of 

 the organic matters in it, and is thence diffused as vapor in the 

 atmosphere." W. O. ATWATEK, Century Magazine, May, 1888. 



38. What percentage of alcohol is contained in the dif- 

 ferent kinds of liquor ? 



Ale and porter contain from six to eight per cent. ; wine, 

 from seven to seventeen per cent. ; brandy and whiskey, from 

 forty to fifty per cent. 



39. Does cider possess the same intoxicating principle 

 as brandy? 



Yes, because cider that has begun to ferment contains alco- 

 hol, which is the intoxicating principle in all spirituous drinks. 



40. Describe the general properties of alcohol. 



It is volatile; antiseptic, a solvent. It burns without smoke, 

 and with great heat, and has a remarkable affinity for water. 

 It boils at 172 Fahr. 



