184 ANSWERS TO PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 



albuminous substances in the mucous membrane being partly 

 coagulated by the alcohol, and it illustrates the action of this 

 agent upon the tissues. 



44. Is there any nourishment 111 beer? 



The following table will show at a glance the materials 

 required for, and the result of, brewing : 



Materials. Chief Compounds in Beer. 



Alcohol, or spirits of wine, from 3 to 8 per cent. 



Malt. 

 Water. 

 Hops. 



Yeast from a pre- 

 vious brewing. 



Dextrine, about 4.5 per cent. 



Albuminoids, 0.5 " 



Sugar, 0.5 " 



Acetic and succinic acids, 0.3 per cent. 



Carbonic acid, 0.15 per cent. 



Mineral matter, 0.3 " 



Here it is seen that the nutriment of the malt has been 

 converted into the stimulant alcohol. Whatever nourishment 

 there may be is of a saccharine nature, the dextrine when in 

 the stomach becoming converted into sugar. Of the two neces- 

 sary nourishing elements the nitrogenous and the carbonaceous 

 the former is practically wanting ; and of the latter there is 

 not enough to justify the use of malt liquor for the sake of it. 

 The chief difference between porters or stouts, and ales, con- 

 sists in the malt from which the former is made, having been 

 more highly dried. London Medical Temperance Journal. 



45. Show how the excessive use of alcohol may first in- 

 crease and after ward decrease the size of the liver. 



In the case of cirrhosis (sometimes called gin - drinker's 

 liver), the liver first becomes enlarged from exudation into the 

 connective tissue. After a time, this becomes organized into 

 fibrous tissues, and these fibrous bands contract and press to- 

 gether the blood-vessels and cells of the liver, until both be- 

 come atrophied and ultimately destroyed. In this way the 

 organ becomes much smaller in size, and greatly reduced in 

 weight. 



46. Will liquor help one to endure cold and exposure ? 



(See Physiology, p. 183.) 



