550 APPLIED BIOLOGY 



doses as large as a wineglassful four times daily are sometimes 

 advised. This means a large amount of alcohol. 



Root-beers, ginger ale, and fermented milk contain very 

 small amounts of alcohol, usually less than one per cent. 

 So-called " sweet cider " sold by all dealers may have more 

 alcohol than the average beer, and frequently contains 0.2 

 to 3.5 per cent. " Hard " or fermented cider contains 4 to 8 

 per cent of alcohol, and therefore compares with mild wines 

 and strong beer. 



476. Alcohol as Medicine. Concerning the value of 

 alcohol in treating diseases, great authorities on medicine do 

 not yet agree. There are many eminent physicians who 

 never prescribe it, but prefer to use drugs whose stimulating 

 action is more definite and certain than that of alcohol. 

 Other equally eminent doctors hold that alcohol is of great 

 value in certain acute diseases where there is a tendency 

 toward general and heart weakness. 



477. Alcohol and Growth. It is universally admitted 

 by physiologists that all alcoholic drinks are deleterious to 

 growing individuals, and this means the first eighteen or 

 twenty years of life. It is absolutely pernicious to young 

 children. And in addition to its direct physiological injury 

 to young people, there is the oft-demonstrated tendency to 

 excessive use. The vast majority of habitual drinkers of 

 alcholic liquors begin in early life. 



478. Summary of Effects of Alcohol. Professor Atwater, 

 the famous chemist, who contributed much to our knowl- 

 edge of foods and their uses, wrote that in his personal 

 opinion " people in health, and especially young people, 

 act most wisely in abstaining from alcoholic beverages." 



A committee of five prominent American physiologists 

 has thus summarized the facts regarding the use of alcohol : 



(1) While in moderate quantities beer and wine may be in 

 a certain sense a food, they are a very imperfect and expen- 

 sive kind of food, and are seldom used for food purposes; 



