622 TRAKSACTIOXS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



and begins to dissolve tliem into disorganization ; and also to 

 attack the inner coating of the stomach by irritating dissolution, 

 and thus aggravates the stomach into more violent peristaltic 

 agitations, to hasten the disintegration, and the piloric discharge 

 of its contents down the intestinal canal. But in the meantime 

 the direct percolating pores or ducts from the stomach, to that 

 main vessel, that pours the new made nourishment into the heart, 

 proceed to gather the water and oil and alcoholic contents out of 

 the stomach, and to pour them into the blood in the heart, with- 

 out having been formally digested. By this means, alcoholic 

 beverages are almost immediately conveyed into the general cir- 

 culation of the blood; although food, Avhich has to be regularly 

 digested and assorted along the intestinal canal, requires several 

 hours to reach the heart. From the heart, the bloody alcohol is 

 projected into the lungs and returned to the heart, and thence 

 projected through all the arteries and veins of the body. By the 

 time the alcohol has reached the arteries and veins, and circulated 

 through the system it has become much diluted ; yet it still con- 

 tinues to irritate the inner surfaces of the blood vessels, aggravat- 

 ing them into more violent vermicular action of their muscles ; 

 and as they are valved against flowing backwards, they now pro- 

 ject the blood forward with much more force and rapidity than 

 it would otherwise have flowed. 



While the blood is thus rushing through the glands of the 

 mouth, far more and stronger saliva is formed to taste and 

 moisten the food : through the stomach, more and stronger gas- 

 tric acid to disintegrate our food ; through the liver, more and 

 stronger gall to finish digestion and separate the nourishment ; 

 through the lungs, skin, kidneys and alvine glands, more of the 

 wastes and incumbrances of the body are ejected and cleared 

 away from incumbering the system ; and through the glands along 

 the sides of the arteries into the nerves, for more nervous stimu- 

 lus is generated per hour and transmitted into the nerves, and 

 stored up under the control of the mind for any required use of 

 the mental and physical powers and operation of the constitu- 

 tion, both for the happiness of the present generation, and for 

 the propagation of those then about to be. 



Having described the generally admitted theory of alcohol on 

 the body, I now proceed to consider the practical questions of 

 facts as to the utility of alcoholic beverages and medicines. 



First, Is alcohol a furnisher or producer of nervous stimulus, 



