178 ALIMENTATION. 



by reason of decreased vitality. If given at all, it should be in very small 

 quantities frequently repeated, and continued until a place of safety is reached. 

 I have known the most unpleasant consequences to result from the injudi- 

 cious use of whiskey for the purpose of temporary stimulation, and have also 

 known strong able-bodied men to have become utterly incapable of resisting 

 cold in consequence of the long-continued use of alcoholic drinks." In a recent 

 paper by General Greely (1887), is the following, which confirms the results 

 of the experience of Hayes : " It seems to me to follow from these Arctic ex- 

 periences that the regular use of spirits, even in moderation, under conditions 

 of great physical hardship, continued and exhausting labor, or exposure to 

 severe cold can not be too strongly deprecated, and that when used as a men- 

 tal stimulus or as a physical luxury they should be taken in moderation. 

 When habit or inclination induces the use of alcohol in the field, under con- 

 ditions noted above, it should be taken only after the day's work is done, as 

 a momentary stimulus while waiting for the preferable hot tea and food ; or 

 better, after the food, when going to bed, for then it may quickly induce 

 sleep and its reaction pass unfelt." 



It is not demonstrated that alcohol increases the capacity to endure severe 

 and protracted bodily exertion. Its influence as a therapeutic agent, in pro- 

 moting assimilation in certain conditions of defective nutrition, in relieving 

 shock and nervous exhaustion, in sustaining the powers of life in acute dis- 

 eases characterized by rapid emaciation and abnormally active disassimilation, 

 etc., can hardly be doubted ; but the consideration of these questions does 

 not belong to physiology. 



Coffee. Coffee is an article consumed daily by many millions of human 

 beings in all quarters of the globe. In armies it has been found almost in- 

 dispensable, enabling men on moderate rations to perform an amount of labor 

 which would otherwise be impossible. After exhausting efforts of any kind, 

 there is no article which relieves the overpowering sense of fatigue so com- 

 pletely as coffee. Army-surgeons say that at night, after a severe march, the 

 first desire of the soldier is for coffee, hot or cold, with or without sugar, the 

 only essential being a sufficient quantity of the pure article. Almost every 

 one can bear testimony from personal experience to the effects of coffee in 

 relieving the sense of fatigue after mental or bodily exertion and in increasing 

 the capacity for labor, especially mental work, by producing wakef ulness and 

 clearness of intellect. From these facts, the importance of coffee, either as 

 an alimentary substance or as taking the place, to a certain extent, of ali- 

 ment, is apparent. 



Except in persons who, from idiosyncrasy, are unpleasantly affected by it, 

 coffee, taken in moderate quantity and at proper times, produces an agreeable 

 sense of tranquillity and comfort, with, however, no disinclination to exertion, 

 either mental or physical. Its immediate influence upon the system, which 

 is undoubtedly stimulant, is peculiar and is not followed by reaction or 

 unpleasant after-effects. Habitual use renders coffee almost a necessity, even 

 in those who are otherwise well nourished and subjected to no extraordinary 

 mental or bodily strain. Taken in excessive quantity, or in those unaccus- 



