54 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



brandy is to induce upon the coats of tlie stom- 

 ach a condition either of inflammation or con- 

 gestion; the physicians were unable to agree, 

 from appearances, which of tlietwo conditions 

 really existed in tliis case. If, however, the 

 brandy be taken with the dinner, or after it, 

 the food prevent? its dii-ect contact with the 

 coats of the stomach, and the result then is to 

 facilitate the process of digestion, as has been 

 frequently proved by observation, which show 

 that food under these circumstances digests 

 considftrably quicker than it docs without this 

 stimulus. This, however, does not prove that 

 brandy is beneficial as a regular concomitant 

 of the dinner-table. It may well be question- 

 ed if it is the part of wisdom to make such reg- 

 ular and unceasing application of the whip 

 and spur to a horse that is disposed to do his 

 best without the shorp stimulus, though there 

 may be eases of weak stomachs where the 

 very- moderate U!=e of pure brandy might prove 

 advantageous. But the physicians who have 

 watched the process going on in St. Martin's 

 stomach, do not purpose to deal in theories ; 

 they are after bald, literal i'acts. 



Another interesting diseoverv has been 

 made by observations of this man's stomach. 

 In looking into the aperture left by the shot 

 from the gun. the secret of the gastric Juice 

 has been distinctly seen. The theory of the 

 existence of this curious digestive agent had 

 long been held by the faculty, and was in- 

 deed so strongly sustained by reason and by 

 circumstantial evidence, that it was regard- 

 ed less as a theory than as an ascertained 

 fact. It was not, however, until this case of 

 St. Martin's occurred, that the doctors were 

 enabled to know, from the positiA'e evidence 

 of their senses, that iheso-called gastric juice 

 was precisely what it had been supposed to 

 be. It was never before actually seen, as it 

 i.s never produced except as food, taken into 

 the stomach, requires its pi-csence to perfonn 

 the work of digestion; and it is produced in 

 exactly the quantity requisite for the work 

 to be done. Thus, if a small amount of food 

 be eaten, this gastric secretion is coiTespond- 

 ingly small; and if the quantity of food is 

 increased, the gastric juice is also increased 

 in quantity. It exudes from the coats of the 

 stomach, as sweet as from the surface of the 

 body, and is of a limpid clearness, like water. 

 It could be seen trickling down the inner 

 coating of the stomach, and has, it is said, a 

 slightly sweetish t«ste. In post-mortem ex- 

 aminations thissluiularitseijt is rtcNer fbinul; 

 and it was, as we are informed, never seen be- 

 fore tliis hole in the living man's siomacli I 1 

 exposed it to the curious eye of the invesLl- 

 gator. 



Another fact which we noted while watch- 

 ing the case of St. 31artin may prove of some 

 benefit to invalids, if not to persons in robust 

 health. The time required to digest difi'erent 

 kinds of food varies Avith the character of the 

 food; and some articles, hitherto supposed to 

 be partieulay easy of digestion, are not found 

 to be so by the experiments made with this 

 case. Thus, the flesh of an old hen is more 

 readily assimilated and more (juickly dispo.*- 

 ed ofj^than that of a tender chicken; and thf 

 same thing is true in regard to beef. The 

 meat of a full grown ox or cow digests quick- 

 er than veal. 



Hundreds of people have an idea that 

 game and meat that has been kept until it has 



aim )st reaCiH'd ine verge oi putitluction, is 

 more easily digested than fresh game of fresh 

 b^^ef This belief has led to tiie taste, tht-t 

 like;, or pvoiesses to like, what is called the 

 game flavor in woodcocks, venison, »S:c. But 

 it is seen, in this cise. tliat tainted meals or 

 game require a longer time for digestion than 

 fresh meats. By a curious process of the 

 stomach, the tainted meat is seen to undergo 

 . very etiective cleansing belbre the work oi 

 ligcstion begins. It is rolled over and over, 

 nd rc-pas.«ed from cne portion of the stomach 

 to the other, the subtle agencies of that inte- 

 ;-ior laboratory all the while acting upon ii 

 uvl eliminating, particle by narticle. the of- 

 fen.sive portions, until all is clean and ready 

 fcr the proper work of digestion to commence. 

 The interior of the stomach, contrary to the 

 impres>ion of many persons, is cleanly and 

 not uninviting in its appearance. Its delicate 

 pink coatings arc as clean and perfect as all 

 the rest of Nature's handiwork; and it is not 

 until the pampered and unnatunil appetite ol' 

 indl\idiials has, by overloading^- it, :tnd by 

 eatlnu- and drinking improper things, render- 

 ed it weak and incapable of performing all 

 the work thru;^t upo'i it, that the .stomach, 

 or rather its eont;'nt^, hcfonie "foul.'' 



(j)uked (melted or drawn) butter, and the 

 h;rd used in ••shortening" pie crust, is not di- 

 gested at all. Ft is seen swimming upon the 

 surface of the stomach in t^ie form of yellow 

 or light colored grease, and it finally passes 

 off undigested. The skin of all fruits never 

 digests, neither do t!ie stones or '"pits" of 

 plums, cherries, &c. The vanilla seasoning 

 of it-e cream is found to act as an irritatinii 

 substance upon the stomach, and it greatly 

 retards digestion. In both of these respects, 

 also, tlie coloring matiorof cimdies are .'•hown 

 to be SI ni worse. These liicls are settled 

 simply by looking into the s<omaeh with the 

 naked t-ye, and viewing all the processes or 

 Stages thruugh which the diflerent articles of 

 food must pa.ss in the act of digestion. 



Hot bread never digestsi Bear this in mind, 

 reader, if you are accustomed to eat the light 

 and templing biscuit at tea, or the warm loaf 

 that looks so appetising upon your dinner ta- 

 ble. Hot bread never digests at all; after a 

 kill';- season of tuinblinc and workin<r about 

 the siomach, it will begin to ferment, a)id it 

 will eventually be passed out of the slouiadi 

 as an unwi'icome tenant of that delicate or- 

 i:an, bat never digests — never beconit--s as- 

 .-iniilated to. or absorbed by the organs that 

 a[»proj)riate nutriliuii to the Lo.ly. It is, 

 iowe\t.r, u iiisi late dyspepsia preduet-r. j 



Chopped meat, moistened, and intrudueed { 

 thruugli this bullet-hole into the man's stoin- i 

 aeh, is I'caind to nourish liim just as it would \ 

 if taken at the mouth! All that the "patient"" '. 

 require'S in that case, is to be allowed to chew j 

 a piece of gum, ('merely to satisfy the habit of j 

 .lievY'inti, we suppose,) and he gets along as if j 

 he had eaten his dinner: it is undoubtedly ■ 

 better, however, that thelbod shi add first be '< 

 iiiasticaicd. and tliis can only be done through '• 

 the proper apeney ay)poii)ted for that purpos<^ , 

 y>\ nature. ', 



Venison digests in an hour; cooked oysters • 

 in iwi) hours and a iudf; raw oysters, ("contrai'} 

 to our jn'fcvious impression,) three hours and i 

 a half, beef Steak two hours and a half: iiit \ 

 pork four hours; lean pork a little more than 

 three hours. I'robably this rule would not 



apply to all persons; different articles of food 

 are digested differently in different stomachs; 

 but the general principle here illustrated un- 

 doubtedly holds good in the great majority of 

 cases. 



Calomel taken into the healthy stomach, 

 i according to Dr. Bunting's experiment, is 

 found to irritate it, if given in ease of disease, 

 it does not have that effieet, 



Mirthfulness. at and after a meal, facilitates 

 digest on wonderfully. Take St. Martin to a 

 theatre, for instance, after a hearty evoning 

 meal, and let him enjoy a good comedy — the 

 result is pstonishing; digestion is promoted to 

 a surprising degree. "Laugh and grow fat," 

 is an adage now seen to be founded upon a 

 physiological truth. 



But make this man suddenly angiy, under 

 the above circumstances, and presto! what a 

 change! The whole process of digestion is 

 at once arrested — brought to a .sudden stop, 

 as if by the stroke r>f an electric shock! and it 

 does not again goon as well as before, until a 

 considerable time after the emoiion which 

 caused the interruption has died iiway. 



Water is the first thing taken up and ab- 

 sorbed bv the stomach, aiid this must be 

 done before food is acted urion, even if the 

 water be taken subsequently to the food. — 

 Eating and drinking freely, alternately at 

 niea-s as a habit, is not sanctioned by the rev- 

 elation made through ihe bullet-hole in St. 

 Martin's stomach 



Another bad practice isthe habit of eating 

 between meals at all hours. The custom, 

 accordina' to the disclosure here made, is a 

 most pernicious one. Begitlarity, above all 

 things, is to be ol^sorved, both in the quantity 

 of food and the time uf eating it. 



Black jiepper is much worse for the stom- 

 ach, than red or Cayenne pepper; it inflames 

 the coatings o{"the stomreh. 



A pieee of ineattied to a string, has been 

 introduced into the stomach through the ori- 

 fice, and after the lapse of a certain time it 

 has been pulled out again, and the progress of 

 the digestive organs accurately noted. In 

 this way corned beef, for instance, has been 

 reduced to a mass of fine, delicate and even 

 threads, after having been for some time sub- 

 jected to the action of the gastric juice. 



Another queer disclosure is the action of 

 the stomach in ca-e of hunger, when the 

 whole sack or liag known as the stomach, is 

 seen tu roll a.iid work about. If kept t<)0 

 long in this enqjty and restless condition, the 

 action of tiie organ is weakened — the stom- 

 ae-h loses a ])oriion of its vital energ), and 

 the digestion of food taken at that time is 

 performed more slowly in consequence. 



The stomach evidently requires rest, like 

 the body, and reoeives injury if this is not 

 allowed it; but it should not be long without 

 food. 



Anger !i;is tlie ctTeol to cause the bile to 

 rush into tlse stomach in a stream. This has 

 been observed with certainty in the case of 

 St. Martin. When he h;is been suddenly 

 enraged, while lying upon the table, the bile 

 has been seen to rush into the stomach, which 

 wi!s perfeetly clear of it the instant before, 

 and .such a quantity as to admit of its being 

 emptied out fre<:ly into a cup! simply by 

 turning him over! 



Dr. Bunting has taken voluminoixs notes, 

 and will publish a book, actting forth the 



