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54 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



brandy is to induce upon the coats of the stom- 

 ach a condition either of inflammation or con- 

 gestion; the physicians were unable to agree, 

 from appearances, which of the two conditions 

 really existed in this case. If, however, the 

 brandy be taken with the dinner, or after it, 

 the food prevents its direct 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 dig-ests 

 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 sharp stiniulns. though there 

 may be cases of weak stomachs where the 

 very moderate use 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 facts. 



Another interesting discovery 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 leas as a theory than as an ascertained 

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

 St. Martin's occuiTed, that the doctors were 

 enabled to know, from the positive evidence 

 of their senses, that theso-called gastricjuice 

 was precisely what it had been supposed to 

 be. It was never before actually seen, as it 

 is never produced except as food, taken into 

 the stomach, requires its presence to perform 

 the woi'k 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 coiTcspond- 

 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 limpidclearness. like water. 

 It could be seen trickling down the inner 

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

 slightly sweetish taste. In post-mortem ex- 

 aminations this singular agent is never found; 

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

 fore this hole in the living man's stomach 

 exposed it to the curious eye of the investi- 

 gator. 



Another fact which we noted while watch- 

 ing the case of St. Martin may prove of some 

 benefit to invalids, if not to persons in robust 

 health. The time required to digest difierent 

 kinds of food varies with the character of the 

 food; and some articles, hitherto supposed to i 

 be particulay easy of digestion, are not found J 

 to be so by the experiments made with this j 

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

 readily assimilated and more quickly dispos- 

 ed of^than that of a tender chicken; and the 

 same thing is true in regard to beef. The 

 meat of a full gi-own 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 reaciicd the verge oi putittaction, is 

 more easily digested than fresh game of fresh 

 baef This belief has led to the tiiste, thjit 

 like^, or professes to like, what is called the 

 game flavor in woodcoeks, venison, «S:c. But 

 it is scL-n. in this cise. that tainted meats 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 

 I very elective cleansing before the work oi 

 Ugestion begins. It is rolled over and over, 

 nd re-passed from one portion of the stomach 

 to the other, the subtle agencies of that intc- 

 i-ior laboratory all the while acting upon ii 

 ind eliminating, particle by nartiele, the of- 

 fon.sive portions, until all is clean and ready 

 for the proper work of digestion to commence. 



The interior of the stomach, contrary to the 

 impression of many persons, is cleanly and 

 not uninviting in its appearance. Its delicate 

 pink coatings are as clean and perfect as all 

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

 until the pampered and unnatural appetite of 

 individuals has, by overloading it, and by 

 eating and drinking improper things, render- 

 ed it weak and incapable of performing all 

 tlie work thnist upon it, that the stomach, 

 or rather its contents, become "foul." 



Cooked (melted or drawn) butter, and the 

 lard i:scd in "shortening" pie crust, is not di- 

 gested at all. It is seen swimming upon the 

 surface of the stomach in the form of yellow 

 or light colored grease, and it finally passes 

 off undigested. The skin of all fruits never 

 digests, neither do the stones or "pits" of 

 plums, cherries, &c. The vanilla seasoning 

 of ice cream is found to act as an irritating 

 substance upon the stomach, and it greatly 

 retards digestion. In both of these respects, 

 also, the coloring matterof candies are shown 

 to be still worse. These facts are settled 

 simply by looking into the stomach with the 

 naked eye. and viewing all the processes or 

 stages through which the different articles of 

 food must pass in the act of digestion. 



Hot bread never digests' Bear this in mind, 

 reader, if you are accustomed to eat the light 

 and tempting biscuit at tea, or the warm loaf 

 that looks so appetising upon your dinner ta- 

 ble. Hot bread never digests at all; after a 

 long season of tumbling and working about 

 the stomach, it will begin to ferment, and it 

 will eventually be pa.ssed out of the stomach 

 as an unwelcome tenant of that delicate or- 

 gan, but never digests — never becomes as- 

 similated to, or absorbed by the organs that 

 appropriate nutrition to the tOviy. It is, 

 however, a first rate dyspepsia producer. 



Chopped meat, moistened, and introduced 

 through this bullet-hole into the man's stom- 

 ach, is found to nourish liim just as it would 

 if taken atthemouthi Ail that the "patient" 

 requires in that case, is to be allowed to chew 

 a piece of gum, (merely to satisfy the habit of | 

 chewing, we .suppose,) and he gets along as if j 

 he had eaten his dinner; it is undoubtedly j 

 better, however, that the food should first be I 

 masticated, and this can only be done through i 

 the proper agency appointed for that purpose ' 

 by nature. j 



Venison digests in an hour; cooked oysters ' 

 in two hours and a half; raw ovsters, (contrarv 

 to our previous impression,) three hours and \ 

 a half; beef steak two hours and a half; fat j 

 pork four hours; lean pork a little more than ' 

 three hours. l*robably this rule would not 



apply to all persons; diflferent 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, 

 according to Dr. Bunting's experiment, is 

 found to irritate it, if given incase of disease, 

 it does not have that effect. 



Mirthfulness. at and after a meal, facilitates 

 digest on wonderfully. Take St. Martin to a 

 theatre, for instance, after a hearty evaning 

 meal, and let him enjoy a good comedy — the 

 result is sstonishing; 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 angry, under 

 the above circumstances, and presto! what a 

 changel The whole process of digestion is 

 at once arrested — brought to a sudden stop, 

 as if by the stroke of an electric shock! and it 

 does not again go on as well as before, until a 

 considerable time after the emotion which 

 caused the interruption has died away. 



Water is the first thing taken up and ab- 

 sorbed by the stomach, and this must be 

 done before food is acted upon, even if the 

 Avater be taken subsequently to the food.— 

 Eating and drinking freely, alternately at 

 mea-s &s a habit, is not sanctioned by the rev- 

 elation made through the bullet-hole in St. 

 Martin's stomach 



Another bad practice is the habit of eating 

 between meals at all hours. The custom, 

 according to the disclosure here made, is a 

 most pernicious one. Kegularity, above all 

 things, is to be observed, both in the quantity 

 of food and the time of eating it. 



Black pepper is much worse for the stom- 

 ach, tliau red or Cayenne pepper; it inflames 

 the coatings of the stomrcb. 



A piece of meat tied 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 org-ans 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- 

 j ected to the action of the gastric j nice. 



Another queer disclosure is the action of 

 the .stomach in case of hunger, when the 

 whole sack or bag known as the stomach, is 

 seen to roll and work about. If kept too 

 long in this empty and restless condition, the 

 action of the organ is weakened — the stom- 

 ach loses a portion of its vital energy, and 

 the digestion of food taken at that time is 

 performed more slowly in consequence. 



The stomach evidently requires rest, like . 

 the body, and receives injury if this is not 

 allowed it; but it should not be long without 

 food. 



' Anger has the efTect to cause the bile to 

 rush into the stomach in a stream. This has 

 been observed with certainty in the case of 

 St. Martin. When he has been suddenly 

 enraged, while lying upon the table, the bile 

 has been seen to rush into the stomach, which 

 was perfectly clear of it the instant before, 

 and such a quantity as to admit of its being 

 emptied out freely into a cup! simply by. 

 turning him over! 



Dr. Bunting has taken voluminous notes, 

 ;tnd will publish a book, setting forth the 



