ITS EFFECTS ON THE HUMAN BODY. 



333 



ovdhiary wines), sliglit]3r retards digoal-ioji in tlio stomacli. 

 It is found chiefly in coloured wines, but I liavo tested a 

 sample of sherry with a fair quantity in it. In a pamphlet 

 on the subject, I find it stated that " natural wines rich in 

 tannin are the most wholesome." This, I believe, is quite 

 erroneous; like strong tea, they retard the digestion of 

 albuminous foods. In health I cannot see how they can 

 be wholesome ; in certain dyspeptic conditions associated 

 with copious secretion of gastric juice, or catarrhal states 

 of the stomach, they might do good. 



The otliors in wine, although small in amount, are im- 

 portant, because they give the distinctive taste (together 

 with traces of essential oils), confer some stimulating pro- 

 perties, and perhaps by their easy diffusibility help to cause 

 the rapid action of wine on the circulation. The " bouquet " 

 is therefore of value. It is absent, or nearly so, in certain 

 common kinds of wine. 



The carbonic acid has an action of its own of a stimu- 

 lating character on the walls of the stomach. 



Alcohol exists in the proportion of about 10 to 12 percent., 

 being lowest in claret and hocks, and highest in some kinds 

 of port. In dry sherry there is about 1.5 per cent. ; in 

 champagne, about 15 per cent. ; in hocks, 7 to 12 per cent. ; 

 and in St. Eaphael wine, 15 to 16 per cent. 



A moderate wine-drinker of to-day takes an ounce, more 

 or less, of alcohol, diluted, per diem; "five-" and "six- 

 bottle " men are dying out, and three or four glasses is 

 considered a fair allowance with dinner. 



In most people good wine begins to act directly it enters 

 the mouth. This fact, long known to athletes, has been 

 explained as follows: The interior of the mouth (palate, 

 tongue, etc.), like all the rest of the face, is suj^plicd by the 

 fifth nerve. Stimulation of this nerve is said to cause 



