42 ILLINOIS dairymen's association. 



thence to the right ventricle, by the contraction of which it is forced through 

 the pulmonary artery to the lungs for aerification, after which it enters the veins 

 and passes to the left auricle of the heart, from this to the ventricle, which con- 

 tracts and forces it into the aorta, and away it goes. This chyle, sometimes 

 called pabulum, of a few moments ago, with its contents mixed with the blood, 

 is carried to every part of the system to build up, nourish and replenish the 

 same. Now, suppose this chyle, the circulation of which I have been describing, 

 was to contain alcohol, arsenic, or other foreign matter, which it, no doubt, 

 frequently does when those substances are contained in the pabulum. If alcohol 

 be so taken in, a portion may be lost in passing through the lungs, as I trust 

 many of you may chance to know who have been in a close room with a toper. 

 Some forty years ago, at an inquest of a man who a few hours before had been 

 drinking largely, I was required to examine the brain, which I removed and 

 passed to the jury, and it was found to be so saturated with alcohol that I verily 

 believe it would have been fired had a match been applied. How did the alcohol 

 get to this brain if not through the circulation? Then, again, if you feed a 

 young pig madder with his food for a week or two and then use food minus the 

 madder for about the same time, and so alternate for a while and then butcher, 

 you will find the bones striped in alternate layers. This shows very conclusively 

 that the madder must have entered the circulation. 



Arsenic is frequently found in the liver when none is found in the stomach. 

 There is a case now under examination where the stomach was washed clean of 

 it, and it is being found in the liver. This must get there through the circulation. 



We are quite too much given to believe that a person must die almost 

 instantaneously if poisoned, which is by no means the case. A person may be 

 poisoned by piecemeal, and not suspect it for a long time. For example, look 

 at the arsenic eaters of India, who use it almost daily for a long time. Never- 

 theless it is all this while making its inroads in a clandestine manner, which will 

 bring up, sooner or later, most assuredly. 



There is one thing of which we are morally certain, and that is that quite a 

 number of diseases are fearfully on the increase in our country at the present 

 time. I allude to insanity, cancer, kidney diseases, and many others which I 

 will not now stop to enumerate. 



Let us stop and cast a thought at the wonderful increase of insanity within 

 the last decade. In 1870 the United States had 37,432 insane persons. Of 

 this number four were Indians, and, according to the census of 1880, the whole 

 number have increased to 91,997, of which 66 are Indians. You ask, why this 

 fearful increase of insanity, and especially so among the Indian tribes? Allow 

 me to say we are feeding them to a greater or less extent, and the more food 

 and whisky they get from us the more insanity we find among them. This tells 

 the story in a very few words. If this holds good with the Indian tribes, what 

 shall we say of the white race, who are becoming insane by the thousands. If 

 adulterated food is* not one of the most potent of the existing causes, then 

 what is? 



In regard to cancer, I will simply say that this difficulty is on the increase, 

 evidenced by the large increase of epithelial cancers of the lips, tonsils and 

 throat, no doubt largely caused by the use of tobacco. Other parts of the sys- 

 tem are equally liable to cancerous diseases, but I have only mentioned the 



