1872.] 



Alcohol and Exercise on the Body. 



413 



After coming in from work on each evening lie fell into a heavy sleep, 

 from which he was roused with difficulty. This lasted for three or four 

 hours, after which he was restless and sleepless. 



The man's own judgment was, at the end of the trial, that he would 

 prefer to do the work without the brandy ; and when asked for his reasons, 

 he mentioned ec the increased thirst, the heaviness in the evening, and the 

 fluttering at the heart." 



His appetite was not affected. 



Conclusions. 



1. The elimination of nitrogen during exercise was unaffected by brandy ; 

 and since the experiments led to the same result in the former series during 

 comparative rest, it seems certain that in healthy men on uniform good 

 diet alcohol does not interfere with the disintegration of nitrogenous 

 tissues. 



2. The heat of the body, as judged of by the axilla and rectum tem- 

 peratures, was unaffected by the amount given. 



3. The pulse was increased in frequency by 4 ounces of brandy, and 

 palpitation and breathlessness were brought on by larger doses, to such an 

 extent as to greatly lessen the amount of work the man could do, and to 

 render quick movements impossible. As the effect of labour alone is to 

 augment the strength and frequency of the heart's action, it would appear 

 obviously improper to act on the heart still more by alcohol. In this 

 effect on the heart, and through it on the lungs, is perhaps to be found 

 the explanation of the trainer's rule, which prohibits alcohol during 

 exertion. Whether in a heart exhausted by exertion alcohol would be good 

 or bad is not shown by these experiments ; but it can hardly be supposed 

 that to urge a heart which requires rest, as would then be the case, can 

 be proper. 



4. It seems clear, from the suddenness with which marked narcotic 

 symptoms came on after the third dose was taken on each day, that the 

 eight hours from 10 to 6 o'clock were not sufficient to get rid of the brandy 

 taken at 10 and at 2, and that in fact the body must have been still 

 saturated at 6 o'clock. 



The exact amount of brandy which commenced to lessen the labour the 

 man could perform is not shown by these observations, and would require 

 more careful modes of investigation. It was evidently some quantity more 

 than 4 ounces which produced effects sufficiently marked to attract his 

 attention ; but I should not wish to affirm that even 4 ounces produced no 

 effect in this direction. The man himself was of opinion that 4 ounces had 

 no influence either way. He was quite certain it did not aid his work, but 

 he could not see that it injured it. The second 4 ounces decidedly produced 

 a bad effect. 



5. Neither exercise on water or on alcohol produced any effect on the 

 phosphoric acid of the urine. The result is in accordance with that of the 



2 H 2 



