348 
CHALK-EATING. 
diarrhoea,  which  followed  an  attack  of  fever.  His  weight 
was  then  135  pounds.  During  the  first  year  he  took  fifty 
pounds  of  prepared  chalk,  regained  his  health,  and  reached  a 
weight  of  180  pounds,  The  chalk  was  then  omitted  for  a  year 
or  more,  as  his  desire  for  it  ceased.  The  year  previous  to  May, 
1846,  he  used  about  three-fourths  of  a  pound  per  week.  In 
November,  1850,  he  reported  a  constant  use  of  one  pound  per 
week,  except  for  a  short  time  when  he  was  unable  to  procure  it. 
His  health  continued  good,  and  his  weight  was  undiminished. 
Its  use  was  then  suspended  for  a  year  previous  to  July,  1852. 
From  this  date  to  the  present  time — February  1868 — a  period 
of  fifteen  years  and  a  half,  he  has  continued  to  take  it  at  the 
full  rate,  one  pound  per  week.  The  total  amount  used,  as 
nearly  as  it  can  be  estimated,  is  1050  pounds — half  a  ton  of 
chalk  in  about  twenty-five  years  !  The  chalk  has  been  taken 
simply  to  satisfy  a  craving  for  it,  and  to  relieve  gastric  irritation, 
which  yields  immediately  to  its  ingestion.  During  the  first  half 
of  the  period,  his  health  was  not  sensibly  impaired  by  the  use  of 
chalk  ;  latterly,  however,  he  has  been  an  invalid,  and  has  led  an 
inactive  life  ;  but  how  much  of  his  debility  and  suffering  have 
been  due  to  the  habit  in  question  is  not  easy  to  determine.  His 
bowels  have  been  generally  regular.  His  appetite  and  diges- 
tion are  somewhat  impaired,  and  his  appearance  is  decidedly 
valetudinary.  His  age  is  67  years,  and  his  present  weight  is 
145  pounds,  being  less  than  for  two  years  past. 
In  January,  1867,  I  noticed  a  general  discoloration  or  "  bronz- 
ing "  of  the  skin.  His  urine,  being  examined  at  the  time,  was 
of  natural  color,  slightly  alkaline,  and  free  from  albumen.  The 
dark  color  of  the  skin  is  now  somewhat  intensified,  resembling 
a  mulatto.  There  is  some  irregularity  in  the  action  of  the  heart, 
with  a  strong  mitral  regurgitant  murmur.  He  uses  tobacco, 
and  stimulants  in  moderation,  and  for  three  years  past  has 
taken  morphine  not  exceeding  one  grain  daily.  From  the  time 
of  my  first  acquaintance  with  this  patieut  to  his  commencing  the 
use  of  chalk,  he  was  subject  to  functional  derangements  of  the 
stomach,  which,  during  the  next  ten  years,  were  relieved  by  the 
comparatively  moderate  use  of  his  favorite  article.  During  the 
later  years,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  chalk  has  operated 
