Dr. Farnum's Lecture. V.

Dr. Farnum's fifth lecture on "Health and Strength" was delivered in Sever 11 last night before a full audience.

The man who leads a sedentary life is most liable to indigestion and constipation. These two complaints, though they rarely figure in mortality-returns are yet productive a large amount of misery, and are responsible for a stock of morbid views of life. Buchner said, "no thinking without phosphorus." Had he said, no health with a disordered stomach, the saying would have had some value. "A man has two lungs, two kidneys, two hemispheres to the brain, and two sides to his body generally, but only one stomach." Let him then deal very gently with that one. All solid food should be thoroughly chewed, in order to submit the insoluble starch of vegetables to the action of saliva, converting it into soluble sugar, and to divide the nitrogenous food so as to render the access of gastric juice to all particles of it easy, on its arrival in the stomach. When a large amount of ice-water is taken with meals, dyspepsia undoubtedly results from it at times. As Americans are the great consumers of water in this condition, it has been called American, or ice-water dyspepsia. Drink should be taken mainly at the end of the meal. Potatoes should be thoroughly cooked so as to be mealy, otherwise the saliva cannot do its whole work. Excessive muscular exertion immediately before or after a meal is injurious, as by this means blood is drawn away from the stomach. The student should put away all thought of study when eating. For a person in health few rules are best, and perhaps the following are as good as any. Give no thought to the working of your digestive organs. Do not eat by formulae, scientific, or otherwise, but eat wholesome, well cooked food, what you want and as much as you want. Leave the consideration of your work when at meals and take them in agreeable company. Water is our natural drink; tea is foremost among artificial drinks of the English race. This latter liquid contains 26 per cent. of tannic acid and a very small amount of nitrogen. It is an excitant of respiration, induces perspiration, and cools the body. In reference to nutrition, we may say that tea increases waste, since it promotes the transformation of food without supplying nutriment. The best time to drink tea is after a hearty meal. Coffee in its action is similar to tea, and is best drunk at breakfast, as the system is then best fitted to bear it. Constipation is the cause of many ills for which other reasons are assigned. It has been thought by many that tobacco smoking occupied a prominent place in the production of dyspepsia, but a large number of facts do not seem to warrant this belief as a general rule. In almost every case the use of alcohol has been joined with the use of tobacco in bringing on this trouble. Tobacco strikes at the nervous system, and as one of the secondary results no doubt the stomach may be affected. Among the stronger alcoholic fluids, are Brandy, Rum, Gin and Whiskey. They vary greatly in strength, but the average may be put at 50 per cent. Brandy is made from wine, Whiskey from grain, wheat and rye; Rum is made from molasses. Dyspepsia is one of the most common accompaniments by the use of alcohol, due in part to congestion and inflammation of the stomach. Alcohol diminishes the secretion of gastric-juice. In St. Martin it was noticed that alcohol caused the blood to ooze from the lining of the stomach. The liver is affected as are also the intestines. One ounce of alcohol is equal to two ounces of brandy; to five ounces of strong wine, as sherry; to ten ounces of weak wine, as claret; to one pint of beer. If these quantities are increased one half, 1 1-2 ounces of absolute alcohol will be taken, and the limit of moderation for strong men is reached. The effect on a strong man of taking in 24 hours between one or two ounces of alcohol, is at once injurious, as is proven by evident narcosis, lessening of the appetite, increased rapidity of the action of the heart, dilation of the smaller blood vessels, and the appearance of alcohol in the urine.