Recent experimental inquiries into the nature and action of alcohols as food / by Edward Smith.

  • Smith, Edward, 1818?-1874.
Date:
1861
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Recent experimental inquiries into the nature and action of alcohols as food / by Edward Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    to which we dilute strong spirits, or in which we find it in wines and ales? This would surely be the readiest and the most rational procedure. Why is it found that new whisky is avoided by our northern neighbours, who are the best judges and most unsatisfied consumers of that liquid ? Why are new wines discarded by the intelligent members of the neighbouring clubs in Pall-mall, seeing that they contain more alcohol than is found in older samples? Why does the hot whisky, strong in alcohol, which on the banks of the Ohio is sold at a few cents, per gallon, make the poor lied Indian (to whom it is bartered) fran- tically and furiously mad ? Or, why will the raw whisky and the rough strong common wines sold in this country, give headache and general derangement of the system in the morning, when greater quantities of what are called pure;- spirits and wines might have been drank with im- punity ? Why^do we, in selecting our wines, watch the oil trickling on the sides of the wine-glass, and carefully seek fora fragrant, full-bodied aroma, which gives us more pleasure than even the tasting of the wine? Why does the price of wine differ so greatly, apart from the amount of alcohol which it contains, and apart also from the supply of the wine or the year of its age? Why are the wines of certain vintages preferred to others ? and, in general, why are vintage wines preferred to mixed wines? These are matters of hourly observation and of universal practice, and there must be valid reasons for them. Why, again, do we object so strongly to the rough raw spirit which is found in the Cape wines, and why the ol jection which has recently been taken by the French Government to the use of inferior spirit in the manufacture of Cognac ? Why, indeed, do we use the term “ inferior ” spirit at all if the amount of alcohol be the only test of its value? Why, again, do some persons prefer spirits, other's wines, and others ales ; and why is there so infinite a variety of tastes on such minute matters ? The instinctive experience of mankind has pointed out the quantities of each which will produce an effect upon the consciousness, for whether it be one glass of spirits and water, or one to two pints of ale, or half a bottle of wine, it will contain the same quantity of alcohol, and hence these are recognised as the proper limits of a moderate drinker, but why the diversity in the choice, if the alcohol be the efficient agent ? Then, again, see the amount of popular knowledge as to the effects of these various substances, all of which, when taken in the usual dose, contain the same amount of alco- hol. Let us take men who drink these fluids, but who are sober men, and can we not distinguish the gin-drinker from the beer-drinker? The former is a pale, haggard,ema- ciated, feeble, morose, creature, whilst the latter is a man of full habit, florid, and more genial. Then where shall we range the brandy and ram drinkers ? It is well known that in the West Indies the decanter of fine old ram is kept upon the side-board, and any one entering the room may take a quantity diluted with water at any time of the da}-; and notwithstanding this he looks healthy and is hearty ; but let a man, thus accustomed to ram, begin to drink brandy, and within a few weeks his friends perceive the change, from his altered aspect and manner. Why is rum the grog of our sailors, and of those of all civilised nations ? Surely in America at least whisky can be made most abundantly and at a less price than rum ; and although rum was introduced into the Navy as being the cheapest spirit, it is probably not so now. What would be the effect upon our jolly, care-nothing, muscular sailors, if they were sup- plied with gin instead of rum, but to remove from them the hearty aspect of the ale-drinker, and give them the ap- pearance and strength of the emaciated wretches who haunt the comers of the streets? We not only select, and that with the greatest nicety, the various kinds of alcohols which we prefer, but the effect upon the feelings, the aspect and the health of the system differs with each member of this class. This is popular knowledge and practice — based upon instinct lather than upon reason ; for if you ask for tire reason, the only answer you can obtain is the instinctive one that “ I like it best,” or “ it agrees best with me.” It is not a question of how much alcohol is contained in these sub- stances (except within certain limits), and yet on scientific grounds the rational distinction should be the amount of alcohol. Neither is it altogether a question of taste, for if it were so we might turn to a body of gentlemen who are not reputed to care much about the taste of the agents which they employ, and ask why the medical practitioner does not give alcohol alone in the cases in which he judges it right to administer some member of this class. We know that he does not do so, but on the contrary selects with the greatest care that member of the class, which in his judg- ment is especially fitted for his case and will direct you as to even the kind of ale which you should take, and attach great importance as to whether you must drink port or sherry wine, when each will contain, as he knows, the same amount of alcohol. In doing this he is partly guided by his instinct, for it is commonly alleged that medical men recommend that which they like themselves, but it is in other parts based upon reason, for he has seen different effects follow their use. In asking you to reflect upon these various questions may I not assume that it is clear to eveiy one, almost without consideration, that men do recognize the fact that there are other important agents in alcohols than alcohol; and is it not probable that alcohol has attracted the chief attention of both scientific and non-scientific persons, because of its power to affect the consciousness, whilst the effects of other agents are less prominent? It is also true that whilst alcohol may be readily obtained from alco- hols, and its presence proved by certain physical pro- perties, the other agents have been but very imperfectly studied, and at this day are classed under the general expressions of volatile oils and ethers. That alcohol itself is not a simple and uniform fluid, is known toeverydistiller.for whilst the finest is produced early, and is used in the manufactured' scents, and the next quality is, or should be employed in the manufacture of brandy and gin, and used in medicine, the product of the last hours of distillation is consigned to the makers of varnish. It is true that the first samples contain more alcohol than the latter ones, but that is not the real distinction. The fla- vour varies with the hour of distillation, and at the end a large quantity of fusil oil and free acid is found mixed with the alcohol as it leaves the still. The effects of the fusil oil have not been determined, but it is known to be one of tlie substances found in all raw, rough spirits, which produce headache. Hence there is a practical but unexpressed belief that, however important alcohol may be in the various mem- bers of the class of alcohols, there are other substances associated with it of no less importance. This quite accords with the results of my own experi- ments upon the human system, for I have shown that alcohol alone, and each member of the class of alcohols, has its own degree and even kind of action. The plan which I have adopted in these inquiries has differed from that pursued by my predecessors, in the fol- lowing particulars:—In former inquiries the substance was taken in doses unusually large or unusually frequent, and with various kinds of food, also at different periods of the day, and with varying degrees of exertion, and hence it was very difficult to dissociate the influence of the other agents from that under inquiry, and even yet more difficult to obtain a standard with which to compare the results. With a view to avoid these difficulties, I selected the morning time, before breakfast, for the inquiry, when the system was very sensitive, and when no influence of food existed; and by making the experiments in perfect rest, it appeared that all interfering agencies were removed, and the effect of the alcohol was perfectly isolated. We also obtained a correct standard with which to compare the result, viz., the amount of chemical change which occurred immediately before the fluid was taken. Hence, as the methods of inquiry have differed so greatly, it can- .