rily 'tis true;
For ye who disregard your health,
And value not that precious wealth,
Will surely live to rue.

PREFACE.

The following chapters were contributions to _Health_--a monthly
magazine published in New York City. Certain peculiarities of form and
considerable repetition of statement--both of which the reader cannot
fail to notice--are owing to the fact that about two-thirds of the
chapters were written under the caption "Auto-genetic Poisons in
the Intestinal Canal and their Auto-infection." In revising these
contributions for book form I have given to each chapter a caption of
its leading thought; but I am convinced that repetition of some of
the matters treated, especially if the repetition be in a somewhat
different connection, is not such a very bad thing. I have used my blue
pencil sparingly, and as a consequence the consecutive reader will find
that constipation, diarrhea, biliousness, indigestion, auto-infection
and proctitis are treated in nearly all the chapters--but with varying
applications. Therefore anyone suffering from one of these complaints
would better read the whole book instead of only the chapter with the
corresponding title.

These pages were written for intelligent laymen by a specialist, during
a busy, assiduous practice. I take such radical ground, however, going
to the very root of the matter, that the general practitioner will do
well to give my thesis his careful consideration; he should at least
glance at the following Introduction for the gist of my claim.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I. PAGE

MAN, COMPOSED ALMOST WHOLLY OF WATER, IS CONSTIPATED. WHY? 1

CHAPTER II.

THE PHYSICS OF DIGESTION AND EGESTION 12

CHAPTER III.

THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF ANUS, RECTUM, SIGMOID FLEXURE AND COLON 24

CHAPTER IV.

INDIGESTION, INTESTINAL GAS AND OTHER MATTERS 29

CHAPTER V.

KEY TO AUTO-INFECTION 36

CHAPTER VI.

HOW AUTO-INFECTION AFFECTS THE GASTRIC DIGESTION, AND VICE VERSA 46

CHAPTER VII.

HOW AUTO-INFECTION AFFECTS INTESTINAL DIGESTION, AND VICE VERSA 56

CHAPTER VIII.

THE CAUSE OF CONSTIPATION AND HOW WE IGNORANTLY TREAT IT 64

CHAPTER IX.

CURES FOR CONSTIPATION: "FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE" 71

CHAPTER X.

BILIOUSNESS AND BILIOUS ATTACKS