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DYSPEPSIA:--"It is commonly supposed that a little good whisky
or brandy aids digestion, while on the contrary it has been
proved conclusively by observing the processes of digestion upon
persons who have fistula of the stomach, or by evacuating the
contents of the stomach by means of a stomach-pump about an hour
after taking a meal--in one instance after taking an ounce of
alcohol, and in another where no alcohol was taken--that alcohol
coagulates the albuminoids, throws down the pepsin, decreases
the acidity (the combined chlorin and free hydrochloric acid),
and increases the fixed chlorids. Any one can make the
observation upon himself, that a meal taken without alcohol is
more quickly followed by hunger than one with it.

"Blumenau says: 'On the whole, alcohol manifests a decidedly
unfavorable influence on the course of normal digestion even
when ingested in relatively small quantities, and impairs the
normal digestive functions.'

"Dr. Chittenden, professor of physiologic chemistry in Yale
College, as a result of some investigations made by himself and
Dr. Mendel, states in the _American Journal of Medical
Sciences_, that he finds that as small a quantity as three per
cent. of sherry, porter, or beer lessens the activity of the
digestive powers."--_Bulletin of A. M. T. A._

"It should be observed that doses of alcohol which have no
appreciable effect in delaying digestion, are so small as to be
practically useless for any beneficial action."--_Medical
Pioneer._

One doctor writes:--

"What makes dyspepsia so hard to cure? This very alcohol taking.
The best cure is to refuse all alcoholic drinks, at meals and
all other times, and drink nothing but water."

The causes of dyspepsia are various; errors of diet being the most
common. Others are mental worry, care and anxiety, and the use of drugs.
An eminent writer upon this disease says:

"My main object in the treatment is to prevent the sufferers
from resorting to drugs, which in such cases, not only produce
their own morbid conditions, but also confirm those already
existing.

"The extensive and often habitual use of alkalies for acidity,
of purgatives for constipation, nervines and opiates for
sleeplessness, and after-dinner pills to goad into action the
lagging stomach, has been a potent factor in the produ