unduly
taxing any vital organ. Thus, for instance, hot packs on the feet draw
the blood towards the feet, where no vital organs exist. Hot packs act
as an absorbent, by suction; cold packs, on the affected place, act in
inverse ratio as an expelling force. The two operating conjointly
promote full circulation and extend the absorbing tendency to the whole
system.

Ice, on the other hand, though not infrequently prescribed, is too
strong a force. It contracts the blood vessels, arrests normal
circulation, and in many cases is the direct cause of death. This is
attested by the teaching of physiological law which maintains that any
part of the human system which is not fed by fresh oxygenous blood
_must decompose_.

Packs, of course, must be regulated in accordance with the vital
strength of the patient, as indicated by the physician; for in the
course of the excretion of morbid matter through the pores, under the
influence of the packs, a certain proportion of accompanying healthy
substance is necessarily exuded simultaneously, with a slightly
weakening tendency. This however can be promptly and effectively
replaced by proper alimentation, or food selection in accordance with
the Dech-Manna Diet System already particularized.

One other matter it is advisable to deal with in advance and that is the
_Nature of the Vinegar to be employed for Packs_.

It must be borne in mind that for this purpose an absolutely pure
natural product should be obtained.

I recommend, in the first place a genuine _Apple Cider Vinegar_; for
apples not alone contain the pure acetic acid but also some five or six
other fruit acids which are so beneficial for the purpose of keeping the
blood at normal temperature and normal fluidity, and contain also a
considerable amount of the essentials known under the head of
vitamines.

As a secondary alternative I would recommend _Wine Vinegar_ for the same
purpose.

The manufacturers vinegar product--_Acetic acid, should never the used_
as it contains, very frequently, harmful ingredients.

It should never be forgotten that the substances used for the purpose of
packs, and thus absorbed into the system, become a part of the blood and
therefore cannot be too pure.

The reader will doubtless observe from the foregoing demonstration that
the Dechmann System of Therapy differs materially from the science of
the Old-School of Medicine in that it is not based upon evanescent
theories of hairsplitting