times, salt was the first thing placed on the
table and the last removed. The place at the long table, above or below
the salt, indicated rank. It was everywhere the emblem of hospitality. In
parts of Africa it is so scarce that it is worth its weight in gold, and
is actually used as money. Torture was inflicted upon prisoners of state
in olden times by limiting the food to water and bread, without salt. So
intense may this craving for salt become, that men have often risked their
liberty and even their lives to obtain it.

119. Water. The most important natural beverage is pure water; in
fact it is the only one required. Man has, however, from the earliest
times preferred and daily used a variety of artificial drinks, among which
are tea, coffee, and cocoa.

All beverages except certain strong alcoholic liquors, consist almost
entirely of water. It is a large element of solid foods, and our
bodies are made up to a great extent of water. Everything taken into the
circulating fluids of the body, or eliminated from them, is done through
the agency of water. As a solvent it is indispensable in all the
activities of the body.

It has been estimated that an average-sized adult loses by means of the
lungs, skin, and kidneys about eighty ounces of water every twenty-four
hours. To restore this loss about four pints must be taken daily. About
one pint of this is obtained from the food we eat, the remaining three
pints being taken as drink. One of the best ways of supplying water to the
body is by drinking it in its pure state, when its solvent properties can
be completely utilized. The amount of water consumed depends largely upon
the amount of work performed by the body, and upon the temperature.

Being one of the essential elements of the body, it is highly important
that water should be free from harmful impurities. If it contain the germs
of disease, sickness may follow its use. Without doubt the most important
factor in the spread of disease is, with the exception of impure air,
impure water. The chief agent in the spread of typhoid fever is
impure water. So with cholera, the evidence is overwhelming that filthy
water is an all-powerful agent in the spread of this terrible disease.

120. Tea, Coffee, and Cocoa. The active principle of tea is called
theine; that of coffee, caffeine, and of cocoa, theobromine. They also
contain an aromatic, volatile oil, to which they owe their distinctive
flavor. Tea and coffee also co