are minute living organisms analogous to the microscopic objects called
bacteria or microbes, [Footnote: There is no well-defined limit between
ferments and bacteria, any more than between ferments and fungi, or again,
between fungi and bacteria. Their smaller size is the principal difference
which separates bacteria from ferments, although there are bacteria of
large size, such as are so frequently found in the mouth of even a healthy
man, and which much resemble in their mode of growth some of the lower
fungi.--Trouessart.] of which we have heard much in late years, especially
in connection with the famous researches and experiments of the great
French investigator, M. Pasteur. He tells us that "Every fermentation has
its specific ferment. This minute being produces the transformation which
constitutes fermentation by breathing the oxygen of the substance to be
fermented, or by appropriating for an instant the whole substance, then
destroying it by what may be termed the secretion of the fermented
products." [Footnote: What we call spontaneous fermentation often occurs,
as when apple juice turns to hard cider by simple exposure to the air.
Science teaches us, however, that this change is always effected by the
action of the busy little ferments which, wandering about, drop into the
liquid, begin their rapid propagation, and, in the act of growing, evolve
the products of the fermentation. "If the above liquids be left only in
contact with air which has been passed through a red-hot platinum tube,
and thus the living sporules destroyed; or if the air be simply filtered
by passing through cotton wool, and the sporules prevented from coming
into the liquid, it is found that these fermentable liquids may be
preserved for any length of time without undergoing the slightest
change."--Roscoe.] The effect, therefore, of fermentation is to change
entirely the character of the substance upon which it acts; hence it is an
error to assume that fermented liquors, as beer, wine, and cider, are safe
drinks because the grains or fruits from which they are produced are
healthful foods.
YEAST is a ferment which causes alcoholic fermentation. It consists of
microscopic plants, which increase by the formation of multitudes of tiny
cells not more than 1/2400 of an inch in diameter. In the brewing of beer
they grow in great abundance, making common brewer's yeast. Ferments or
their spores float in the air ready to enter any fermentable liquid, and
under favorable conditions they multiply with great activity and energy.
The favorable conditions include the presence of oxygen or sugar;
[Footnote: Yeast, like ordinary plants, buds and multiplies even in the
absence of fermentable sugar, when it is furnished with free oxygen. This
multiplication, however, is favored by the presence of sugar, which is a
more appropriate element than non-fermentable hydrocarbon compounds. Yeast
is also able to bud and multiply in the absence of free oxygen, but in
this case a fermentable substance is indispensable.--SCHÜTZENBERGER'S
_Fermentation_.] oxygen being, as we know, necessary for the
development and the reproduction of all cell life (p. 107), and ferments
having the power to resolve sugar, which penetrates by endosmose into the
interior of the cell, into alcohol, carbonic acid, glycerine, succinic
acid, and oxygen.
BEER.--The barley used for making beer is first malted, _i. e._,
sprouted, to turn a part of its starch into sugar. When this process has
gone far enough, it is checked by heating the grain in a kiln until the
germ is destroyed. The malt is then crushed, steeped, and fermented with
hops and yeast. The sugar gradually disappears, alcohol is formed, and
carbonic acid escapes into the air. The beer is then put into casks, where
it undergoes a second, slower fermentation, and the carbonic acid gathers;
when the liquor is drawn, this gas bubbles to the surface, giving to the
beer its sparkling, foamy look.
WINE is generally made from the juice of the grape. The juice, or
_must_, as it is called, is placed in vats in the cellar, where the
low temperature favors a slow fermentation. If all the sugar be converted
into alcohol and carbonic-acid gas, a dry wine will remain; if the
fermentation be checked, a sweet wine will result; and if the wine be
bottled while the change is still going on, a brisk effervescing liquor
like champagne, will be formed. All these are dangerous beverages because
of the alcohol they contain.
DISTILLATION.--Alcohol is so volatile that, by the application of heat, it
can be driven off as a vapor from the fermented liquid in which it has
been produced. Steam and various fragrant substances will accompany it,
and, if they are collected and condensed in a cool receiver, a new and
stronger liquor will be formed, having a distinctive odor.
In this way whiskey is distilled from fermented corn, rye, barley, or
potatoes; the alcohol of commerce is distilled from whiskey; brandy, from
wine; rum, from fermented molasses; and gin, from fermented barley and
rye, afterward distilled with juniper berries.
VARIETIES AND PROPERTIES OF ALCOHOL.--There are several varieties of
alcohol produced from distillation of various substances. Thus Methyl
Alcohol is obtained from the decomposition of hard wood when exposed to
intense heat with little or no oxygen present. It is a light, volatile
liquid, which closely resembles ordinary alcohol in all its properties. It
is used in the manufacture of aniline dyes, in making varnishes, and for
burning in spirit lamps. Amyl Alcohol [Footnote: The odor of amylic
alcohol is sweet, nauseous, and heavy. The sensation of its presence
remains long. In taste it is burning and acrid, and it is itself
practically insoluble in water. When it is diluted with common alcohol it
dissolves freely in water, and gives a soft and rather unctuous flavor, I
may call it a fruity flavor, something like that of ripe pears. Amyl
alcohol, introduced as an adulterant, is an extremely dangerous addition
to ordinary alcohol, in whatever form it is presented. From the quantities
of it imported into this country, it is believed to be employed largely in
the adulteration of wines and spirits.--RICHARDSON.] is the chief
constituent of "fusel oil," found in whiskey distilled from potatoes. It
is often present in common alcohol, giving a slightly unpleasant odor when
it evaporates from the hand. Fusel oil is extremely poisonous and lasting
in its effects, so that when contained in liquors it greatly increases
their destructive and intoxicating properties.
Ethyl Alcohol, which is that which we have described as obtained from
fermentation of fruits and grains, is the ordinary alcohol of commerce. We
have spoken of its volatility. This property permits it to pass into vapor
at 56° Fahr. It boils at 173° Fahr. (Water boils at 212°.) Like Methyl
Alcohol, it burns without smoke and with great heat, [Footnote: Pour a
little alcohol into a saucer and apply an ignited match. The liquid will
suddenly take fire, burning with intense heat, but feeble light. In this
process, alcohol takes up oxygen from the air, forming carbonic-acid gas,
and water.--Hold a red-hot coil of platinum wire in a goblet containing a
few drops of alcohol, and a peculiar odor will be noticed. It denotes the
formation of _aldehyde_--a substance produced in the slow oxidation
of alcohol. Still further oxidized, the alcohol would be changed into
_acetic acid_--the sour principle of vinegar.--Put the white of an
egg--nearly pure albumen--into a cup, and pour upon it some alcohol, or
even strong brandy; the fluid albumen will coagulate, becoming hard and
solid. In this connection, it is well to remember that albumen is
contained in our food, while the brain is largely an albuminous
substance.] and is therefore of much value in the arts. Its great solvent
power over fats and mixed oils renders it a useful agent in many
industrial operations. It is also a powerful antiseptic, and no one who
visits a museum of natural history will be likely to forget the rows of
bottles within which float reptilian and batrachian specimens, preserved
in alcohol.
To alcohol, also, we are indebted for various anæsthetic agents, which,
when not abused (p. 340), are of inestimable value. Thus, if certain
proportions of alcohol and nitric acid be mixed together and heated,
nitrite of amyl, so serviceable in relieving the agonizing spasms peculiar
to that dread disease, angina pectoris, will be obtained. If, instead of
nitric, we use sulphuric acid, we shall get ether; if chlorine be passed
through alcohol, hydrate of chloral is the result; and, if chloride of
lime and alcohol be treated together, the outcome is chloroform.
One of the most striking properties of alcohol, and one which we shall
hereafter consider in its disastrous effects upon the tissues of our body,
is its affinity for water. [Footnote: Suppose, then, a certain measure of
alcohol be taken into the stomach, it will be absorbed there, but,
previous to absorption, it will have to undergo a proper degree of
dilution with water; for there is this peculiarity respecting alcohol when
it is separated by an animal membrane from a watery fluid like the blood,
that it will not pass through the membrane until it has become charged, to
a given point of dilution, with water. Alcohol is itself, in fact, so
greedy for water that it will pick it up from watery textures, and deprive
them of it until, by its saturation, its power of reception is exhausted,
after which it will diffuse into the current of circulating fluid.
To illustrate this fact of dilution I perform a simple experiment. Into a
bladder is placed a mixture consisting of equal parts of alcohol and
distilled water. Into the neck of the bladder a long glass tube is
inserted and firmly tied. Then the bladder is immersed in a saline fluid
representing an artificial serum of blood. The result is, that the alcohol
in the bladder absorbs water from the surrounding saline solution, and
thereby a column of fluid passes up into the glass tube. A second mixture
of alcohol and water, in the proportion this time of one part of alcohol
to two of water, is put into another bladder immersed in like manner in an
artificial serum. In this instance a little fluid also passes from the
outside into the bladder, so that there is a rise of water in the tube,
but less than in the previous instance. A third mixture, consisting of one
part of alcohol with three parts of water, is placed in another little
bladder, and is also suspended in the artificial serum. In this case there
is, for a time, a small rise of fluid in the tube connected with the
bladder; but after a while, owing to the dilution which took place, a
current from within outward sets in, and the tube becomes empty. Thus each
bladder charged originally with the same quantity of fluid contains at
last a different quantity. The first contains more than it did originally,
the second only a little more, the third a little less. From the third,
absorption takes place, and if I keep changing and replacing the outer
fluid which surrounds the bladder with fresh serum, I can in time, owing
to the double current of water into the bladder through its coats, and of
water and alcohol out of the bladder into the serum, remove all the
alcohol. In this way it is removed from the stomach into the circulating
blood after it has been swallowed. When we dilute alcohol with water
before drinking it, we quicken its absorption. If we do not dilute it
sufficiently, it is diluted in the stomach by transudation of water in the
stomach, until the required reduction for its absorption; the current then
sets in toward the blood, and passes into the circulating canals by the
veins.--RICHARDSON.] When strong alcohol is exposed to the air, it absorbs
moisture and becomes diluted; at the same time, the spirit itself
evaporates. The commercial or proof spirit is about one half water; the
strongest holds five per cent; and to obtain absolute or waterless
alcohol, requires careful distillation in connection with some substance,
as lime, that has a still greater affinity for water, and so can despoil
the alcohol.
ALCOHOL IN ITS DESTRUCTIVE RELATION TO PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE.--If we pour
a little quantity of strong spirits upon a growing plant in our garden or
conservatory, we shall soon see it shrivel and die. If we apply it to
insects or small reptiles which we may have captured for specimens in our
cabinet, the same potent poison will procure for them a speedy death. If
we force one of our domestic animals to take habitual doses of it, the
animal will not only strongly protest against the unnatural and nauseous
potion, but it will gradually sicken and lose all power for usefulness.
"If I wished," says a distinguished English physician, "by scientific
experiment to spoil for work the most perfect specimen of a working
animal, say a horse, without inflicting mechanical injury, I could choose
no better agent for the purpose of the experiment than alcohol."
[Footnote: "The effects produced by alcohol are common, so far as I can
discover, to every animal. Alcohol is a universal intoxicant, and in the
higher orders of animals is capable of inducing the most systematic
phenomena of disease. But it is reserved for man himself to exhibit these
phenomena in their purest form, and to present, through them, in the
morbid conditions belonging to his age, a distinct pathology. Bad as this
is, it might be worse; for if the evils of alcohol were made to extend
equally to animals lower than man, we should soon have none that were
tamable, none that were workable, and none that were eatable."]
ALCOHOL IN WINE, BEER, AND CIDER IDENTICAL WITH ALCOHOL IN ARDENT
SPIRITS.--In all liquors the active principle is alcohol. It comprises
from six to eight per cent of ale and porter, seven to seventeen per cent
of wine, and forty to fifty per cent of brandy and whiskey. All these may
therefore be considered as alcohol more or less diluted with water and
flavored with various aromatics. The taste of different liquors--as
brandy, gin, beer, cider, etc.--may vary greatly, but they all produce
certain physiological effects, due to their common ingredient--alcohol.
"In whatever form it enters," says Dr. Richardson, "whether as spirit,
wine, or ale, matters little when its specific influence is kept steadily
in view. To say this man only drinks ale, that man only drinks wine, while
a third drinks spirits, is merely to say, when the apology is unclothed,
that all drink the same danger." In other words, the poisonous nature of
alcohol, and the effects which result when it is taken into the stomach,
are definite and immutable facts, which are not dependent upon any
particular name or disguise under which the poison finds entrance.
We shall learn, as we study the influence of alcohol upon the human
system, that one of its most subtle characteristics is the progressive
appetite for itself (p. 185) which it induces, an appetite which, in many
cases, is formed long before its unhappy subject is aware of his danger.
The intelligent pupil, who knows how to reason from cause to effect, needs
hardly to be told, in view of this physical truth, of the peril that lies
in the first draught of _any_ fermented liquor, even though it be so
seemingly harmless as a glass of home-brewed beer or "slightly-beaded"
cider. Few of us really understand our own inherent weakness or the
hereditary proclivities (p. 186) that may be lurking in our blood, ready
to master us when opportunity invites; but we may be tolerably certain
that if we resolutely refuse to tamper with cider, beer, or wine, we shall
not fall into temptation before rum, gin, or brandy. Since we know that in
all fermented beverages there is present the same treacherous element,
alcohol, we are truly wise only when we decline to measure arms in any way
with an enemy so seductive in its advances, so insidious in its influence,
and so terrible in its triumph. [Footnote: Aside from all considerations
of physical, mental, and moral injury wrought by the use of alcoholic
drinks, every young man may well take into account the damaging effect of
such a dangerous habit upon his business prospects. Careful business men
are becoming more and more unwilling to take into their employ any person
addicted to liquor drinking. Within the past few years the officers of
several railroads, having found that a considerable portion of their
losses could be directly traced to the drinking habits of some one or more
of their employés, have ordered the dismissal of all persons in their
service who were known to use intoxicants, with the additional provision
that persons thus discharged should never be reinstated. Many Eastern
manufactories have adopted similar rules. All mercantile agencies now
report the habits of business men in this respect, and some life insurance
companies refuse to insure habitual drinkers, regarding such risks as
"extra-hazardous."]
Let us now consider the physiological effects of alcohol upon the organs
immediately connected with the circulation of the blood.
GENERAL EFFECT OF ALCOHOL UPON THE CIRCULATION.--During the experiment
described on page 118, the influence of alcohol upon the blood may be
beautifully tested. Place on the web of the frog's foot a drop of dilute
spirit. The blood vessels immediately expand--an effect known as
"_Vascular enlargement_." Channels before unseen open, and the blood
disks fly along at a brisker rate. Next, touch the membrane with a drop of
pure spirit. The blood channels quickly contract; the cells slacken their
speed; and, finally, all motion ceases. The flesh shrivels up and dies.
The circulation thus stopped is stopped forever. The part affected will in
time slough off. Alcohol has killed it.
The influence of alcohol upon the human system is very similar. When
strong, as in spirits, it acts as an irritant, narcotic poison (p. 142,
note). Diluted, as in fermented liquors, it dilates the blood vessels,
quickens the circulation, hastens the heart throbs, and accelerates the
respiration.
THE EFFECT OF ALCOHOL UPON THE HEART.--What means this rapid flow of the
blood? It shows that the heart is overworking. The nerves that lead to the
minute capillaries and regulate the passage of the vital current through
the extreme parts of the body, are paralyzed by this active narcotic. The
tiny blood vessels at once expand. This "Vascular enlargement" removes the
resistance to the passage of the blood, and a rapid beating of the heart
results. [Footnote: Dr. B. W. Richardson's experiments tend to prove that
this apparently stimulating action of alcohol upon the heart is due to the
paralysis of the nerves that control the capillaries (Note, p. 208), which
ordinarily check the flow of the blood (p. 117). The heart, like other
muscles under the influence of alcohol, really loses power, and contracts
less vigorously (p. 183). Dr. Palmer, of the University of Michigan, also
claimed that alcohol, in fact, diminishes the strength of the heart. Prof.
Martin, of Johns Hopkins University, from a series of carefully conducted
experiments upon dogs, concluded that blood containing one fourth per cent
of alcohol almost invariably diminishes within a minute the work done by
the heart; blood containing one half per cent always diminishes it, and
may reduce the amount pumped out by the left ventricle so that it is not
sufficient to supply the coronary arteries. One hundred years ago, alcohol
was always spoken of as a stimulant. Modern experiment and investigation
challenged that definition, and it is now classified as a narcotic. There
are, however, able physicians who maintain that, taken in small doses, and
under certain physical conditions, it has the effect of a stimulant. All
agree that, when taken in any amount, it tends to create an appetite for
more.]
Careful experiments show that two ounces of alcohol--an amount contained
in the daily potations of a very moderate ale or whiskey drinker--increase
the heart beats six thousand in twenty-four hours;--a degree of work
represented by that of lifting up a weight of seven tons to a height of
one foot. Reducing this sum to ounces and dividing, we find that the heart
is driven to do extra work equivalent to lifting seven ounces one foot
high one thousand four hundred and ninety-three times each hour! No wonder
that the drinker feels a reaction, a physical languor, after the earliest
effects of his indulgence have passed away. The heart flags, the brain and
the muscles feel exhausted, and rest and sleep are imperatively demanded.
During this time of excitement, the machinery of life has really been
"running down." "It is hard work," says Richardson, "to fight against
alcohol; harder than rowing, walking, wrestling, coal heaving, or the
treadmill itself."
All this is only the first effect of alcohol upon the heart. Long-
continued use of this disturbing agent causes a "Degeneration of the
muscular fiber," [Footnote: This "Degeneration" of the various tissues of
the body, we shall find, as we proceed, is one of the most marked effects
of alcoholized blood. The change consists in an excess of liquid, or, more
commonly, in a deposit of fat. This fatty matter is not an increase of the
organ, but it takes the place of a part of its fiber, thus weakening the
structure, and reducing the power of the tissue to perform its function.
Almost everywhere in the body we thus find cells--muscle cells, liver
cells, nerve cells, as the case may be--changing one by one, under the
influence of this potent disorganizer, into unhealthy fat cells. "Alcohol
has been well termed," says the _London Lancet_, "the 'Genius of
Degeneration.'"
The cause of this degeneration can be easily explained. The increased
activity of the circulation compels a correspondingly increased activity
of the cell changes: but the essential condition of healthful change--the
presence of additional oxygen--is wanting (see p. 143), and the operation
is imperfectly performed.--BRODIE.] so that the heart loses its old power
to drive the blood, and, after a time, fails to respond even to the spur
of the excitant that has urged it to ruin.
INFLUENCE UPON THE MEMBRANES.--The flush of the face and the bloodshot
eye, that are such noticeable effects of even a small quantity of liquor,
indicate the condition of all the internal organs. The delicate linings of
the stomach, heart, brain, liver, and lungs are reddened, and every tiny
vein is inflamed, like the blushing nose itself. If the use of liquor is
habitual, this "Vascular enlargement," that at first slowly passed away
after each indulgence, becomes permanent, and now the discolored, blotched
skin reveals the state of the entire mucous membrane.
We learned on page 55 what a peculiar office the membrane fills in
nourishing the organs it enwraps. Anything that disturbs its delicate
structure must mar its efficiency. Alcohol has a wonderful affinity for
water. To satisfy this greed, it will absorb moisture from the tissues
with which it comes in contact, as well as from their lubricating juices.
The enlargement of the blood vessels and their permanent congestion must
interfere with the filtering action of the membrane. In time, all the
membranes become dry, thickened, and hardened; they then shrink upon the
sensitive nerve, or stiffen the joint, or enfeeble the muscle. The
function of these membranes being deranged, they will not furnish the
organs with perfected material, and the clogged pores will no longer
filter their natural fluids. Every organ in the body will feel this
change.
EFFECT UPON THE BLOOD. [Footnote: Alcohol acts upon the oxygen carrier,
the coloring matter of the red corpuscles, causing it to settle in one
part of the globule, or even to leave the corpuscle, and deposit itself in
other elements of the blood. Thus the red corpuscle may become colorless,
distorted, shrunken, and even entirely broken up--Dr. G. B. HARRIMAN.]--
From the stomach, alcohol passes directly into the circulation, and so, in
a few minutes, is swept through the entire system. If it be present in
sufficient amount and strength, its eager desire for water will lead it to
absorb moisture from the red corpuscles, causing them to shrink, change
their form, harden, and lose some of their ability to carry oxygen; it may
even make them adhere in masses, and so hinder their passage through the
tiny capillaries.--RICHARDSON.
With most persons who indulge freely in alcoholic drinks, the blood is
thin, the avidity of alcohol for water causing the burning thirst so
familiar to all drinkers, and hence the use of enormous quantities of
water, oftener of beer, which unnaturally dilutes the blood. The blood
then easily flows from a wound, and renders an accident or surgical
operation very dangerous.