OUR DRINKS.
~1.~ Water is really the only drink. It is the only substance which will
satisfy thirst. All other fluids which we drink consist mostly of water.
Thus, lemonade is lemon-juice and water. Milk is chiefly water. Wine,
beer, cider, and such liquids contain alcohol and many other things,
mixed with water.
~2. Why we Need Water.~--If we should wet a sponge and lay it away, it
would become dry in a few hours, as the water would pass off into the
air. Our bodies are losing water all the time, and we need to drink to
keep ourselves from drying up.
~3.~ Water is also very necessary for other purposes. It softens our
food so that we can chew and swallow it, and helps to carry it around in
the body after it has been digested, in a way about which we shall learn
in future lessons.
~4.~ Still another use for water is to dissolve and wash out of our
bodies, through the sweat of the skin, and in other ways, the waste and
worn-out particles which are no longer of any use.
~5. Impure Water.~--Most waters have more or less substances dissolved
in them. Water which has much lime in it is called hard water. Such
water is not so good to drink, or for use in cooking, as soft water.
That water is best which holds no substances in solution. Well-water
sometimes contains substances which soak into wells from vaults or
cesspools. Slops which are poured upon the ground soak down out of
sight; but the foul substances which they contain are not destroyed.
They remain in the soil, and when the rains come, they are washed down
into the well if it is near by. You can see some of the things found in
bad water in the illustration given on opposite page.
~6.~ It is best not to drink iced water when the body is heated, or
during meals. If it is necessary to drink very cold water, the bad
effects may be avoided by sipping it very slowly.
~7. Tea and Coffee.~--Many people drink tea or coffee at their meals,
and some persons think that these drinks are useful foods; but they
really have little or no value as foods. Both tea and coffee contain a
poison which, when separated in a pure form, is so deadly that a very
small quantity is enough to kill a cat or a dog. This poison often does
much harm to those who drink tea or coffee very strong for any great
length of time.
[Illustration: A DROP OF IMPURE WATER MAGNIFIED.]
~8. Alcohol~ (al´-co-hol).--All of you know something about alcohol.
Perhaps you have seen it burn in a lamp. It will burn without a lamp, if
we light it. It is so clear and colorless that it looks like water. The
Indians call it "fire-water." Alcohol differs very much from foods. It
is not produced from plants, as fruits and grains are; neither is it
supplied by Nature ready for our use, as are air and water.
~9. Fermentation.~--When a baker makes bread he puts some yeast in the
dough to make it "rise," so the bread will be light. The yeast destroys
some of the sugar and starch in the flour and changes it into alcohol
and a gas. The gas bubbles up through the dough, and this is what makes
the bread light. This is called _fermentation_ (fer-men-ta´-tion). The
little alcohol which is formed in the bread does no harm, because it is
all driven off by the heat when the bread is baked.
[Illustration: FERMENTATION.]
~10.~ Any moist substance or liquid which contains sugar will ferment if
yeast is added to it, or if it is kept in a warm place. You know that
canned fruit sometimes spoils. This is because it ferments. Fermentation
is a sort of decay. When the juice of grapes, apples, or other fruit is
allowed to stand in a warm place it "works," or ferments, and thus
produces alcohol. Wine is fermented grape-juice; hard cider is fermented
apple-juice.
~11.~ Beer, ale, and similar drinks are made from grains. The grain is
first moistened and allowed to sprout. In sprouting, the starch of the
grain is changed to sugar. The grain is next dried and ground, and is
then boiled with water. The water dissolves the sugar. The sweet liquid
thus obtained is separated from the grain, and yeast is added to it.
This causes it to ferment, which changes the sugar to alcohol. Thus we
see that the grain does not contain alcohol in the first place, but that
it is produced by fermentation.
~12.~ All fermented liquids contain more or less alcohol, mixed with
water and a good many other things. Rum, brandy, gin, whiskey, and pure
alcohol are made by separating the alcohol from the other substances.
This is done by means of a still, and is called _distillation_.
[Illustration: DISTILLATION.]
~13.~ You can learn how a still separates the alcohol by a little
experiment. When a tea-pot is boiling on the stove and the steam is
coming out at the nozzle, hold up to the nozzle a common drinking-glass
filled with iced water, first taking care to wipe the outside of the
glass perfectly dry. Little drops of water will soon gather upon the
side of the glass. If you touch these to the tongue you will observe
that they taste of the tea. It is because a little of the tea has
escaped with the steam and condensed upon the glass. This is
distillation.
~14.~ If the tea-pot had contained wine, or beer, or hard cider, the
distilled water would have contained alcohol instead of tea. By
distilling the liquid several times the alcohol may be obtained almost
pure.
~15. Alcohol kills Animals and Plants.~--Strong alcohol has a deadly
effect upon all living things. Once a man gave a dog a few
tablespoonfuls of alcohol, and in a little while the dog was dead. If
you should pour alcohol upon a plant it would die very soon.
~16.~ A man once made a cruel experiment. He put some minnows into a jar
of water and then poured in a few teaspoonfuls of alcohol. The minnows
tried very hard to get out, but they could not, and in a little while
they were all dead, poisoned by the alcohol. A Frenchman once gave
alcohol to some pigs with their food. They soon became sick and died.
~17. Alcohol not a Food.~--There are some people who imagine that
alcohol is good for food because it is made from fruits and grains which
are good for food. This is a serious mistake. A person can live on the
fruits or grains from which alcohol is made, but no one would attempt
to live upon alcohol. If he did, he would soon starve to death. In fact,
men have often died in consequence of trying to use whiskey in place of
food.
~18.~ We should remember, also, that people do not take alcohol as a
food, but for certain effects which it produces, which are not those of
a food, but of a poison.
~19.~ Many people who would not drink strong or distilled liquors, think
that they will suffer no harm if they use only wine, beer, or cider.
This is a great mistake. These liquids contain alcohol, as do all
fermented drinks. A person will become drunk or intoxicated by drinking
wine, beer, or cider--only a larger quantity is required to produce the
same effect as rum or whiskey.
~20.~ Another very serious thing to be thought of is that if a person
forms the habit of drinking wine, cider, or other fermented drinks, he
becomes so fond of the _effect they produce_ that he soon wants some
stronger drink, and thus he is led to use whiskey or other strong
liquors. On this account it is not safe to use any kind of alcoholic
drinks, either fermented or distilled. The only safe plan is to avoid
the use of every sort of stimulating or intoxicating drinks.
~21.~ It has been found by observation that those persons who use
intoxicating drinks are not so healthy as those who do not use them,
and, as a rule, they do not live so long.
~22.~ This is found to be true not only of those who use whiskey and
other strong liquors, but also of those who use fermented drinks, as
wine and beer. Beer drinkers are much more likely to suffer from disease
than those who are strictly temperate. It is often noticed by physicians
that when a beer-drinker becomes sick or meets with an accident, he does
not recover so readily as one who uses no kind of alcoholic drinks.
~23.~ Alcoholic drinks not only make people unhealthy and shorten their
lives, but they are also the cause of much poverty and crime and an
untold amount of misery.
SUMMARY.
1. Water is the only thing that will satisfy thirst.
2. In going through our bodies, water washes out many impurities. We
also need water to soften our food.
3. The purest water is the best. Impure water causes sickness.
4. Good water has no color, taste, or odor.
5. Tea and coffee are not good drinks. They are very injurious to
children, and often do older persons much harm.
6. Alcohol is made by fermentation.
7. Pure alcohol and strong liquors are made by distillation.
8. Alcohol is not a food, it is a poison. It kills plants and animals,
and is very injurious to human beings.
9. Even the moderate use of alcoholic drinks produces disease and
shortens life.