ALCOHOL.
~1.~ As we learned in the early part of our study of this subject,
alcohol is produced by _fermentation_. It is afterwards separated from
water and other substances by _distillation_. We will now learn a few
more things about alcohol.
~2. Alcohol Burns.~--If alcohol is placed in a lamp, it will burn much
like kerosene oil. Indeed, it does not need a lamp to help it burn as
does oil. If a few drops of alcohol are placed upon a plate, it may be
lighted with a match, and will burn with a pale blue flame. Thus you see
that alcohol is a sort of burning fluid.
~3.~ The vapor of alcohol will burn also, and under some circumstances
it will explode. On this account it is better not to try any experiments
with it unless some older person is close by to direct you, so that no
harm may be done. Alcohol is really a dangerous substance even though we
do not take it as a drink.
~4. An Interesting Experiment.~--We have told you that all fermented
drinks contain alcohol. You will remember that wine, beer, ale, and
cider are fermented drinks. We know that these drinks contain alcohol
because the chemist can separate the alcohol from the water and other
substances, and thus learn just how much alcohol each contains.
~5.~ If we should remove all the alcohol from wine, no one would care to
drink it. The same is true of beer and cider. It is very easy to remove
the alcohol by the simple process of heating. This is the way the
chemist separates it. The heat drives the alcohol off with the steam. If
the heating is continued long enough, all the alcohol will be driven
off. The Chinaman boils his wine before drinking it. Perhaps this is one
reason why Chinamen are so seldom found drunken.
~6.~ By a simple experiment which your parents or your teacher can
perform for you, it can be readily proven that different fermented
drinks contain alcohol, and also that the alcohol may be driven off by
heat. Place a basin half full of water upon the stove where it will soon
boil. Put into a glass bottle enough beer or cider so that when the
bottle stands up in the basin the liquid in the bottle will be at about
the same height as the water in the basin. Now place in the neck of the
bottle a closely fitting cork in which there has been inserted a piece
of the stem of a clay pipe or a small glass tube. Place the bottle in
the basin. Watch carefully until the liquid in the bottle begins to
boil. Now apply a lighted match to the end of the pipe-stem or glass
tube. Perhaps you will observe nothing at first, but continue placing
the match to the pipe-stem, and pretty soon you will notice a little
blue flame burning at the end of the stem. It will go out often, but you
can light it again. This is proof that alcohol is escaping from the
liquid in the bottle. After the liquid has been boiling for some time,
the flame goes out, and cannot be re-lighted, because the alcohol has
been all driven off.
[Illustration: Alcohol experiment.]
~7. The Alcohol Breath.~--You have doubtless heard that a person who is
under the influence of liquor may be known by his breath. His breath
smells of alcohol. This is because his lungs are trying to remove the
alcohol from his blood as fast as possible, so as to prevent injury to
the blood corpuscles and the tissues of the body. It is the vapor of
alcohol mixed with his breath that causes the odor.
~8.~ You may have heard that sometimes men take such quantities of
liquor that the breath becomes strong with the vapor of alcohol and
takes fire when a light is brought near the mouth. These stories are
probably not true, although it sometimes happens that persons become
diseased in such a way that the breath will take fire if it comes in
contact with a light. Alcohol may be a cause of this kind of disease.
~9. Making Alcohol.~--It may be that some of our young readers would
like to find out for themselves that alcohol is really made by
fermentation. This may be done by an easy experiment. You know that
yeast will cause bread to "rise" or ferment. As we have elsewhere
learned, a little alcohol is formed in the fermentation of bread, but is
driven off by the heat of the oven in baking, so that we do not take any
of it into our stomachs when we eat the bread. If we place a little
baker's yeast in sweetened water, it will cause it to ferment and
produce alcohol. To make alcohol, all we have to do is to place a little
yeast and some sweetened water in a bottle and put it away in a warm
place for a few hours until it has had time to ferment. You will know
when fermentation has taken place by the great number of small bubbles
which appear. When the liquid has fermented, you may prove that alcohol
is present by means of the same experiment by which you found the
alcohol in cider or wine. (See page 160.)
~10.~ Alcohol is made from the sweet juices of fruits by simply allowing
them to ferment. Wine, as you know, is fermented grape juice. Cider is
fermented apple juice. The strong alcoholic liquor obtained by
distilling wine, cider, or any kind of fermented fruit juice, is known
as brandy.
~11. How Beer is Made.~--Beer is made from grain of some sort. The grain
is first moistened and kept in a warm place for a few days until it
begins to sprout. The young plant needs sugar for its food; and so while
the grain is sprouting, the starch in the grain is changed into sugar by
a curious kind of digestion. This, as you will remember, is the way in
which the saliva acts upon starch. So far no very great harm has been
done, only sprouted grain, though very sweet, is not so good to eat as
grain which has not sprouted. Nature intends the sugar to be used as
food for the little sproutlet; but the brewer wants it for another
purpose, and he stops the growth of the plant by drying the grain in a
hot room.
~12.~ The next thing the brewer does is to grind the sprouted grain and
soak it in water. The water dissolves out the sugar. Next he adds yeast
to the sweet liquor and allows it to ferment, thus converting the sugar
into alcohol. Potatoes are sometimes treated in a similar way.
~13.~ By distilling beer, a strong liquor known as whiskey is obtained.
Sometimes juniper berries are distilled with the beer. The liquor
obtained is then called gin. In the West Indies, on the great sugar
plantations, large quantities of liquor are made from the skimmings and
cleanings of the vessels in which the sweet juice of the sugar-cane is
boiled down. These refuse matters are mixed with water and fermented,
then distilled. This liquor is called rum.
~14.~ Now you have learned enough about alcohol to know that it is not
produced by plants in the same way that food is, but that it is the
result of a sort of decay. In making alcohol, good food is destroyed and
made into a substance which is not fit for food, and which produces a
great amount of sickness and destroys many lives. Do you not think it a
pity that such great quantities of good corn and other grains should be
wasted in this way when they might be employed for a useful purpose?
~15. The Alcohol Family.~--Scientists tell us that there are several
different kinds of alcohol. Naphtha is a strong-smelling liquid
sometimes used by painters to thin their paint and make it dry quickly.
It does not have the same odor as alcohol, but it looks and acts very
much like it. It will burn as alcohol does. It kills animals and plants.
It will make a person drunk if he takes a sufficient quantity of it.
Indeed, it is so like alcohol that it really is a kind of alcohol.
~16.~ There are also other kinds of alcohol. Fusel-oil, a deadly poison,
is an alcohol. A very small amount of this alcohol will make a person
very drunk. Fusel-oil is found in bad whiskey. (All whiskey is bad, but
some kinds are worse than others.) This is why such whiskey makes men so
furiously drunk. It also causes speedy death in those who use it
frequently. There are still other kinds of alcohol, some of which are
even worse than fusel-oil. So you see this is a very bad family.
~17.~ Like most other bad families, this alcohol family has many bad
relations. You have heard of carbolic acid, a powerful poison. This is
one of the relatives of the alcohol family. Creosote is another
poisonous substance closely related to alcohol. Ether and chloroform, by
which people are made insensible during surgical operations, are also
relatives of alcohol. They are, in fact, made from alcohol. These
substances, although really useful, are very poisonous and dangerous. Do
you not think it will be very wise and prudent for you to have nothing
to do with alcohol in any form, even wine, beer, or cider, since it
belongs to such a bad family and has so many bad relations?
~18.~ Some persons think that they will suffer no harm if they take only
wine or beer, or perhaps hard cider. This is a great mistake. A person
may get drunk on any of these drinks if a sufficient amount be taken.
Besides, boys who use wine, beer, or cider, rarely fail to become fond
of stronger liquors. A great many men who have died drunkards began with
cider. Cider begins to ferment within a day or two after it is made, and
becomes stronger in alcohol all the time for many months.
~19. "Bitters."~--There are other liquids not called "drinks" which
contain alcohol. "Bitters" usually contain more alcohol than is found in
ale or wine, and sometimes more than in the strongest whiskey. "Jamaica
ginger" is almost pure alcohol. Hence, it is often as harmful for a
person to use these medicines freely as to use alcoholic liquors in any
other form.
~20.~ Alcoholic liquors of all kinds are often adulterated. That is,
they contain other poisons besides alcohol. In consequence of this,
they may become even more harmful than when pure; but this does not make
it safe to use even pure liquor. Alcohol is itself more harmful than the
other drugs usually added in adulteration. It is important that you
should know this, for many people think they will not suffer much harm
from the use of alcohol if they are careful to obtain pure liquors.
~21. Some Experiments.~--How many of you remember what you have learned
in previous lessons about the poisonous effects of alcohol? Do people
ever die at once from its effects? Only a short time ago a man made a
bet that he could take five drinks of whiskey in five seconds. He
dropped dead when he had swallowed the fourth glass. No one ever
suffered such an effect from taking water or milk or any other good food
or drink.
~22.~ A man once made an experiment by mistake. He was carrying some
alcohol across a lawn. He accidentally spilled some upon the grass. The
next day he found the grass as dead and brown as though it had been
scorched by fire.
~23.~ Mr. Darwin, the great naturalist, once made a curious experiment.
He took a little plant with three healthy green leaves, and shut it up
under a glass jar where there was a tea-spoonful of alcohol. The
alcohol was in a dish by itself, so it did not touch the plant; but the
vapor of the alcohol mixed with the air in the jar so that the plant had
to breathe it. In less than half an hour he took the plant out. Its
leaves were faded and somewhat shrivelled. The next morning it appeared
to be dead. Do you suppose the odor of milk or meat, or of any good
food, would affect a plant like that? Animals shut up with alcohol die
in just the same way.
~24. A Drunken Plant.~--How many of you remember about a curious plant
that catches flies? Do you remember its name? What does the Venus's
fly-trap do with the flies after it catches them? Do you say that it
eats them? Really this is what it does, for it dissolves and absorbs
them. In other words, it digests them. This is just what our stomachs do
to the food we eat.
~25.~ A few years ago Mr. Darwin thought that he would see what effect
alcohol would have upon the digestion of a plant. So he put a
fly-catching plant in a jar with some alcohol for just five minutes. The
alcohol did not touch the plant, because the jar was only wet with the
alcohol on the inside. When he took the plant out, he found that it
could not catch flies, and that its digestion was spoiled so that it
could not even digest very tender bits of meat which were placed on its
leaves. The plant was drunk.
~26.~ Mr. Darwin tried a great many experiments with various poisons,
and found that the plants were affected in much the same way by ether
and chloroform, and also by nicotine, the poisonous oil of tobacco.
Sugar, milk, and other foods had no such effect. This does not look much
as though alcohol would help digestion; does it?
~27. Effects of Alcohol on Digestion.~--Dr. Roberts, a very eminent
English scientist, made many experiments, a few years ago, to ascertain
positively about the effect of alcohol upon digestion. He concluded that
alcohol, even in small doses, delays digestion. This is quite contrary
to the belief of very many people, who suppose that wine, cider, or
stronger liquors aid digestion. The use of alcohol in the form of beer
or other alcoholic drinks is often a cause of serious disease of the
stomach and other digestive organs.
~28. Effects of Alcohol on Animal Heat.~--A large part of the food we
eat is used in keeping our bodies warm. Most of the starch, sugar, and
fat in our food serves the body as a sort of fuel. It is by this means
that the body is kept always at about the same temperature, which is
just a little less than one hundred degrees. This is why we need more
food in very cold weather than in very warm weather.
~29.~ When a person takes alcohol, it is found that instead of being
made warmer by it, he is not so warm as before. He feels warmer, but if
his temperature be ascertained by means of a thermometer placed in his
mouth, it is found that he is really colder. The more alcohol a person
takes the colder he becomes. If alcohol were good food would we expect
this to be the case? It is probably true that the alcohol does make a
little heat, but at the same time it causes us to lose much more heat
than it makes. The outside of the body is not so warm as the inside.
This is because the warm blood in the blood-vessels of the skin is
cooled more rapidly than the blood in the interior of the body. The
effect of alcohol is to cause the blood-vessels of the outside of the
body to become much enlarged. This is why the face becomes flushed. A
larger amount of warm blood is brought from the inside of the body to
the outside, where it is cooled very rapidly; and thus the body loses
heat, instead of gaining it, under the influence of alcohol. This is not
true of any proper food substance.
~30. Alcohol in the Polar Regions.~--Experience teaches the same thing
as science respecting the effect of alcohol. Captain Ross, Dr. Kane,
Captain Parry, Captain Hall, Lieutenant Greely, and many other famous
explorers who have spent long months amid the ice and snow and intense
cold of the countries near the North Pole, all say that alcohol does not
warm a man when he is cold, and does not keep him from getting cold.
Indeed, alcohol is considered so dangerous in these cold regions that no
Arctic explorer at the present time could be induced to use it. The
Hudson Bay Company do not allow the men who work for them to use any
kind of alcoholic liquors. Alcohol is a great deceiver, is it not? It
makes a man think he is warmer, when he is really colder. Many men are
frozen to death while drunk.
~31. Alcohol in Hot Regions.~--Bruce, Livingstone, and Stanley, and all
great African travellers, condemn the use of alcohol in that hot country
as well as elsewhere. The Yuma Indians, who live in Arizona and New
Mexico, where the weather is sometimes much hotter than we ever know it
here, have made a law of their own against the use of liquor. If one of
the tribe becomes drunk, he is severely punished. This law they have
made because of the evil effects of liquor which they noticed among the
members of their tribe who used to become intoxicated. Do you not think
that a very wise thing for Indians to do?
~32. Sunstroke.~--Do you know what sunstroke is? If you do not, your
parents or teacher will tell yow that persons exposed to the heat of the
sun on a hot summer day are sometimes overcome by it. They become weak,
giddy, or insensible, and not infrequently die. Scores of people are
sometimes stricken down in a single day in some of our large cities. It
may occur to you that if alcohol cools the body, it would be a good
thing for a person to take to prevent or relieve an attack of sunstroke.
On the contrary, it is found that those who use alcoholic drinks are
much more liable to sunstroke than others. This is on account of the
poisonous effects of the alcohol upon the nerves. No doctor would think
of giving alcohol in any form to a man suffering with sunstroke.
~33. Effects of Alcohol upon the Tissues.~--Here are two interesting
experiments which your teacher or parents can make for you.
_Experiment 1._ Place a piece of tender beefsteak in a saucer and cover
it with alcohol. Put it away over night. In the morning the beefsteak
will be found to be shrunken, dried, and almost as tough as a piece of
leather. This shows the effect of alcohol upon the tissues, which are
essentially like those of lower animals.
_Experiment 2._ Break an egg into a half glassful of alcohol. Stir the
egg and alcohol together for a few minutes. Soon you will see that the
egg begins to harden and look just as though it had been boiled.
~34.~ This is the effect of strong alcohol. The alcohol of alcoholic
drinks has water and other things mixed with it, so that it does not act
so quickly nor so severely as pure alcohol; but the effect is
essentially the same in character. It is partly in this way that the
brain, nerves, muscles, and other tissues of drinking men and women
become diseased.
Eminent physicians tell us that a large share of the unfortunate persons
who are shut up in insane asylums are brought there by alcohol. Is it
not a dreadful thing that one's mind should be thus ruined by a useless
and harmful practice?
SUMMARY.
1. Alcohol is produced by fermentation, and obtained by distillation. It
will burn like kerosene oil and other burning fluids.
2. The vapor of alcohol will burn and will sometimes explode.
3. Alcohol may be separated from beer and other fermented liquids by
boiling.
4. Brandy is distilled from fermented fruit juice, whiskey and gin from
beer or fermented grains, rum from fermented molasses.
5. Alcohol is the result of a sort of decay, and much good food is
destroyed in producing it.
6. Besides ordinary alcohol, there are several other kinds. Naphtha and
fusel-oil are alcohols.
7. All the members of the alcohol family are poisons; all will burn, and
all will intoxicate. The alcohol family have several bad relations,
among which are carbolic acid, ether, and chloroform.
8. Cider, beer, and wine are harmful and dangerous as well as strong
liquors. "Bitters" often contain as much alcohol as the strongest
liquors, and sometimes more.
9. Alcoholic liquors are sometimes adulterated, but they usually contain
no poison worse than alcohol. Pure alcohol is scarcely less dangerous
than that which is adulterated.
10. Death sometimes occurs almost instantly from taking strong liquors.
11. Alcohol will kill grass and other plants, if poured upon them or
about their roots.
12. Mr. Darwin proved that the vapor of alcohol will kill plants; also
that plants become intoxicated by breathing the vapor of alcohol.
13. Alcohol, even in small quantities, hinders digestion.
14. Alcohol causes the body to lose heat so rapidly that it becomes
cooler instead of warmer.
15. The danger of freezing to death when exposed to extreme cold is
greatly increased by taking alcohol.
16. Stanley, and other African explorers, say that it is dangerous to
use alcoholic drinks in hot climates.
17. In very hot weather, persons who use alcoholic drinks are more
subject to sunstroke than those who do not.
18. Beefsteak soaked in alcohol becomes tough like leather. An egg
placed in alcohol is hardened as though it had been boiled.
19. The effect of alcohol upon the brain, nerves, and other tissues of
the body is much the same as upon the beefsteak and the egg.
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW.
CHAPTER I. THE HOUSE WE LIVE IN.--What is the body like? Does
the body resemble anything else besides a house? How is it like a
machine? Name the different parts of the body. What is anatomy?
physiology? hygiene?
CHAPTER II. A GENERAL VIEW OF THE BODY.--What are the main
parts of the body? Name the different parts of the head; of the trunk;
of each arm; of each leg. What covers the body?
CHAPTER III. THE INSIDE OF THE BODY.--What is the name of the
framework of the body? What is the skull? How is the back-bone formed?
Name the two cavities of the trunk. What does the chest contain? the
abdomen?
CHAPTER IV. OUR FOODS.--Of what are our bodies made? What are
foods? Where do we get our foods? Name some animal foods; some vegetable
foods. What are poisons?
CHAPTER V. UNHEALTHFUL FOODS.--Is the flesh of diseased animals
good for food? What can you say about unripe, stale, or mouldy foods?
What is adulteration of foods? What foods are most likely to be
adulterated? Are pepper, mustard, and other condiments proper foods?
What about tobacco? What is the effect of tobacco upon boys?
CHAPTER VI. OUR DRINKS.--What is the only thing that will
satisfy thirst? Why do we need water? How does water sometimes become
impure? What is the effect of using impure water? What are the
properties of good water? Are tea and coffee good drinks? How is alcohol
made? Give familiar examples of fermentation. How are pure alcohol and
strong liquors made? Is alcohol a food? Why do you think it is a poison?
Do you think moderate drinking is healthful?
CHAPTER VII. HOW WE DIGEST.--What is digestion? What is the
digestive tube? Name the different digestive organs. How many sets of
teeth has a person in his lifetime? How many teeth in each set? How many
pairs of salivary glands? What do they form? What is the gullet?
Describe the stomach. What is the gastric juice? How long is the
intestinal canal? What fluid is formed in the intestines? Where is the
liver found, and how large is it? What does the liver produce? What is
the gall-bladder, and what is its use? What does the liver do besides
producing bile? What and where is the pancreas? What does the pancreas
do? Where is the spleen? How many important organs of digestion are
there? How many digestive fluids?
CHAPTER VIII. DIGESTION OF A MOUTHFUL OF BREAD.--Name the
different processes of digestion [mastication, action of saliva,
swallowing, action of stomach and gastric juice, action of bile, action
of pancreatic juice, action of intestines and intestinal juice,
absorption, liver digestion]. Describe the digestion of a mouthful of
bread. Where is the food taken after it has been absorbed? What are the
lacteals? What is the thoracic duct?
CHAPTER IX. BAD HABITS IN EATING.--What is indigestion? Mention
some of the causes of indigestion. How does eating too fast cause
indigestion? Eating too much? too frequently? Irregularly? when tired?
How do tea and coffee impair digestion? Why is it harmful to use iced
foods and drinks? Why should we not eat pepper and other hot and
irritating things? How should the teeth be cared for? How does
tobacco-using affect the stomach? What dreadful disease is sometimes
caused by tobacco? How does alcohol affect the gastric juice? the
stomach? the liver?
CHAPTER X. A DROP OF BLOOD.--What does the blood contain? How
many kinds of blood corpuscles are there? What work is done for the body
by each kind of corpuscles?
CHAPTER XI. WHY THE HEART BEATS.--Where is the heart? Why does
the heart beat? How many chambers has the heart? What are the
blood-vessels? How many kinds of blood-vessels are there? Name them.
What is the difference between venous blood and arterial blood? What
change occurs in the blood in the lungs? What is the pulse? How much
work does the heart do every twenty-four hours? What are the lymphatics?
What do they contain, and what is their purpose? What are lymphatic
glands?
CHAPTER XII. HOW TO KEEP THE HEART AND BLOOD HEALTHY.--Name
some things likely to injure the heart or the blood. What is the effect
of violent exercise? of bad air? of bad food? of loss of sleep? of
violent anger? What can you say about clothing? What is the effect of
alcohol upon the blood? the heart? the bodily heat? What is the effect
of tobacco upon the heart? the pulse? the blood? What is the effect of
tea and coffee upon the heart? What is a cold? In a case of bleeding
from a wound, how can you tell whether a vein or an artery is cut? How
would you stop the bleeding from an artery? from a vein? How would you
stop nose-bleed?
CHAPTER XIII. WHY AND HOW WE BREATHE.--What happens to a
lighted candle if shut up in a small, close place? to a mouse? Why is
air so necessary for a burning candle and for animals? How is the heat
of our bodies produced? Name the principal organs of breathing.
Describe each. How do we use the lungs in breathing? How much air will a
man's lungs hold? How much air do we use with each breath? What
poisonous substance does the air which we breathe out contain? Will a
candle burn in air which has been breathed? What happens to animals
placed in such air? What change takes place in the blood as it passes
through the lungs? How do plants purify the air?
CHAPTER XIV. HOW TO KEEP THE LUNGS HEALTHY.--What is the thing
most necessary to preserve life? Name some of the ways in which the
blood becomes impure. Why is bad-smelling air dangerous to health? What
are germs? Why are some diseases "catching"? Name some such diseases.
What should be done with a person who has a "catching" disease? What is
the effect of the breath upon the air? How much air is poisoned and made
unfit to breathe by each breath? How much air do we spoil every minute?
every hour? How much pure air does each person need every minute? every
hour? How do we get fresh air into our houses? Why are windows and doors
not good means of ventilating in cold weather? How should a room be
ventilated? How should we use the lungs in breathing? What about the
clothing in reference to the lungs? Why is it injurious to breathe
habitually through the mouth? What is the effect of alcohol upon the
lungs? What is the effect of tobacco-using upon the throat and nose?
CHAPTER XV. THE SKIN AND WHAT IT DOES.--How many layers in the
skin? What is each called? To what is the color of the skin due? What
glands are found in the true skin? What are the nails and what is their
purpose? How does the hair grow? Name the different uses of the skin?
CHAPTER XVI. HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THE SKIN.--What happened to
the little boy who was covered with gold leaf? Why did he die? What is
the effect of neglecting to keep the skin clean? What is the effect of
wearing too much clothing and living in rooms which are too warm? How
should the hair be cared for? the nails? What is the effect of alcohol,
tobacco, and other narcotics upon the skin?
CHAPTER XVII. THE KIDNEYS AND THEIR WORK.--What is the work of
the kidneys? How may we keep these organs healthy? What is the effect of
alcohol upon the kidneys?
CHAPTER XVIII. OUR BONES AND THEIR USES.--How many bones in the
body? What are the bones called when taken all together? Name the
principal parts of the skeleton. Name the bones of the trunk, of the
arms, of the legs. What are the uses of the bones? What is a joint? What
is cartilage? By what are the bones held together? Of what are the bones
largely composed?
CHAPTER XIX. HOW TO KEEP THE BONES HEALTHY.--What sort of
bread is best for the bones? Why? If a child tries to walk too early why
are its legs likely to become crooked? What are the effects of sitting
or lying in bad positions? Of wearing tight or poorly-fitting clothing?
Of tight or high-heeled shoes? What injuries are likely to happen to the
bones and joints by accident or rough play?
CHAPTER XX. THE MUSCLES AND HOW WE USE THEM.--How many muscles
in the body? Of what are the muscles composed? How are many of the
muscles connected to the bones? To what are all bodily movements due?
How do the muscles act? What causes the muscles to act? Do all muscles
act only when we will to have them act?
CHAPTER XXI. HOW TO KEEP THE MUSCLES HEALTHY.--What makes the
right arm of the blacksmith stronger than the left one? How should
exercise be taken? Mention some things in relation to the use of the
muscles which we ought not to do, and state the reasons why. What is the
effect of alcohol upon the muscles? of tobacco? of tea and coffee?
CHAPTER XXII. HOW WE FEEL AND THINK.--With what part of the
body do we think? How many brains does a man have? How is each brain
divided? Of what is the brain largely composed? Where do the nerves
begin? What is the spinal cord? Why does it cause pain to prick the
finger? How many kinds of nerves are there? (_Ans._ Two; nerves of
feeling and nerves of work.) Name some of the different kinds of nerves
of feeling? Name some of the different kinds of work controlled by the
nerves of work. Of what use to the body are the brain and nerves? How
does the brain use the nerves? Of what use is the large brain? What does
the little brain do? Of what use is the spinal cord?
CHAPTER XXIII. HOW TO KEEP THE BRAIN AND NERVES
HEALTHY.--Mention some things which we need to do to keep the brain
and nerves healthy. Mention some things which we ought not to do.
CHAPTER XXIV. BAD EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL UPON THE BRAIN AND
NERVES.--What is the effect of alcohol upon the brain and nerves?
Does alcohol produce real strength? Does it produce real warmth? Does
alcohol make people better or worse? What is the effect of tobacco upon
the brain and nerves? Does the use of tobacco lead to other evil habits?
What about the effect of opium and other narcotics?
CHAPTER XXV. HOW WE HEAR, SEE, SMELL, TASTE, AND FEEL.--How
many senses have we? What is the ear? Name the three parts of the ear.
How do we hear? How should we treat the ear?
Name the principal parts of the eye? What are found in the eyeball? How
is the eyeball moved in the socket? How is the eye moistened? Of what
use is the lens of the eye? Of what use is the pupil of the eye? How may
we preserve the eyesight?
Where are the nerves of smell located? Of what use is the sense of
smell?
Where are the nerves of taste found? How is the sense of taste sometimes
injured or lost? What do we detect with the sense of taste? Of what use
to us is the sense of taste?
With what sense do we feel objects? In what parts of the body is this
sense most delicate? Upon what do all the special senses depend? Does
anything that injures the brain and nerves also injure the special
senses? What is the effect of alcohol and tobacco upon the sense of
sight? How is the hearing affected by tobacco-using? The sense of smell?
The sense of taste?
CHAPTER XXVI. ALCOHOL.--How is alcohol produced? In what
respect is alcohol like kerosene oil? Is alcohol a dangerous thing even
if we do not drink it? How can you prove that there is alcohol in wine,
beer, cider, and other fermented drinks? Can you tell by the odor of his
breath when a person has been drinking? Why? Does the breath ever take
fire? May alcohol be a cause? From what is brandy made? How are whiskey,
gin, and rum made? Is alcohol a result of growth, like fruits and
grains, or of decay? Is there more than one kind of alcohol? Mention
some of the members of the alcohol family. In what ways are the members
of this family alike? Name some of the bad relations. Are cider and
beer, as well as whiskey, dangerous? Why? Mention some other things,
besides drinks, which contain alcohol. Are alcoholic drinks adulterated?
Is pure alcohol safe? Is instant death ever produced by alcohol? Will
alcohol kill plants? Describe Mr. Darwin's experiment which proved this.
Can plants be made drunk by alcohol? Describe the experiment which
proves this. What has Dr. Roberts proven concerning the influence of
alcohol upon digestion? How are our bodies kept warm? Explain how
alcohol makes the body cooler? Do Arctic explorers use alcohol? Why not?
Does the use of alcohol prevent sunstroke? What do Stanley and
Livingstone say about the use of alcohol in Africa? What is the effect
of using alcohol upon meat and eggs? What is the effect of alcohol upon
the brain and other tissues of the body? Does alcohol cause insanity and
other diseases of the brain and nerves?
FOOTNOTES:
[A] More properly _Carbonic dioxid_.
[B] For the sake of brevity and clearness the author has included under
the term "little brain" the _medulla oblongata_ as well as the
_cerebellum_.
THE END.
Aids to Field and Laboratory Work in Botany
_Apgars' Plant Analysis._ By E.A. and A.C. APGAR.
Cloth, small 4to, 124 pages 55 cents
A book of blank schedules, adapted to Gray's Botanies, for pupils' use
in writing and preserving brief systematic descriptions of the plants
analyzed by them in field or class work. Space is allowed for
descriptions of about one hundred and twenty-four plants with an
alphabetical index.
An analytical arrangement of botanical terms is provided, in which the
words defined are illustrated by small wood cuts, which show at a glance
the characteristics named in the definition.
By using the Plant Analysis, pupils will become familiar with the
meaning of botanical terms, and will learn how to apply these terms in
botanical descriptions.
_Apgar's Trees of the Northern United States_
Their Study, Description, and Determination. For the use of Schools and
Private Students. By AUSTIN C. APGAR.
Cloth, 12mo, 224 pages. Copiously Illustrated $1.00
This work has been prepared as an accessory to the study of Botany, and
to assist and encourage teachers in introducing into their classes
instruction in Nature Study. The trees of our forests, lawns, yards,
orchards, streets, borders and parks afford a most favorable and
fruitful field for the purposes of such study. They are real objects of
nature, easily accessible, and of such a character as to admit of being
studied at all seasons and in all localities. Besides, the subject is
one of general and increasing interest, and one that can be taught
successfully by those who have had no regular scientific training.
_Copies of either of the above books will be sent, prepaid, to any
address on receipt of the price by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO
* * * * *
STORER AND LINDSAY'S
~Elementary Manual of Chemistry~
By F.H. STORER, S.B., A.M., and W.B. LINDSAY, A.B., B.S.
Cloth, 12mo, 453 pages. Illustrated. Price, $1.20
This work is the lineal descendant of the "Manual of Inorganic
Chemistry" of Eliot and Storer, and the "Elementary Manual of Chemistry"
of Eliot, Storer and Nichols. It is in fact the last named book
thoroughly revised, rewritten and enlarged to represent the present
condition of chemical knowledge and to meet the demands of American
teachers for a class book on Chemistry, at once scientific in statement
and clear in method.
The purpose of the book is to facilitate the study and teaching of
Chemistry by the experimental and inductive method. It presents the
leading facts and theories of the science in such simple and concise
manner that they can be readily understood and applied by the student.
The book is equally valuable in the class-room and the laboratory. The
instructor will find in it the essentials of chemical science developed
in easy and appropriate sequence, its facts and generalizations
expressed accurately and scientifically as well as clearly, forcibly and
elegantly.
"It is safe to say that no text-book has exerted so wide an
influence on the study of chemistry in this country as this work,
originally written by Eliot and Storer. Its distinguished authors
were leaders in teaching Chemistry as a means of mental training in
general education, and in organizing and perfecting a system of
instructing students in large classes by the experimental method.
As revised and improved by Professor Nichols, it continued to give
the highest satisfaction in our best schools and colleges. After
the death of Professor Nichols, when it became necessary to revise
the work again, Professor Lindsay, of Dickinson College, was
selected to assist Dr. Storer in the work. The present edition has
been entirely rewritten by them, following throughout the same plan
and arrangement of the previous editions, which have been so highly
approved by a generation of scholars and teachers.
"If a book, like an individual, has a history, certainly the record
of this one, covering a period of nearly thirty years, is of the
highest and most honorable character."--_From The American Journal
of Science._
_Copies of this book will be sent prepaid to any address, on receipt of
the price, by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO
* * * * *
~Chemistry~
TEXT-BOOKS AND LABORATORY METHODS
Storer and Lindsay's Elementary Manual of Chemistry
By F.H. STORER, A.M., S.B., and W.B. LINDSAY, Ph.D.
Cloth, 12mo, 453 pages $1.20
A standard manual for secondary schools and colleges.
Clarke's Elements of Chemistry
By F.W. CLARKE. Cloth, 12mo, 379 pages $1.20
A scientific book for high schools and colleges.
Cooley's New Elementary Chemistry for Beginners
By LEROY C. COOLEY, Ph.D. Cloth, 12mo, 300 pages 72 cents
A book of experimental chemistry for beginners.
Steele's Popular Chemistry
By J. DORMAN STEELE, Ph.D. Cloth, 12mo, 343 pages $1.00
A popular treatise for schools and private students.
Youmans's Class-Book of Chemistry
By E.L. YOUMANS, M.D. Revised by W.J. Youmans, M.D.
Cloth, 12mo, 404 pages $1.22
For schools, colleges, and general reading.
Brewster's First Book of Chemistry
By MARY SHAW-BREWSTER. Boards, 12mo, 144 pages 66 cents
An elementary class-book for beginners in the study.
Armstrong and Norton's Laboratory Manual of Chemistry
By JAMES E. ARMSTRONG and JAMES H. NORTON.
Cloth, 12mo, 144 pages 50 cents
A brief course of experiments in chemistry,
covering about forty weeks' work in the laboratory.
Cooley's Laboratory Studies in Chemistry
By LEROY C. COOLEY, Ph.D. Cloth, 8vo, 144 pages 50 cents
A carefully selected series of 151 experiments,
designed to teach the fundamental facts and
principles of chemistry for secondary schools.
Keiser's Laboratory Work in Chemistry
By EDWARD H. KEISER, Ph.D. Cloth, 12mo, 119 pages 50 cents
A series of experiments in general inorganic chemistry,
intended to illustrate and supplement the work of the
class-room.
Qualitative Chemical Analysis of Inorganic Substances
As practiced in Georgetown College, D.C.
Cloth, 4to, 61 pages $1.50
Designed to serve as both text-book and laboratory
manual in Qualitative Analysis.
_Copies of any of the above books will be sent prepaid to any address,
on receipt of the price, by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO
* * * * *
~Physics~
Cooley's Student's Manual of Physics
For the Study Room and Laboratory. By L.C. COOLEY,
Ph.D., Professor of Mathematics in Vassar College.
Cloth, 12mo, 448 pages. Illustrated $1.00
A new text-book in Physics for high schools, academies, and colleges. It
embodies a full and thorough treatment of the laws of physics, the best
methods in science teaching, the latest discoveries and applications in
physics, and a full course in laboratory practice. Special care has been
taken to select experiments which will not overtax the capacities of
beginners nor require expensive apparatus, but which at the same time
will call for systematic and original work and lead to accurate results.
Harrington's Physics for Grammar Schools
BY C.L. HARRINGTON, M.A. Cloth, 12mo, 123 pages. 50 cents
A practical text-book based on the natural or experimental method,
elementary enough for pupils in grammar schools, and affording a
thorough preparation for advanced study.
Appletons' School Physics
Cloth, 12mo, 552 pages $1.20
A thoroughly modern text-book on Natural Philosophy, which
reflects the most advanced pedagogical methods and the latest laboratory
practice.
Steele's Popular Physics
By J. DORMAN STEELE, Ph.D. Cloth, 12mo, 392 pages $1.00
A popular text-book, in which the principles of the science are
presented in such an attractive manner as to awaken and fix the attention
of every pupil.
Trowbridge's New Physics
By JOHN TROWBRIDGE, S.D. Cloth, 12mo, 387 pages $1.20
A thoroughly modern work, intended as a class manual of Physics
for colleges and advanced preparatory schools.
Hammel's Observation Blanks in Physics
By WILLIAM C.A. HAMMEL.
Flexible, quarto, 42 pages. Illustrated 30 cents
A pupil's laboratory manual and notebook for the first term's work.
Blanks are left in which the pupil writes his observations and the
principles illustrated.
_Copies of any of these books will be sent, prepaid, to any address on
receipt of the price by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO
* * * * *
Laboratory Physics
Hammel's Observation Blanks in Physics
By WILLIAM C.A. HAMMEL, Professor of Physics in Maryland State
School, Boards, Quarto, 42 pages. Illustrated 30 cents
These Observation Blanks are designed for use as a Pupil's Laboratory
Manual and Note Book for the first term's work in the study of Physics.
They combine in convenient form descriptions and illustrations of the
apparatus required for making experiments in Physics, with special
reference to the elements of Air, Liquids, and Heat; directions for
making the required apparatus from simple inexpensive materials, and for
performing the experiments, etc. The book is supplied with blanks for
making drawings of the apparatus and for the pupil to record what he has
observed and inferred concerning the experiment and the principle
illustrated.
The experiments are carefully selected in the light of experience and
arranged in logical order. The treatment throughout is in accordance
with the best laboratory practice of the day.
Hon. W.T. Harris, U.S. Commissioner of Education, says of these Blanks:
"I have seen several attempts to assist the work of pupils engaged in
the study of Physics, but I have never seen anything which promises to
be of such practical assistance as Hammel's Observation Blanks."
_Specimen copies of the above book will be sent prepaid to any address,
on receipt of the price, by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO
* * * * *
Burnet's Zoölogy
FOR
HIGH SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES
BY
MARGARETTA BURNET
Teacher of Zoölogy, Woodward High School, Cincinnati, O.
Cloth, 12mo, 216 pages. Illustrated. Price, 75 cents
This new text-book on Zoölogy is intended for classes in High Schools,
Academies, and other Secondary Schools. While sufficiently elementary
for beginners in the study it is full and comprehensive enough for
students pursuing a regular course in the Natural Sciences. It has been
prepared by a practical teacher, and is the direct result of school-room
experience, field observation and laboratory practice.
The design of the book is to give a good general knowledge of the
subject of Zoölogy, to cultivate an interest in nature study, and to
encourage the pupil to observe and to compare for himself and then to
arrange and classify his knowledge. Only typical or principal forms are
described, and in their description only such technical terms are used
as are necessary, and these are carefully defined.
Each subject is fully illustrated, the illustrations being selected and
arranged to aid the pupil in understanding the structure of each form.
_Copies of Burnet's School Zoölogy will be sent prepaid to any address,
on receipt of the price, by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO
* * * * *
Zoölogy and Natural History
Burnet's School Zoölogy
By MARGARETTA BURNET. Cloth, 12mo, 216 pages 75 cents
A new text-book for high schools and academies, by a practical teacher;
sufficiently elementary for beginners and full enough for the usual
course in Natural History.
Needham's Elementary Lessons in Zoölogy
By JAMES G. NEEDHAM, M.S. Cloth, 12mo, 302 pages 90 cents
An elementary text-book for high schools, academies, normal schools and
preparatory college classes. Special attention is given to the study by
scientific methods, laboratory practice, microscopic study and practical
zoötomy.
Cooper's Animal Life
By SARAH COOPER. Cloth, 12mo, 427 pages $1.25
An attractive book for young people. Admirably adapted for supplementary
readings in Natural History.
Holders' Elementary Zoölogy
By C.F. HOLDER, and J.B. HOLDER, M.D.
Cloth, 12mo, 401 pages $1.20
A text-book for high school classes and other schools of secondary
grade.
Hooker's Natural History
By WORTHINGTON HOOKER, M.D. Cloth, 12mo, 394 pages 90 cents
Designed either for the use of schools or for the general reader.
Morse's First Book in Zoölogy
By EDWARD S. MORSE, Ph.D. Boards, 12mo, 204 pages 87 cents
For the first study of animal life. The examples presented are such as
are common and familiar.
Nicholson's Text-Book of Zoölogy
By H.A. NICHOLSON, M.D. Cloth, 12mo, 421 pages $1.38
Revised edition. Adapted for advanced grades of high schools or
academies and for first work in college classes.
Steele's Popular Zoölogy
By J. DORMAN STEELE, Ph.D., and J.W.P. JENKS.
Cloth, 12mo, 369 pages $1.20
For academies, preparatory schools and general reading. This popular
work is marked by the same clearness of method and simplicity of
statement that characterize all Prof. Steele's text-books in the Natural
Sciences.
Tenneys' Natural History of Animals
By SANBORN TENNEY and ABBEY A. TENNEY.
Revised Edition. Cloth, 12mo, 281 pages $1.20
This new edition has been entirely reset and thoroughly revised, the
recent changes in classification introduced, and the book in all
respects brought up to date.
Treat's Home Studies in Nature
By Mrs. MARY TREAT. Cloth, 12mo, 244 pages 90 cents
An interesting and instructive addition to the works on Natural History.
_Copies of any of the above books will be sent prepaid to any address,
on receipt of the price, by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO
* * * * *
Text-Books in Geology
Dana's Geological Story Briefly Told
By JAMES D. DANA. Cloth, 12mo, 302 pages $1.15
A new edition of this popular work for beginners in the study and for
the general reader. The book has been entirely rewritten, and improved
by the addition of many new illustrations and interesting descriptions
of the latest phases and discoveries of the science. In contents and
dress it is an attractive volume either for the reader or student.
Dana's Revised Text-Book of Geology
Edited by WILLIAM NORTH RICE, Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of
Geology, Wesleyan University. Cloth, 12mo, 482 pages. $1.40
This is the standard text-book for high school and elementary college
work. The book has been thoroughly revised, enlarged, and improved,
while the general and distinctive features of the former work have been
preserved. As now published, it combines the results of the life
experience and observation of its distinguished author with the latest
discoveries and researches in the science.
Dana's Manual of Geology
By JAMES D. DANA.
Cloth, 8vo, 1087 pages. 1575 illustrations $5.00
This great work was thoroughly revised and entirely rewritten under the
direct supervision of its author, just before his death. It is
recognized as a standard authority, and is used as a manual of
instruction in all higher institutions of learning.
Le Conte's Compend of Geology
By JOSEPH LE CONTE, LL.D. Cloth, 12mo, 399 pages $1.20
Designed for high schools, academies, and all secondary schools.
Steele's Fourteen Weeks in Geology
By J. DORMAN STEELE, Ph.D. Cloth, 12mo, 280 pages $1.00
A popular book for elementary classes and the general reader.
Andrews's Elementary Geology
By E.B. ANDREWS, LL.D. Cloth, 12mo, 283 pages $1.00
Adapted for elementary classes. Contains a special treatment of the
geology of the Mississippi Valley.
_Copies of any of the above books will be sent, prepaid, to any address
on receipt of the price by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO
* * * * *
A New Astronomy
BY
DAVID P. TODD, M.A., Ph.D.
Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Observatory, Amherst College.
Cloth, 12mo, 480 pages. Illustrated Price, $1.30
This book is designed for classes pursuing the study in High Schools,
Academies, and Colleges. The author's long experience as a director in
astronomical observatories and in teaching the subject has given him
unusual qualifications and advantages for preparing an ideal text-book.
The noteworthy feature which distinguishes this from other text-books on
Astronomy is the practical way in which the subjects treated are
enforced by laboratory experiments and methods. In this the author
follows the principle that Astronomy is preëminently a science of
observation and should be so taught.
By placing more importance on the physical than on the mathematical
facts of Astronomy the author has made every page of the book deeply
interesting to the student and the general reader. The treatment of the
planets and other heavenly bodies and of the law of universal
gravitation is unusually full, clear, and illuminative. The marvelous
discoveries of Astronomy in recent years, and the latest advances in
methods of teaching the science, are all represented.
The illustrations are an important feature of the book. Many of them are
so ingeniously devised that they explain at a glance what pages of mere
description could not make clear.
_Copies of Todd's New Astronomy will be sent, prepaid, to any address on
receipt of the price by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO
* * * * *
A Laboratory Manual in Practical Botany
For use in Secondary Schools and for Elementary Work in Colleges
By CHARLES H. CLARK, A.M., D.Sc.,
Principal of Windsor Hall School, Waban, Mass.
Cloth, 12mo, 272 pages. Illustrated 96 cents
The course of botanical study outlined in this book is intended to give
the student a general view of the subject, and at the same time to lay a
foundation upon which more advanced studies may be built. The book is
primarily a laboratory manual and follows the method recommended by the
Committee of Ten and employed by the best teachers. So pursued, the
study of botany provides the means of developing habits of close and
accurate observation and of cultivating the reasoning powers that can
scarcely be claimed for any other subject taught in the schools.
It provides a systematic outline of classification to serve as a guide
in laboratory work and in the practical study of the life histories of
plants, their modes of reproduction, manner of life, etc. The treatment
is suggestive and general to adapt it to the courses of study in
different schools, and to allow the teacher to follow his own ideas in
selecting the work of his class.
Clark's Laboratory Manual in Practical Botany _will be sent, prepaid, to
any address on receipt of the price by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO
* * * * *
Important New Books
Crockett's Plane and Spherical Trigonometry
By C.W. CROCKETT, C.E., Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy
in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. With Tables. Cloth,
8vo. 310 pages $1.25
The Same. Without Tables 1.00
Logarithmic and Trigonometric Tables (separate) 1.00
A clear analytic treatment of the elements of Plane and Spherical
Trigonometry and their practical applications to Surveying, Geodesy, and
Astronomy, with convenient and accurate "five place" tables for the use
of the student, engineer, and surveyor. Designed for High Schools,
Colleges, and Technical Institutions.
Raymond's Plane Surveying
By W.G. RAYMOND, C.E., Member American Society of Civil
Engineers, Professor of Geodesy, Road Engineering, and Topographical
Drawing in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Cloth, 8vo. 485 pages. With Tables and Illustrations $3.00
A modern text-book for the study and practice of Land, Topographical,
Hydrographical, and Mine Surveying. Special attention is given to such
practical subjects as system in office work, to labor-saving devices, to
coördinate methods, and to the explanation of difficulties encountered
by young surveyors. The appendix contains a large number of original
problems, and a full set of tables for class and field work.
Todd's New Astronomy
By DAVID P. TODD, M.A., Ph.D., Professor of Astronomy and
Director of the Observatory, Amherst College.
Cloth, 12mo. 500 pages. Illustrated $1.30
A new Astronomy designed for classes pursuing the study in High Schools,
Academies, and other Preparatory Schools. The treatment throughout is
simple, clear, scientific, and deeply interesting. The illustrations
include sketches from the author's laboratory and expeditions, and
numerous reproductions from astronomical photographs.
_Copies of the above books will be sent, prepaid, to any address on
receipt of the price by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO
* * * * *
Birds of the United States
A Manual for the Identification of Species East of the Rocky Mountains
By AUSTIN C. APGAR
Author of "Trees of the Northern United States," etc.
Cloth, 12mo, 415 pages, with numerous
illustrations. Price, $2.00
The object of this book is to encourage the study of Birds by making it
a pleasant and easy task. The treatment, while thoroughly scientific and
accurate, is interesting and popular in form and attractive to the
reader or student. It covers the following divisions and subjects:
PART I. A general description of Birds and an explanation of
the technical terms used by ornithologists.
PART II. Classification and description of each species with
Key.
PART III. The study of Birds in the field, with Key for their
identification.
PART IV. Preparation of Bird specimens.
The descriptions of the several species have been prepared with great
care and present several advantages over those in other books. They are
short and so expressed that they may be recalled readily while looking
at the bird. They are thus especially adapted for field use. The
illustrations were drawn especially for this work. Their number,
scientific accuracy, and careful execution add much to the value and
interest of the book. The general Key to Land and Water Birds and a very
full index make the book convenient and serviceable both for the study
and for field work.
_Apgar's Birds of the United States will be sent, prepaid, to any
address on receipt of the price by the Publishers:_
American Book Company
NEW YORK · CINCINNATI · CHICAGO