[Sidenote: 39. State what is said of chocolate.] 39. Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cocoa-tree, a native of tropical America. Its effects resemble somewhat those of tea and coffee, but it is very rich in nutriment. Linnæus, the botanist, was so fond of this beverage, that he gave to the cocoa-tree the name, _Theobroma_--"the Food of the Gods." Its active principle is _theobromin_. [Sidenote: 40. Use of alcoholic drinks, how general? The rule given?] 40. ALCOHOL.--The list of beverages that are consumed for the sake of the alcohol they contain is a very long one. Their use is almost universally prevalent, every civilized nation, and nearly every barbarous one, having its favorite alcoholic drink; and, as a general rule, the nations which stand the highest in civilization have the greatest varieties of these beverages,--at the same time using them the most intelligently and wisely. [Sidenote: 41. The beverages produced by fermentation? The ardent spirits? Grains and fruits employed? Long use of wine? Of distilled liquors?] 41. The wines and malt liquors that contain a small amount of alcohol are produced by fermentation. The beverages that hold a large proportion of alcohol, the "ardent spirits," are made by distillation. Enormous quantities of grains and fruits are thus yearly diverted from their proper uses as food; some of these being corn, wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, and rice; also the grape, apple, pear, peach, sugar-cane, cherry, fig, and orange. Wine, the fermented juice of the grape, has been in use from time immemorial, while the introduction of distilled liquors dates from a comparatively recent period. {78} [Sidenote: 42. Describe the action of alcohol upon the human system? Experience of Dr. Hayes and others?] 42. What is the physiological action of alcohol? Its first and most evident action is stimulation: this effect is transient, and is followed by a variable degree of depression. At first it sharpens the appetite and quickens digestion, but its habitual use impairs both. This stimulation is efficient in giving the system an artificial strength during some temporary derangement, and in enabling the endurance of unusual fatigue or exposure. The experience of Dr. Hayes, and other explorers of the polar regions, is that alcohol does not enable the body to resist the influence of cold, but, on the contrary, is always injurious. [Sidenote: 43. Another property of alcohol? How do we explain the restorative influence of wines and liquors?] 43. Another property it has in common with tea and coffee. It supports the powers of life, economizes food, and retards the waste of tissues; in other words, it "banks the fires," and prevents their burning wastefully. On this principle we explain the restorative influence of wines or liquors during exhausting diseases, in convalescence, and after excessive labors of mind or body. [Sidenote: 44. Alcohol, a poison? Moderate stimulants? Prevailing opinion? Hence?]