“Strong spirituous liquors, as whisky, brandy, rum, arrack and gin, contain only more or less alcohol, with some etherial oils. “The various popular so-called temperance drinks are distinguished only by their watery contents, which are flavored with sugar and extracts of plants and herbs to make them taste less insipid. “Beer contains protein, alcohol, salts and carbonic acid gas, and hence possesses nutritious, stimulating and refreshing properties. “It is not our intention to write a eulogy of beer. We will only state in its favor what cannot be denied by any man, be he a physician or a mechanic, a philosopher or a manufacturer, a chemist or an engineer, a wine-drinker or a temperance man. “We denote as extracts of beer those solid substances which are not, through the fermentation of the wort, transformed into volatile bodies, and therefore remain as a sediment after the evaporation of the beer. This extract consists of malt sugar obtained by the mashing process, of albumen contained in the malt and now dissolved, and of certain salts, especially phosphoric salt, which were originally contained in the barley, and have not been lost during the process of brewing. “The amount of the extract of beer mainly depends on the original concentration of the wort and on that state of fermentation in which the beer is consumed; it varies from three to eight per cent. “By virtue of its protein and its salts, it has a very nutritious effect upon the human organism, and though it does so in a less degree than meat or bread, yet on account of the form of solution in which it appears in the beer, it is easier assimilated, _i. e._, it easily enters the organism and plays a prominent part in the formation of milk, muscle, flesh and bones,—and the quantity of alcohol contained in beer is so small and so much diluted with water, that it can produce intoxication only if consumed in a very great quantity, _i. e._, by an immoderate use.” An international congress has just been held in Paris on “Alcoholism,” and the Belgian delegate, Dr. Barella, constituted himself the champion of beer. He contended that the consumption of spirits should be discountenanced, because these beverages are harmful, and that the consumption of beer should be encouraged, because it is a sound, wholesome and harmless drink. He pointed out that in countries where the wines are good, and the beers agreeable and nutritive, much less spirits are consumed, and _vice versa_. Following is a summary of the points made in the report of Dr. Bowditch previously quoted. They will be found useful and interesting, and the whole document deserves the highest praise for thoroughness of investigation, caution of statement and fairness of spirit. 1st. Stimulants are used everywhere, and at times abused, by savage and by civilized men. Consequently intoxication occurs all over the globe.