The mental influence upon the secretion of digestive fluids may originate from thought, or may be brought about reflexively by the sight, or by the smell of food. All are familiar with the experience of having one's mouth water at the sight of a particularly appetizing dish. Many of us have undergone the same experience by merely thinking of some particular food of which we are fond. [Sidenote: Digestive juices vary with different foods] Scientific investigation has shown that the secretion of saliva is only an example of what takes place in the other digestive organs. The experiments of the ingenious Russian scientist, heretofore mentioned, prove that the act of tasting and of swallowing food was the chief factor in determining the secretion of the juices from the stomach-walls. In a series of operations upon dogs, performed by skilled surgeons, certain interesting facts were observed. The esophagus was severed and made to open externally so that the food swallowed did not pass into the stomach. The secretion of gastric juice was then determined in the case of different foods which were taken into the dog's mouth and swallowed, but which did not reach the stomach. Not only did this act of pretended feeding start a flow of gastric juice, but the juice secreted in the case of different foods was especially adapted to the particular food, according to the general principle which we have already discussed. These facts emphasize several important considerations regarding our diet: 1 We should eat slowly and get the whole taste out of food by thorough mastication, because taste largely controls the secretion of the digestive fluid 2 We should not disguise our food by high seasoning 3 Foods that do not require the same digestive principles should not be taken at the same meal [Sidenote: "Fermentation" and "Putrefaction" compared] Fermentation is the term generally applied to changes that take place in such food substances as carbohydrates, due to the growth of bacteria, while the term putrefaction is applied in a similar way to the changes taking place in nitrogenous or proteid materials. Both of these chemical changes are exceedingly harmful. ABNORMAL CHEMICAL CHANGES IN THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS [Sidenote: Bacteria chief causes of abnormal changes] Under this heading we will consider the chemical changes which take place in the human alimentary canal, which are not beneficial or necessary to normal digestion. The cause of the most important abnormal changes in the contents of the stomach and the intestines is the presence of living micro-organisms called bacteria.