The sense of taste being largely dependent upon the saliva, the natural flavors of the food are not fully developed, the food seems insipid, and there is created a taste for pungent sauces and spices which over-excites the digestive organs. Poisonous substances are often swallowed in mistake, which, if retained in the mouth long enough to determine their taste, would be rejected without injury. =The Stomach.=--The most important organ of digestion is the stomach. This is a pear-shaped pouch, having a capacity of about three pints. The walls are thin and yielding, and often become unnaturally distended by those who habitually gormandize. Its construction clearly shows that the work of grinding and mashing the food was intended to be performed before it entered the stomach. The gastric juice, another chemical solvent, is here poured upon the food, which, as rapidly as it is prepared, is passed into the intestines. The time required for the stomach to perform its work varies from one to five hours, according to the quantity and character of the food and the digestive power of the individual. The delicate network of blood vessels which underlies the mucous membrane of the stomach takes up all those elements of the food that are ready to be absorbed. =The Intestines.=--The small intestines are continuous with the stomach, and, though very different in shape, are like it in general structure. The bile, which is secreted by the liver, unites with the pancreatic juice, and enters the intestines through a duct about three inches below the stomach. By the joint action of these two fluids, the fatty elements of the food are prepared for absorption. From the mucous membrane, or inner lining of the small intestines, still another juice or fluid flows, whose office is to supplement the work, first, of the saliva in converting starch into sugar; next, of the gastric juice in digesting the albuminoids; and, lastly, of the pancreatic juice and bile in emulsifying the fats. The work of digestion is completed in the small intestines. The indigestible parts of the food are passed into the large intestines, and expelled from the body. =Absorption.=--The liquefied food, in its passage through the stomach and small intestines, has been prepared by the various juices for its absorption by the blood vessels and the lacteals, whose minute mouths throng this part of the alimentary canal. The food elements thus absorbed are conveyed to the right auricle, or first chamber of the heart. =Conditions Affecting Digestion.=--The quality, quantity, and temperature of the food, and the condition of mind and body, all have an influence upon digestion. In the selection of food, only such articles should be allowed as are fresh, pure, and wholesome. Bread should not be eaten warm. It is more easily digested after being baked a day or two. Flesh of animals recently slaughtered should be thoroughly cooled, and never cooked while yet warm and quivering with life.