The two chief physiological points bearing on the advisability of alcohol as a part of one’s daily diet are—its =food properties=, and its effect on the appetite and digestion. It has been already stated that a quantity of alcohol under 1 or 1½ ounces may become oxidised in the system, and may thus form a source of heat. But in all probability, although it may be regarded as a food, it is a most inconvenient one, inasmuch as it diminishes the oxidation of other foods. It has been aptly compared in this respect to sulphur, which is an oxidisable material, but which, when it is burnt in a chimney, in which the soot is on fire, will put an end to the combustion of the latter. Its value as a food, under normal conditions, is practically nil. Its =Effect on the Digestive Organs= is three-fold. (_a_) The contact of alcohol with the mucous membrane of the mouth and stomach, acts as a reflex nervous stimulus, which in moderation excites an increased flow of gastric juice. (_b_) It also increases the activity of the movements of the stomach. In cases of weak digestion, therefore, small doses of alcohol may, at times, be useful. (_c_) The effect of alcohol on the food taken varies with its degree of dilution. Concentrated alcohol coagulates albumin, and so stops digestion; largely diluted alcohol has no such effect. The late Dr. Parkes, the greatest authority on the dietetic use of alcohol, has summarised the argument as to the dietetic use of alcohol as follows:— “But what, now, should be the conclusion as to the use of alcohol in health after growth is completed? Admitting the impossibility of proving a small quantity to be hurtful, and at the same time acknowledging the dangers of excess, there arises an argument which seems to me somewhat in favour of total abstinence. No man can say when he has passed the boundary which divides safety from harm; he may call himself temperate, and yet may be daily taking a little more than his system can bear, and be gradually causing some tissue to undergo slow degeneration. He may be safe, but he may be on the verge of danger. “This uncertainty, coupled with the difficulty at present of saying what dietetic advantage is gained by using alcohol, seems to me rather to turn the scale in favour of total abstinence instead of moderate drinking. But if any one honestly tries, and finds he is better in health for a little alcohol, let him take it, but he should keep within the boundary line, viz., that 1½ ounces of pure or absolute alcohol in twenty-four hours form the limit of moderation. I do not then think he can do himself any harm.” =The Varieties of Fermented Drinks.=—The three chief kinds of alcoholic beverages are malt liquors, wines, and ardent spirits. In addition, we may mention cider and perry, which are the fermented juices of apples and pears respectively; and koumiss, which the Tartars prepare by fermenting mare’s milk, though it may also be made from the milk of other animals.