Gas is matter in its most rarefied state--a state that permits its easy entrance into all the tissues of the body, where it perverts by its presence and toxic effect the normal function of all the organs. Besides its poisonous infection, it distends or bloats the stomach, bowels, and tissues--a fact especially noticeable in the abdominal region, giving the appearance of corpulency or obesity to many, when really it is only abdominal ballooning or gaseous obeseness. Roly-polies--and there are a great many of them--will have their pride greatly hurt by accounting for their condition in this way, but the truth must be told and they might as well face the facts first as last. Gaseous obesity, or borborygmus, is spoken of popularly as wind in the stomach and bowels. No wonder the roly-poly is sensitive on the subject, for this “wind” occasions rumbling sounds, eructations, and offensive odors--all of which are a great annoyance to the sufferer from dilated, displaced, and unclean digestive apparatus. Besides being generated in the system, gases may be swallowed during the act of eating, in the form of air (oxygen and nitrogen), and in liquids containing carbonic acid, sulphuretted hydrogen, etc. Micro-organisms swallowed with the food will occasion fermentation of the contents of the stomach and bowels, which if unduly retained become excessive, foul, and toxic--therefore extremely harmful to the system. The gases generated in the stomach are the following: carbonic acid, hydrogen, hydrochloric, ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen, marsh gas, etc. They are partly absorbed or thrown off by eructations, or they pass into the duodenum or small intestine. Gases are found throughout the small and the large intestine. These are the result of both the normal and the abnormal digestive fermentation and bacterial decomposition of the ingesta or food stuffs. Some of the gases are passed into the intestines from the blood by diffusion. The production of gas is more copious in the upper portion of the small intestine and becomes less rapid and abundant as the large intestine is reached. As formed or found in the intestines, the gases are: carbonic acid, hydrogen, marsh, ammonia, nitrogen, sulphuretted hydrogen, and sulphate of ammonia. Considering the large amount of abnormal gases generated in the bowels and which abnormally distend the abdominal walls for several inches and press upon the heart and lungs, and considering the small amount passed out as flatus, their entrance into the tissues of the body must be very rapid and harmful. Stop the habitual putrefaction and mal-digestion, and then the formation of toxic feces, gases, and volatile acid will speedily cease. Then the erstwhile roly-polies will shrink in circumference four or more inches, necessitating the refitting of their garments to the new and better order of things.