“A leading element of the gastric juice is lactic acid. This excites a slight fermentation of the chyme, and thus exerts an influence upon the digestion of vegetable, but not upon that of animal, food. It is far too weak to act upon the fibres of animal flesh. All fats are insoluble in water, spirits of wine, and acids. Flesh, when eaten by man, tends to undergo a process of decay in the stomach, causing a scrofulous poisoning of the blood. In this unnatural action lies the cause of many complaints and disturbances of the system: as bad breath, heartburn, eructions and vomiting. In the case of the carnivora, the gastric juice exerts a decomposing influence upon flesh, and causes its assimilation and excretion. Since the pancreatic juice of the duodenum, into which the chyme passes from the stomach, bears a close resemblance to the saliva, it follows that the chyme here, also, can have only a slightly acid property, which it indeed can only have when it is of a vegetable character. Bile, which is here poured into the intestines, has only a slight alkaline reaction, and its use seems to be limited to the prevention of decay; which, however, can only occur in the case of flesh-food; so that the effort of nature to maintain flesh-food in its proper condition by the secretion of bile must be excessive, and must eventually cause an excitement and weakening of the whole organism.” And Dr Kellogg has pointed out[11]: [11] “Shall We Slay to Eat?” p. 35. “Another property possessed in a high degree by the gastric juice of carnivorous animals is its antiseptic or germicidal quality. When exposed to the conditions of warmth and moisture, flesh, whether that of mammals birds or fish, readily decomposes or decays, giving rise to poisonous substances of the most offensive character. The gastric juice of the dog is capable of preventing this putrefactive change while the food is undergoing the process of stomach digestion. That such changes occur later, however, while the food residue is lying in the colon previous to expulsion from the body, is evidenced by the extraordinarily offensive character of the fæcal matters of this class of animals.”