Mr. Parton next proceeds to deny that alcohol is a heat-producing substance. "On the contrary," he says, "it appears in all cases to diminish the efficiency of the heat-producing process." And he cites the testimony of Arctic voyagers, New York car-drivers, Russian corporals, and Rocky Mountain hunters, in support of the statement that alcohol diminishes the power of the system to resist cold. He thinks he could fill a whole magazine with the evidence on this point. Nevertheless, so far as we have examined the reports of Arctic travellers,[13] they appear by no means decisive. They do not keep in mind the distinction between stimulation and intoxication. We do not doubt that "men who start under the influence of liquor are the first to succumb to the cold, and the likeliest to be frost-bitten," if the phrase "under the influence of liquor" be understood, as it usually is, to mean "partly drunk." On the other hand, it is a familiar fact that a glass of whisky, taken on coming into the house after exposure to cold, will in many cases prevent sore throat or inflammation of the nasal passages. In our own experience, we know of no more efficient agent for removing the effects of a chill from the system. Before this question can be settled, however, we must ascertain whether alcohol is, or is not, a true food. If the food-action of alcohol is, as Liebig maintains, to be ranked with that of fat, starch and sugar, its heat-producing power will follow as an inevitable inference. To this point we shall presently come; and meanwhile we may content ourselves with citing the excellent authority of Johnston in support of the opinion that ardent spirits "directly warm the body."[14] [13] A good summary will be found in the _American Journal of Medical Sciences_, July, 1859. [14] _Chemistry of Common Life_, vol. I., p. 288.