It is the chief agent in increasing the peristaltic action of both the stomach and intestines, thus aiding in mixing the food with the digestive juices and assisting the movement along the alimentary canal. It increases the flow of saliva and of the digestive juices and aids these juices in reaching every particle of food. It dissolves the foods, and helps in the distribution of food materials throughout the body, carrying them in the blood and the lymph from the digestive organs to the tissues, where they are assimilated. The blood carries the water to the various secreting and excreting glands and its increased pressure aids both the secreting and excreting activity. The digestive organs secrete their juices more freely, digestion is aided, more nutriment is rendered absorbable, more carbon dioxid is liberated, and more oxygen is taken into the blood which thereby is made richer and more life-giving. One engrossed in business or household cares may forget to take water between meals. In such a case, the blood, in order to preserve its volume, must draw the water from the tissues, which, in consequence, become less moist. The mouth becomes dry, saliva is scanty, appetite fails, the digestion is not so active, the digestive and other secretions are lessened in quantity, the food in process of digestion becomes more solid, its absorption in the intestine is more difficult, it moves slowly along the intestinal canal, and constipation results. The body is not so well nourished and falls a more ready prey to disease. The supply of fluid furnished to the kidneys is not sufficient, the urine becomes more concentrated and irritation may result. The foundation is thus laid for derangements of the kidney function. _To maintain the equilibrium of the body forces, water drinking should be established as a permanent habit and be firmly adhered to as a part of the daily program._ Many claim that one’s thirst, as in the desire for food, is the only safe guide to the amount and time of drinking, but these desires are largely matters of habit, and tastes are often perverted. Unless the condition is abnormal or the mind becomes so intensely active that one fails to listen to the call of Nature, _the system calls for what it has been in the habit of receiving_ and at the stated times it has been in the habit of receiving it. It does not always call for what is good for it. Plants thrive after a shower because the falling water brings down the impurities in the air which constitute plant food. Rain-water for household use, therefore, should never be collected during the early part of a shower or rain storm.