The question of alcohol in sclerosis is difficult, but very important. In the first place it depends somewhat on what a man has been accustomed to take. If he has taken a moderate amount with his food during the greater part of his life it does not always do to stop it. Alcohol is not a pressure raiser, as many think, but rather the reverse, and, if stopped suddenly, the digestive powers may be lessened and the tone of the body depressed. Lauder Brunton says: “All the Alcohols tend to dilate vessels, to diminish blood-pressure, and ultimately to diminish activity of the nervous tissues, although at first sight they may seem to have a stimulant action.” Alcohol contains so little nutritious food (with the exception of the sugars and extractives of wine and beers) that in itself it may be said to give nothing to the body; but there is something a bit beyond this--the bitter of the hop and the flavour, the bouquet of the grape have a stimulating effect on the nerves of taste and smell, and so produce, with some people, a better flow of saliva and gastric juice. This probably is how wine and beer in moderate quantities help digestion and appetite. There is still further the effect on the general nervous system. Alcohol without doubt enables a man to draw on his reserve of force, though it probably does not increase those reserves. This is, of course, drawing on one’s capital, but the ability to do this may be of great use in emergencies, for it can help a man to live over evil times. But it must not be forgotten that such calls, if too large or often repeated, must in the end empty the reservoirs and leave him powerless and defenceless. This question of alcohol must be regarded by physicians with common sense backed by scientific knowledge. The world is never going to be cured of alcoholic intemperance by intemperance in language and inaccuracy in thought.