antly disappears, and the tempting food is
refused. Hence we should laugh and talk at our meals, and drive away
anxious thoughts and unpleasant topics of discussion.

The proper chewing of the food is an important element in digestion.
Hence, eat slowly, and do not "bolt" large fragments of food. If
imperfectly chewed, it is not readily acted upon by the gastric juice, and
often undergoes fermentative changes which result in sour stomach, gastric
pain, and other digestive disturbance.

If we take too much drink with our meals, the flow of the saliva is
checked, and digestion is hindered. It is not desireable to dilute the
gastric juice, nor to chill the stomach with large amount of cold liquid.

Do not take food and drink too hot or too cold. If they are taken too
cold, the stomach is chilled, and digestion delayed. If we drink freely of
ice-water, it may require half an hour or more for the stomach to regain
its natural heat.

It is a poor plan to stimulate a flagging appetite with highly spiced food
and bitter drinks. An undue amount of pepper, mustard, horseradish,
pickles, and highly seasoned meat-sauces may stimulate digestion for the
time, but they soon impair it.

[NOTE. The process of gastric digestion was studied many years ago by
Dr. Beaumont and others, in the remarkable case of Alexis St. Martin,
a French-Canadian, who met with a gun-shot wound which left a
permanent opening into his stomach, guarded by a little valve of
mucous membrane. Through this opening the lining of the stomach could
be seen, the temperature ascertained, and numerous experiments made as
to the digestibility of various kinds of food.

It was by these careful and convincing experiments that the foundation
of our exact knowledge of the composition and action of gastric juice
was laid. The modest book in which Dr. Beaumont published his results
is still counted among the classics of physiology. The production of
artificial fistulae in animals, a method that has since proved so
fruitful, was first suggested by his work.]

It cannot be too strongly stated that food of a simple character, well
cooked and neatly served, is more productive of healthful living than a
great variety of fancy dishes which unduly stimulate the digestive organs,
and create a craving for food in excess of the bodily needs.

168. The Proper Care of the Teeth. It is our duty not only to take
the very best care