They are all dangerous drugs and should not be taken except by the advice of a physician. In medicine these drugs are all valuable. Because they benumb the senses they are frequently used to give temporary relief to those who are suffering intense pain. Persons sometimes begin the use of these drugs to relieve them of pain or to produce sleep. In a short time they are unable to stop taking them. Like other narcotics they create an unnatural appetite which is only satisfied by increasingly larger doses of the drug itself. The effect upon the body is so great that the victim finally becomes a moral and physical wreck.

Alcohol. The alcohol used in drinks is always produced by the growth of yeast in some liquid containing sugar. Yeast is a plant. It grows rapidly and produces a chemical action called fermentation, by which sugar is changed to alcohol and carbon dioxide. The alcoholic liquors used are prepared by different processes, but all depend for their stimulating effect upon the presence of alcohol.

You are already familiar with the fact that many persons who at first use alcoholic liquors in moderation later become slaves to their use. There is nothing more deplorable than the sight of a person who has taken such large quantities of alcohol that the activities of the brain and muscles are impaired and weakened. He does and says things of which, in his sober hours, he is ashamed. There is no doubt of the injurious effects of alcohol upon the body. Its effects are very wide

spread.

Excessive use of alcohol affects the liver, kidneys, heart, blood vessels, and nervous system. More than any other drug, it is responsible for the general break down of the whole body.

Alcohol not only ruins the health, but it also results in much poverty and crime. A constant drinker spends a large proportion of his income for liquors, and at the same time he renders himself unfit to earn more money. Wide and accurate scientific investigations have proved, beyond a doubt, that alcohol is responsible for a large percentage of crime. It not only wrecks the mind, but it wrecks the character. The cost of the care of the many, who, through intemperance, help to fill up our reformatories, prisons, and insane asylums has been estimated at $100,000,000 annually.

Conclusion. After showing the terrible results which come from the excessive use of narcotics and stimu

lants, Mr. Blount* says: "We squander our materials, waste our energies, and benumb our powers in that which harms but does not satisfy. And yet the world is full of great things to do. There are barren lands to clothe with forest and field, marshes to drain, canals to dig, works of art to make, magnificent cities to build, founded not on the bones of the weak and oppressed, but firmly grounded in equality and justice. This work cannot be done by people whose delight is in tickling their senses with drugs. It is a labor for

*R. E. Blount, Physiology and Hygiene. Row, Peterson and Company.

strong men and women. We are summoned to mighty deeds. We must employ every resource we have, use every ounce of energy we possess, to respond to the call. We must go into training, as an athlete for a contest, nourish our bodies with the most wholesome food, discarding that which is harmful or questionable, and make us strong for the conflict. The day of heroes is not past. Choose a worthy object for your life work, put yourself in training for it, and you will have nothing to fear from stimulants and narcotics."

Questions

1. What is a narcotic? Name the more commonly used narcotics.

2. How do stimulants differ from narcotics?

3. What is the name of the active substance in tobacco?

4. State the principal reasons why boys who smoke are often rejected for athletics.

5. Are business corporations justified in not employing men who are habitual smokers? State the reasons for your answer.

6. For what purposes are morphine and laudanum valuable?

7. Name the organs of the body upon which alcohol has an injurious effect.

8. Does any relation exist between poverty and the use of alcohol?

9. To what extent does alcohol contribute to crime?

10. What is the estimated annual cost of the care

of those who through intemperance become criminals or become insane?

11. In how many states is the sale of alcoholic liquors now prohibited?

12. What are the principal arguments in favor of prohibition? Against it? How do the two compare in number and in value?

13. Name some of the things which you would like to accomplish during your life. Will the use of tobacco and alcohol assist, or hinder, you in the fulfillment of these ambitions?

14. What federal law do we have to regulate the sale of morphine, cocaine, and similar drugs?

CHAPTER XLI

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

Introduction. In plants we learned that there were tubes through which liquids passed from one part of the plant to another. In our bodies there are also tubes through which liquids are forced. These liquids have two very important functions. First, they carry food from the alimentary canal and oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body, so that each part receives what it needs. Second, they carry waste materials from all parts of the body to the organs from which they can be removed.

The set of organs which performs these two functions is the circulatory system. This system consists of three parts:

1. Blood and lymph, liquids which flow through tubes.

2. The heart, a pump for forcing the blood around. 3. Blood and lymph vessels.

Blood. The liquid which flows through the blood vessels we call blood. It consists of a watery fluid called plasma. Floating in this are very small cells called corpuscles. There are three kinds of these cells: red corpuscles, white corpuscles, and blood plates. The last