Drinking and disease : a lecture / delivered by the Rev. A.G. Russell, in the Mechanics' Institute, Bradford, February 21st, 1868, being the third of a course of lectures on behalf of the Bradford Sunday Closing Association.

  • Russell, A. G.
Date:
[1868]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Drinking and disease : a lecture / delivered by the Rev. A.G. Russell, in the Mechanics' Institute, Bradford, February 21st, 1868, being the third of a course of lectures on behalf of the Bradford Sunday Closing Association. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    of intemperance. He would only add that if his conclusions seem to press upon any system, it is against the system he speaks, not against men. The plan he proposes in carrying out the lecture is first of all to show you what alcohol is ; to glance briefly at the terms food, health, disease; to consider the relation of alcoholic stimulants in the production of disease, and the diseases so pro- duced ; to consider alcohol as a therapeutic agent; and from the whole to draw certain conclusions as to measures for the suppression of the liquor traffic, with especial reference to the complete closing of all houses licensed for its sale on the Lord's day. In the first place, then—what is alcohol ? Is it food, poison, medicine, luxury, or what ? I may say, first of all, it is the principle on which the characteristic properties of fermented and distilled liquors depend. It is a product of the metamorphosis of sugar, under the influence of a ferment. It has not been found in any product of nature, and I believe it to be essentially artificial, prepared through the destructive process of fermentation. Under alcohol, then, we may include all the ordinary intoxicating drinks, for it is to the pre- sence of alcohol that their intoxicating property is due. I may here just briefly explain the process of the preparation of alcohol. Grain is steeped in water until it swells; then it is put into a heap, and brought into contact with the atmosphere. Afterwards it is spread upon a floor till the process of sprouting takes place; then it is dried upon plates, and a substance called diastase is formed, which has the peculiar property of converting the starch of the grain into grape sugar. Then the grain is put into water again, which takes up the soluble grape sugar; afterwards this water, holding the sugar in solution, is drawn off, when all that is required is to add some fer- menting agent—yeast, for example—and by distillation you have alcohol. It is composed of four parts of carbon, six of hydrogen, and two of oxygen. We have what is termed absolute alcohol, which contains only a trivial amount of water. The strongest com- mercial spirit is the rectified, and contains 16 per cent, of water; what is known as proof spirit contains about five pints of alcohol to three pints of water. TABLE No. 1 Table, after Mr. Brand, showing volume of Alcohol (specific gravity -825) in 100 Measures of the Liquor. Average Alcohol in 100 parts. Spirits (1.) Whisky 54-91 Rum 53-68 Brandy 53-39 Hollands 51-60 Wines (2.) Madeira 24-17 Port , 22-96 Cape 20-51 Sherrv 19 17 Claret 15-10 Average Alcohol in 100 parts. Champagne 12.80 Hock 12 08 Elder 08.79 Other Drinks (3). Cider 07-54 Perry 07-26 Burton Ale 08 88 Edinburgh Ale 06 20 Brown Stout 06-80 London Porter 04 20 Small Beer 01-28