No. 83.] Malt Liquor. 343 and impregnating it with the essential oil and bitter quality of the hop, to prevent its advancing to the acetous fermentation. Å bushel and three-quarters of malt (ground), and a pound of hops are sufficient to make eighteen gallons of good family ale. That the saccharine matter of the malt may be extracted by infusion, without the farina, the temperature of the water should not exceed 155 or 160 Farenheit's thermometer*. The quantity of water should be poured on the malt as speedily as possible, and the whole being well mixed together by active stirring, the vessel should be closely covered over for an hour; if the weather be cold, for an hour and a half. If hard water be employed, it should be boiled, and the temperature allowed, by exposure to the atmosphere, to fall to 155 or 160 degrees Farh.; but if rain water is used, it may be added to the malt as soon as it arrives to 155 degrees. During the time this process is going on, the hops should be infused in a close vessel, in as much boiling water as will cover them, for two hours. The liquor may then be squeezed out and kept closely covered. The hops should then be boiled for about ten minutes, in as much again of water as that obtained from the infused hop; and the strained liquor, when cold, may be added, with the infusion, to the wort, when it has fallen to the temperature of 70. The object of infusing the hop in a close vessel, previously to boiling, is to preserve the essential oil of the hop, which renders it more sound, and, at the same time, more wholesome. A pint of good thick yeast should be well stirred in the mixture of wort and hops, and covered over in a place of the temperature of 65 Farh.; and when the fermentation is completed, the liquor may be drawn off to a clean cask, previously rinsed with boiling water. When the slow fermentation which will ensue has ceased, the cask should be loosely bunged for two days, when, if the liquor be quiet, the bung may be properly fastened. The pale malt is the best, because, when highly dried, it does not afford so much saccharine matter. If the malt be new, *If boiling water, or water heated to 185 degress of temperature, be employed, as recommended by some authors, a quantity of farina will be extracted with the saccharine matter, which will render it thick; and by preventing a proper fermentation, will make it very unwholesome. Ale, when thick, is very difficult of digestion; and in weakly or irritable stomachs, rapidly runs into the acetous fermentation; and the acid and gas, which are the consequences, no doubt, act very perniciously on the coats of the stomach. Homemade beer generally contains a great quantity of mucilage and saccharine matter, which some consider as evidence of strength; whilst the ale of brewers, in consequence of having been well fermented, and the infusion of the malt properly made, is entirely free from mucilage, and on this account, much more wholesome than home-made ale, provided it does not contain such powerful poisons as the vomic nut, cocculus Indicus, &c.; which, although seldom employed in medicine, are imported in considerable quantities into this country. it should be exposed to the air, in a dry room, for two days previously to its being used; but if it be old, it may be used twelve or twenty hours after it is ground. The great difference in the flavour of ale, made by different brewers in town and country, appears to arise from their employing different species of the hop. In Kent, several species of the hop are cultivated. The one termed the bastard ever-black bind, on account of its being the most hardy, is generally preferred by the grower. This species is very bitter, and affords less of the essential oil, or aroma, in which, as observed before, the stomachic property and preservative power of the hop reside; indeed, without it, the bitter is much too intense for continued use; and it is not unlikely that it was the effect of this species of hop, that induced some writers, in the reign of Queen Anne, to pronounce the hop a poison; for the aroma of the hop, no doubt, corrects the bitter quality of it. The Worcestershire-hops are less bitter than the Kent, and impart to beer a more grateful aromatic flavour. In that county, the hop varies very much in the bitter principle, and in aroma, from soil and situation. The species we have found to yield the greatest quantity of aroma, and the most wholesome bitter principle, is termed the Mathon white hop. The beer made with it is not only more pleasant to the palate, but certainly, instead of disordering the stomach, seems to promote digestion. A clergyman, of Herefordshire, informs us, that he was cured of a most distressing affection of the stomach, of long standing, (indigestion), by adopting this hop in making ale, and that too, after the beer, made with the other species, evidently increased his sufferings. We believe the Mathon white hop is sold only by Mr. Butler, herbalist, of Covent Garden, a necessary piece of information, because we believe the Kent bastard ever-black bind is generally sold in the metropolis for brewing. COMPARATIVE NUTRITIVE PROPERTIES OF FOOD.A very interesting report of this subject was lately presented to the French Minister of the Interior, by Messrs. Percy and Vauquelin, two members of the Institute; the result of their experiments is, viz. In bread, every 100 lbs. weight are found to contain 80 lbs. of nutritious matter.-Butcher's meat, averaging the various sorts, 35 lbs. in the 100 lbs. French beans, 92 lbs. in 100 lbs.-Broad beans, 89 lbs. in 100 lbs.-Peas, 93 lbs. in 100 lbs.-Lentiles, 94 lbs. in 100 lbs.— Greens and turnips, which are the most aqueous of our vegetables used for domestic purposes, furnish only 8lbs. of solid nutritious substance in 100 lbs.-Carrots, 14 lbs. in 100 lbs.; and what is very remarkable, as being in opposition to the hitherto acknowledged theory, 100 lbs. of potatoes only yield 25 lbs. of substance.-1 lb. of good bread is equal to 24 lbs. or 3lbs. of best potatoes; and 75 lbs. bread, and 30 lbs. meal, is equal to 300 lbs. of potatoes; or, to go more into detail, lb. bread, and 5 oz. meat, are equal to 3lbs. of potatoes.-1 lb. of potatoes is equal to 4 lbs. of cabbage, and 3lbs. of turnips; but 1lb. of rice, broad beans, or French beans, in grain, is equal to 3lbs. of potatoes. GAZETTE OF HEALTH. No. 84. To DECEMBER 1, 1822. VOL. VII. OF THE LATE DR. MARCET. THIS eminent physician, was a native of Geneva, in Switzerland, and in that country (so justly distinguished for a manly spirit of independence, correct morals, and the encouragement of science and liberal education) he first received his literary accomplishments in the principles of general knowledge and polite learning. In the year 1793 he arrived in this country, where, from his admiration of its laws and manners, he was induced to become an Englishman, and here he imbibed all the good qualities of our national character, without the narrow prejudices which disgrace some of our institutions. In the year 1794, he entered as a student at Edinburgh, which formed the period of the commencement of his professional studies. During his residence there, he was indefatigable in engrafting on the original liberal and candid principles of his early education the true medical information, from (as he conceived) the fountain head of the Esculapian stream. In the spring of 1797, after taking the degree of M. D., he returned to London; but although he had prosecuted his studies with great ardour, under the first teachers in Europe, and obtained a diploma, authorizing him to exercise the healing art in any part of his Majesty's dominions; instead of entering on practice, he attended the lectures of the most eminent teachers of chemistry, anatomy, pathology, &c. &c. and became a pupil of the late Dr. Saunders, at Guy's Hospital, and of the late Dr. Willan, at the Carey Street Dispensary. It has been observed, that in consequence of the dogmatical manner in which the Edinburgh lecturers on different departments of medicine speak of the effects of remedies, the results of their experiments, &c. &c. the pupils, after attending two or three courses, fancy that they are really acquainted with the causes and nature of diseases, and the artillery by which all diseases may be effectually subdued ; and supposing they require only a diploma to complete the physician, when they are in possession of it, the only matter of astonishment or mystery to them is, that the patient should die under their care. Not so, however, with Dr. Marcet; for the attention he had paid to the effects of medicine at the Royal Infirmary, convinced him, that notwithstanding the dogmatism of some teachers, medicine was in its infancy, and that the most experienced physician in full practice was, in fact, only a learner. After residing two years in London, the principal part of which he devoted to lectures, the practice of the hospitals, and the philosophical societies, he found it necessary to obtain from the London College of Physicians, a licence to practise medicine within the limits of their jurisdiction, notwithstanding his Edinburgh diploma authorized him to do it in any part of his Majesty's dominions. The Doctor, not being a native of the country, thought it would not become him to oppose such inconsistency, if not imposition, and although he detested any thing that even bordered on illiberality or selfishness, or that had a tendency to check the progress of science, he submitted to an examination at the College of Physicians (composed chiefly of graduates of the English Universities), and to receive from them a licence to exercise his professional talents in SIMPLE cases of disease; although in respect to competency to exercise the art, they were far, very far from being superior to him, and for this insulting licence, he was required to pay about eighty pounds, a very serious sum to those foreigners who have received a medical education in their own countries, for generally speaking, they are very poor. The Doctor, having been strictly examined as to his professional acquirements, and paid for a diploma at Edinburgh, giving him the liberty to practise in any part of the United Kingdom, thought it extraordinary that he should be subjected to another examination, and obliged to pay so large a sum for a licence. If the University of Edinburgh do not think proper to defend their graduates in claiming the right to practise in any part of his Majesty's dominions, as specified in their diploma, (which one of the couditions of the Union of the two countries authorizes the University to grant), they should except the limits of the jurisdiction of the London College of Physicians, or indeed the whole of England, for, according to college laws, a physician practising in any part of this island, without a licence from the College, may be prosecuted as a vagabond, and subjected to exercise his body on the tread mill with his diploma in his pocket. Although, according to the conditions of the Union, no other licence is necessary than a diploma from a Scotch university, the graduates of Edinburgh, the first medical school in the United Kingdom, are compelled, on taking up their residence in this metropolis, to submit to a degradation very mortifying to men of science and generous minds, and insulting to the University itself. The Doctor having succeeded in obtaining the appointment of physician to the City dispensary, took up his residence in its neighbourhood. He soon afterwards married the daughter of Mr. Haldeman, a very respectable and opulent merchant of the city of London. Although this lady possessed the means of rendering the Doctor as independent in circumstances as he was in mind, he was solely influenced in his choice of a companion for life by the riches of her mind. Miss Haldeman, instead of wasting her time in reading novels and romances, or by attending to fashions, idle visits, and the art of coquetry, employed all her leisure hours in philosophical pursuits. Chemistry had been her favourite study, and, at the time of her marriage, she was as well acquainted with the state of this interesting science as the Doctor himself, although it had been his favourite study. To the pen of this lady we are indebted for the best rudimental work on philosophical chemistry that has appeared in this country, viz. Conversations on Chemistry. Dr. Marcet having thus fortunately secured, not only domestic comfort, but a most valuable assistant in exploring the field of science, being closely connected by marriage and friendship with many families of respectability, resolved to be naturalized, which was afterwards soon accomplished by act of parliament. On the resignation of the appointment of physician to Guy's Hospital, by the late Dr. Harvey, Dr. Marcet, by the solicitation of his late teacher, Dr. Saunders, and the other medical officers, who No. 84.] Of the late Dr. Marcet. 347 had had opportunities to form an opinion of his professional abilities and his benevolent disposition, became a candidate, and such was the high estimation in which he was held among the governors, that he was elected by a large majority. The good fortune of this deserving individual was now complete. Most happily and congenially situated in domestic life, and ranking high as a physician in public opinion, he removed his residence from the city to Russell Square, with the view of enjoying the society of men of talents and scientific attainments in the neighbourhood, of whom the late Sir Samuel Romilly was one. The Doctor continued for many years to discharge his duty conscientiously at Guy's Hospital, which his colleagues allow he did with distinguished talent and great propriety, both as a clinical physician and as a lecturer. In the course of his private practice, he shewed a mind superior to the artifices which disgrace too many of the physicians of London. However zealous of practice, from a desire to do good more than to accumulate wealth, he had no ambition to court popularity, or desire to bask in the sunshine of royalty, the latter of which, as a foreigner, he might have easily obtained. Doctor Marcet contributed liberally to the periodical works connected with medicine, and all, who have read his communicatious, that are competent to judge of their real merits, must admit that they exhibit proofs of great ingenuity, sound judgment, accurate observation, just deduction, and a sincere desire to promote medical science for the good of mankind. The periodical works on medicine are too often filled with common-place and hacknied subjects, with a mere semblance of merit from some new form, or dress, or fine sounding words. The papers of Dr. Marcet, on the contrary, are marked by originality, precision, clear thinking, and valuable truths. The Doctor's chemical communications embrace the following interesting topics: Analyses of the waters of the Dead Sea; of the River Jordan; of the mineral springs of Brighton and the Isle of Wight; of the dropsical fluids; experiments proving the existence of prussic acid in the urine, under certain circumstances; an account of the effects of a large quantity of laudanum taken internally, and the means used to counteract its fatal effects; on the use of nitrate of silver, in detecting small quantities of arsenic; remarks on sulphuret of carbon, and on the production of coal by means of that article. Some of these communications appear in the Philosophical Transactions. To these contributions may be added the following communications, of equal value to the practitioner, viz. Dissertation on the oxyd of bismuth; a case of hydrophobia; an account of a species of erythema. His last work, on the analysis, &c. of human calculi, has been translated into all the languages of Europe, by physicians of the first respectability in the different countries, and it will transmit his name to the latest posterity, as an able physician and accurate chemist. But however creditable the doctor's communications were to him, and valuable to the profession, his laudable zeal in bringing forward the exertions and talents of others in the extensive field of science and improvement, was no less so. He has, during his medical career, shewn himself a most ardent promoter of useful public institutions, especially those more immediately connected with his profession. It is well known, that it was chiefly to him and the late Dr. Yelloly, that the Medical and |