Thus it is greater in infancy and childhood than in adult age, and less in old age ; it is greater in women than in men ; it is varied by constitution and temperament ; by climate ; season ; the nature of the diet ; exercise ; passions of mind, and even by imagination. As an aliment, water is of prime necessity to all organized beings. As a solvent, it reduces to a fluid mass all the principles necessary for the growth of animal and vegetable bodies ; which must be in a fluid form,

before they can be taken up by the fine lacteal and other absorbent vessels, and thug

carried to every part of the living tissue. How important then, that this universal solvent should be pure, -- that it should be free from those foreign ingredients, whether of animal, vegetable or mineral origin, which, if introduced into the system,

tend to disturb the functions of the various organs, and often to occasion serious derangement and disease. But besides its important office as a menstruum, water is perhaps the most important nutrient, of all those which sustain the existence of organized bodies. A great proportion of that which is drunk, is speedily absorbed by the veins, and carried into the circulation, some time before the product of the digested food is introduced by the way of the laeteals. There are numerous cases on record, where persons have lived, for a considerable length of time, on water

alone. In the " Transactions of the Albany Institute," for 1830, Dr. M'Naughten relates the case of a man who was sustained on water alone, for 53 days. " For the first six weeks he walked out every day, and sometimes spent a great part of the day in the woods.