Aliment; or food both solid and liquid: (from alo, to nourish). It is such matter as is convertible by the actions of the body into an alkalescent gluten, of which all our solids and fluids are formed, and by which their waste is repaired. Next to air, food is the most necessary thing for the preservation of our bodies; and as, on its choice,our health greatly depends, it is of importance to understand, in general, the properties of our aliments, so as to judge not only the kind of food proper in different situations to support life, but to restore health when impaired; and, in particular deviations from health, what is the best adapted to restore us.

Our blood and juices naturally incline to a putrid acrimonious quality: fresh chyle, duly received, prevents this destructive tendency, and preserves in them that mild albuminous state that is alone consistent with health.

The subject of aliment, if pursued at length, would require a volume. It must be considered here more shortly; but we shall offer an outline, which may be easily filled up. The structure of the human stomach shews that man was not intended to be granivorous, or exclusively herbivorous; the length of the intestines, on the other hand, proves that he was not wholly designed to be carnivorous. In all situations where the dictates of nature have been complied with, mankind have consequently mixed both foods, and the proportions have been such as fancy or necessity may have suggested; so accomodating is the animal economy, that it adapts itself to every kind of diet, and the axiom is universally true, sanis omnia sana.

It will be at once obvious, that the food, taken in, is by no means in the state which nature requires to form our mass of blood. It must undergo some change; a process which, in its successive stages, is called digestion and assimilation, q. v. These subjects we must not anticipate; but may now remark, that aliment is only admitted into the system in the form of a bland oily fluid, named chyle. This, though resembling milk, yet essentially differs from it, since milk is not absorbed until it has been coagulated and experienced some chemical changes. The great divisions of our aliments are vegetable and animal: these, as usual, are in their confines scarcely distinguishable, and the mushroom of the vegetable kingdom is of a more animalised nature than even the milk of the most carnivorous animal, the dog. Of vegetable substances, the prevailing principle is car-bone; of animal, azote. The changes which the first undergo are, therefore, the most considerable, and their assimilation requires the longest time. We have already observed, that difficult and slow of digestion are not synonymous; and this is particularly exemplified in the digestion of vegetable substances, which excite little commotion in the system, though they are long retained in the primae viae; and the criterion we shall employ of difficult digestion, will be the exacerbation of hectic pa-roxysms. In hectics, the arterial system is peculiarly irritable, and the slightest exertion of the digestive organs accelerates the circulation.

The nutritious parts of the vegetable kingdom are mucilage, starch, or sugar. In the lowest degree of nutriment are the esculent plants, such as the bete, the spinach,and the lamb's lettuce. The cabbage and water-cresses, scarcely ranking higher in nutritious powers-have some effect from their peculiar acrimony. Among the vegetables of weak nutritious powers must be reckoned the marine algae, which, perhaps, except in one instance, owe their chief advantages to the stimulus of the salt. The fucus esculentus palmatus and digitatus are used; the second is the dulse of Scotland. The ulva umbilicalis affords the laver, and the u. latissima (Iceland sea-grass) is saccharine. The Iceland liverwort, lichen lslandicus, we shall speak of as a medicine. The siliquosaoe Linnaeus follow, including the endive, the lettuce, the celery, the artichoke, and asparagus. Many of these are highly acrimonious, but deprived of their pe-culiar principle by confinement from light, styled etiolation, or bleaching. The early buds of the asparagus are only employed, in which the peculiar acrimony is not unfolded.

We should next arrange the roots: of these the radish and the turnip are the least nutritious, and the umbillefens of Linnaeus follow: they include the carrot, the parsnip, and the skirret (sesarum). The se-mifloaculosx are more nourishing; the orchis, which produces the salep and the potatoe, with some others, are of this class: those which rank with them, the onion, the leek, the garlic, including its species, the chalot and roccambole, are not, with us, employed as aliments, but must rather be considered in the rank of condiments. The leguminous seeds, chiefly of the papilio-nacee of Linnaeus, are next in order: they unite with the herbaceous matter a large proportion of mucilage; we shall enumerate them in the order of their nutritious powers, viz. kidney-beans, pease, beans, lentils, and cicer seeds(cicerarietinum, Lin.) Asnutrients,the gums have also held a place. We know not their comparative value; but shall not be greatly in an error if we add here the only substance of this kind, of which there has been any trial, viz. the gum arabic, the production of a species of mimosa. This, from the testimony of Has-selquist, has been found nutritious; and of a similar quality, perhaps, the gum tragacanth and the cherry-tree gum may be found.

In this climate some of the fruits are less nourishing than a few of the roots we have mentioned; but in warmer climates they are more so, and it was at least improper to separate them. The cucurbitacea of Linnaeus, including cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, etc. are in the lowest rank: they are followed by the senti-coscc, in which class currants, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and grapes,are arranged: the hesperidex (oranges), pomaces (apples and pears), drupaceae (apricots, peaches, plums, and cherries), follow,with little distinction, but nearly in the order assigned. The dry fruits of warmer climates, raisins, dates, and figs, are more nourishing.