FOOD AND ALCOHOL 201 
will cost 81d. instead of 73d. That is to say, a man 
would get rather more than three pints of the weak 
beer at the same price as one pint of the strong beer, 
whereas at present he gets rather less than 2} pints 
of it. Hence he would have a considerable inducement 
to substitute the weaker beer, especially if he had a 
genuine thirst which needed to be assuaged. He 
could not only drink three times the volume of weak 
beer, but he would, in addition, run no risk of intoxi- 
cation. 
As the prices suggested do not work out to convenient 
whole numbers, it would, in practice, be necessary 
to issue the very weak beer at a slightly greater alco- 
holic strength (say 3 per cent.), so as to bring its 
price to 3d. a pint, whilst the strong beer could be 
issued at a slightly smaller or greater strength, so as 
to bring its cost to 8d. or to gd. a pint.